Black-Eyed Pea and Hummus Quesadilla

Fish Burrito night is our day-off, super colortastic tasty indulgence night that we enjoy 1-2 times a month.  The best part is that there are always leftovers and extra tortillas so that we eat burritos and quesadillas the few days after.  I made this quesadilla one fateful night when our leftovers where on their last legs.  All we had was tortillas, cheese and sour cream.  Raw onions and garlic are a staple in my kitchen, and I just happened to have a beautiful poblano pepper that I picked from my garden.  The night before, my boyfriend had eaten all of the black beans we cooked up in a quesadilla epiphany of his own.  He told me about his successful experiment of adding a smear of spicy hummus  on the inside of his quesadilla and stated that it was delicious.   I searched the cupboards for another can of black or pinto beans, but only found a can of black-eyed peas.  Haha!  Two new flavor possibility and lots of protein!

Blacked-Eyed Pea and Hummus Quesadilla

Ingredients
1 tortilla
1-2 tbsp hummus (I would recommend spicy, jalapeno, roasted red pepper or garlic flavored)
1/2 cup shredded queso
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup  onions, sliced
1/4 cup poblano peppers, sliced
1/2 cup black-eyed peas
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp coriander
Salt and Pepper

Heat olive oil in pan on med-high heat.  Saute onions and poblano peppers for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for another 5 minutes.  While sauteing, smear hummus on half of the tortilla and sprinkle cheese on the other half.  Take the beans and mix in a bowl with the cajun seasoning, coriander,  chili powder, salt and pepper.  Spread the beans out on the hummus side of the tortilla.   Remove the peppers, onions and garlic from the pan and place on top of the cheese.  Add butter to the skillet and turn down to medium heat.  Place tortilla in skillet once butter has melted.   Cook open-face for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.  Fold tortilla and cook on each side for another 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and slice into triangles.  Serve with sour cream and hot sauce.

I will post the Fish Burrito recipe and pictures the next time we make it!  

Tuna Melt with Tartar Sauce and Cholula

One day I was making tuna salad and I went to grab a dollop of my roomies mayo when, to my dismay,  there was none.  However, I did have a jar of some Trader Joe's tartar sauce.  After looking at the ingredients I decided it was basically everything that I would normally put in my tuna salad anyway....emulsified egg (mayo), onions and relish  AND tartar sauce is suppose to go with fish, right?  So I added it in place of mayo and IT WAS A DELICIOUS REVELATION.  Now we don't make tuna salad in my house without it. Here is a recipe for a particularly delicious sandwich that I made one smoky afternoon:

Tuna Melt with Tartar Sauce and Cholula

Ingredients

1 English Muffin

1 can dolphin-friendly Tuna

1-2 tbsp Tartar Sauce

2 tsp Lemon Juice

1/4 cup chopped onion

1-2 slices of sliced Provolone (or your favorite melty cheese)

1 small handful of Mixed Greens

a few dashes of Cholula or your favorite hot sauce

salt and pepper

Directions

Mix tuna, lemon juice, onions, tartar sauce and a few dashes of salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Place sliced Provolone on one side of the English Muffin.  

Place a large scoop of the tuna salad on the other half of the English Muffin.  

Place in a toaster oven or conventional oven @ 350 degrees F until the cheese is melted and the Muffin has browned (about 7-10 minutes).  

Remove from oven and place Mixed Greens on the melted cheese and squirt the tuna salad with a healthy dose of Cholula hot sauce.  Press the two sides of the English Muffin together and place in mouth.  Chew, swallow, repeat until no more tuna melt is left.  If you're still hungry go make another one.