Dillas...

Quesadillas...or in my  home, what we call "Dillas".  I realize this isn't necessarily a new concept to many, but this dinner is quick and easy.  Best part is that you can keep these ingredients in your house to use on a day where you don't feel like investing a lot of time into dinner.  I typically have two cans of both black & refried beans in my cupboards.

Thank goodness my husband likes Mexican fare, because it's a staple in our weekly menu.  At least once a week we have tacos, taco salad, burritos, enchiladas, or like yesterday, quesadillas.  Original?  No.  Delicious?  We think so!  

[NOTE: I haven't mentioned this yet, but I've challenged myself to go meat-free for thirty days.  Don't get me wrong, I will never be a vegetarian.  But my interest was sparked when I was told I'd feel like I have more energy. What I am really curious about, is whether or not it'll help me shed some baby weight.  This is why there is no chicken in this meal.]

That said, here are the ingredients I used for Wednesday's fiesta:

Tortillas - the carb monster of this meal.  But, use whole wheat or multi-grain and it's not so bad!

Shredded Cheddar

Black Beans

Fat-Free Refried Beans

Chopped Jalapenos (time saver!)

Salsa

Avocado

Chopped green onion

Tomato

Anything canned typically means it's high-sodium.  But, I've tried multiple times to buy dried beans and they never turn out.  A couple calorie and sodium savers to this recipe would be to use fresh salsa.  Trader Joes & Whole Foods have a variety of tasty fresh salsas I recommend.  Unfortunately I haven't made a TJ trip in awhile, so canned it was.  Also, with all the tastiness of this meal, I've gone without the cheese.  However, I've been indulging a little since I'm going without meat.  Lastly, rinse those black beans really well and you'll cut out a lot of the sodium.

You guessed it... that is not a quesadilla maker, it's my panini maker!  The best part of the panini maker is that my hub veto'd this registry item when we were getting married.  (Seriously?  Who doesn't love a good panini?!)  To appease him, I didn't register for it when we were walking through the isles of Bed, Bath & Beyond... but I definitely added it when I was editing the registry online.  To this day, it's one of our most used kitchen appliances.  Not only does it make a great sandwich, but it doubles as our quesadilla maker.  It puts the grill marks on there, and gets everything hot and melted together.

Protein, check.  Veggies, check.  Fiber, check.  Dairy, check.  Healthy fat, check.  

Let me know your thoughts!!