Quesadillas and guacamole

Greetings from Colorado Springs, Colorado. No, this isn’t Kevin; instead, it’s time for the second guest blogger to offer his or her “expertise.” It’s with good reason I put quotes around expertise, because compared to Kevin’s cooking abilities, I’m not sure I measure up. And I’ve had Liz’s cookies many times, and I know how I rate in comparison to her. I guess that doesn’t matter, right?

I might offer a different spin on this blog as a single guy, as I tend to cook for myself and no one else. Periodically I’ll invite our neighbors or other friends over, but that’s not the norm. Don’t worry married readers – this quesadilla is great for a family or party. Not a Packers party, though, but that’s best saved for another date.

I had a three-pronged attack tonight – quesadillas, guacamole, and a smoothie.

The preparation for tonight’s meal started last night, as I got a head start on the quacamole. I cut diced the tomatoes, squeezed in the citrus, added the seasoning, and put it in the fridge overnight. I knew that it would be nice to have a little more free time to make the quesadillas.

Tonight I added the avocados to the aforementioned ingredients. Once I finished the guac, I took a few tortilla chips to sample the creation. Let me tell you, the addition of the orange made this the guac the best batch I have ever made. My taste-testers agreed, therefore, I highly suggest adding it to your guac.

Next up for the quesadillas, I seasoned and cooked the chicken breasts in some olive oil in a skillet. While this was going on, I drained the corn and rinsed the black beans. I’m not a fan of black bean juice, but you might me, so feel free to not rinse them if you wish. The last bit of preparation for the quesadilla was to cut up the sweet potatoes into slivers about as big as french fries. I used my newly-purchased quesadilla maker to finish this dish off.

The smoothie is a staple in my diet. Until very recently, I used peach yogurt and frozen strawberries. I changed it up last week, though, because I now use unflavored yogurt and frozen peaches and strawberries. This should be a little healthier for me, and it surprisingly tastes just as good. In order, I put apple juice, yogurt, and then frozen fruit into the blender, as this allows for the frozen fruit to be blended the best.

The quesadillas turned out great, especially when dipped in the guac. I made four of them, so after dinner, I have one to bring to work for lunch tomorrow. All the better.

Quesadilla (for each 9” quesadilla)
2 tortillas
½ chicken breast
¾ c. Mexican cheese
¼ c. black beans
¼ c. corn
¼ c. sweet potatoes

Guacamole
4 avocados
3 roma tomatoes
1 lime (squeezed)
¾ orange (squeezed)
¼ tsp garlic salt
¼ Lawry’s season salt
Dash of salt

Strawberry & Peach Smoothie
6 oz apple juice
2 oz yogurt
2 oz frozen strawberries
2 oz peaches