Quesadilla with homemade green salsa (30 min total time)

I have been in love with the Clean Eating cookbooks since I received the first edition from my best friend, Colleen, as a Christmas gift.  I bought the second edition two weeks later AND subscribed to the magazine.  “In love”, “obsessed”… same thing.

Matt and I made the Quesadillas with Green Salsa from Clean Eating 2 in January.  The picture on my facebook page received so many comments I thought it would be an appropriate first recipe to share on Fitscally Responsible.  I add in commentary where I think the recipe could be improved for taste or for speed.  Enjoy!

Deliciousness topped with greek yogurt & homemade salsa

Turkey Quesadillas with Green Salsa (we used Chicken instead).  Serves 2. Hands-on time: 25 min. Total Time: 30 min.

Nutrients per serving (1 quesadilla and 1/3 cup salsa, without greek yogurt):  Calories 314, Total Fat 6g, Sat Fat 1.5g, Carbs 40g, Fiber 4g, Sugars 8g, Protein 21g, Sodium 469mg, Cholesterol 20mg

Ingredients:

• 10 oz tomatillos (4 to 6), husked and rinsed.  If you’re like me and have no idea where to locate these in the grocery store, they are green and can be found in the fresh veggies section. 
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, halved lengthwise and seeded.  My suggestion would be to leave the seeds in to add more taste to the salsa but take them out if you’re going to add jalapenos to the quesadilla.  Seeds = more kick!
• 1/4 white onion
• 15 small tender sprigs of fresh cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic
• fine sea salt, to taste
• 2 whole-wheat tortillas (9 or 10 inches each)
• 2 oz shredded low-fat Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend or Mexican cheese blend (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 oz cooked skinless turkey breast, shredded (about 1/2 cup).  We used chicken.  Tip to make adding meat quick: add canned Chicken in water; Costco’s Kirkland brand is pretty good.
• Additional ingredients we added: sliced red & yellow bell peppers, greek yogurt and jalapenos inside the quesadilla.

STEP ONE: In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add tomatillos and cook for 5 minutes.  Add jalapeno and cook until tomatillos and jalapeno are tender, about 2 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer mixture to a blender.  Add 1/4 cup cooking liquid (the water used to cook the tomatillo & jalapeno), onion, cilantro and garlic and puree until smooth.  Season with salt and set mixture aside to cool.

STEP TWO:  Arrange tortillas on a work surface.  Sprinkle cheese on half of each tortilla, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges.  Arrange turkey over top, dividing evenly, then fold tortilla half over filling.  This is what my quesadillas looked like before I folded them (yes, it was a little fat after I folded it!):

STEP THREE:  In a large nonstick skillet, cook quesadillas over medium heat, covered, until golden brown on the bottoms, 3 to 4 minutes.  Carefully turn over and cook, uncovered, until golden brown and cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.

STEP FOUR: Serve with salsa.  I added plain nonfat greek yogurt on top as a sour cream substitute, which I HIGHLY recommend.  I highly recommend greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute in most cases 🙂

Please let me know what you think and leave any suggestions in the comments!