May 2009:  ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Fiesta Quesadillas with Black Beans

For the salsa:
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons chopped red onion
1 teaspoon minced jalapeño chili pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons diced red or green peppers
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
hot sauce (optional), to taste

For the quesadillas:
4 large whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup low-fat Monterey jack cheese
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3/4 cup chopped red onion
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes

Instructions:

1. For the salsa:  combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  This can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2. For the quesadillas:  preheat oven to 200 °F.  Lay the tortillas out on a work surface and arrange the cheese, beans, cilantro, red onion, and tomatoes on half of each tortilla.  Fold the tortillas in half to cover the filling.
3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Carefully cook one quesadilla at a time in the skillet until lightly browned on both sides.  Transfer the browned quesadillas to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the rest.
4. Slice each quesadilla into 4 wedges and serve with salsa and low fat sour cream if desired.  Serves 4.

   Nutrition Information:
   Serving Size: 1 quesadilla
   Calories:  356
   Carbohydrates: 55 grams
   Fiber:  6 grams
   Protein:  19 grams
   Total Fat:  8 grams
   Saturated Fat:  4 grams
   Cholesterol:  20 milligrams