Chicken and Mushroom Quesadillas

This was a great quesadilla recipe that I will definitely keep on hand and make again soon! Jay came home for lunch and loved the way it made the house smell!

Ingredients:

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (we used 2 smaller ones)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 ounces white mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pickled jalapeno, minced, plus 1 tablespoon of the jar juices

1 19 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 8 inch flour tortillas (we used 4)

2 cups cheddar cheese (recipe calls for white cheddar, but we used regular cheddar)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook the chicken until nicely browned on both sides. Cool the chicken and then tear into bite size pieces.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the cumin, and some black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are dry. Transfer mushrooms to a small bowl.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to the skillet along with the onion, garlic, jalapeno and the jar juices, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the beans and mash them into the onion mixture until the mixture is smooth but still dotted with bits of bean.

Lay the tortillas on your work surface and spread 1/4 of the beans on half of each one. Follow the beans with 1/4 of the cheese, half of the chicken, half of the mushrooms and finally the rest of the cheese. I spread the mixture out on the whole bottom of the tortilla and topped with an additional tortilla.

In a clean skillet (or panini press) fry each quesadilla in 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter. Cut into wedges and serve.

Enjoy!

Muffuletta

I was really looking forward to trying this meal and it was really great! Super easy to make and a light meal to have when you don't want anything too heavy!

Ingredients for Olive Salad:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons water

1 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 small rib celery, thinly sliced

1/2 cup small cauliflower florets

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 cup pitted large green olives, finely chopped

1/4 cup pitted black olives, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped jarred pimiento

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (i left this out)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Put the oil, water, carrot, celery, cauliflower, thyme, and oregano in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, reduce the heat to medium low and then simmer until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the olives, pimiento, and salt (I left the salt out because I thought the saltiness of the olives would be enough). Cool, then add the parsley.

Ingredients for the Sandwich:

1 6 inch round Italian bread with sesame seeds (I could only find a long loaf, so I only used half)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces sliced provolone cheese

6 ounces sliced mortadella

4 ounces sliced soppressata

Slice the bread in half horizontally, then pull out some of the inside each half to make a pocket. Brush the inside of the top half with olive oil. Pack the bottom half with the olive salad. Layer the cheese and meats over the salad and top with the remaining bread. Wrap the muffuletta very tightly with plastic wrap. Place the sandwich in a broad, shallow container and weight it with something heavy for atleast 1 hour at room temperature. Cut muffuletta into quarters and serve.

Enjoy!

Miso Chicken Sandwiches with Ginger Mayonnaise

This was an amazing dinner! Quick meal that was excellent! Very refreshing and we will be making it again soon! :)

*We could not find miso anywhere...so we didn't use it! But it was still very good!

Ingredients for Chicken:

1/4 cup light miso (if you can find it!)

1/4 cup dark sesame oil (we used regular sesame oil)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon ginger

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded thin

Heat the broiler and line a broiler pan with aluminum foil, or prepare an outdoor grill (we used our george foreman. Stir the miso, sesame oil, soy sauce, and ginger together in a bowl and brush both sides of the chicken with the mixture. Grill/Broil the chicken until it is cooked through.

Ingredients for Mayonnaise:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce or hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Whisk the mayonnaise with the vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, chili sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl.

Ingredients for Sandwiches:

8 slices multigrain sliced sandwich bread

1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 medium cucumber, thinly sliced

1 cup sprouts

To assemble the sandwiches: halve each chicken break on an angle. Spread 4 slices of bread with the flavored mayonnaise and top with the chicken, avocado and cucumber slices, sprouts. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.

Enjoy!