Let’s face it: preparing a delicious dinner every day is a challenge many families face. Even food bloggers. Raise your hand if you’re all about short-cuts in the kitchen!?!
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This week, Land O’Lakes challenged me to share a quick, easy dinner recipe for their new Weeknight Wins Blogger Challenge with Sauté Express® Sauté Starter.
I will be posting about easy Weeknight Wins along with four other food bloggers. You can repin your favorite go-to recipe ideas for each Challenge from our Pinterest Board. Plus, each week there will be a new giveaway for you to win!
Sauté Express® Sauté Starter is a blend of seasoned butter and olive oil that can be used to cook and season meats like chicken, fish, or pork in one easy step.
My challenge this week: create a recipe to highlight this fun new ingredient that can be cooked in 30 minutes or less to “Please Picky Your Eaters.”
I settled on quesadillas. My kids love them and they are fast.
We usually have all of the ingredients on hand for a simple tortilla and cheese quesadilla but I love to make stuff them with all sorts of delicious ingredients, depending on what we have on hand, to round them out into a more nutritious and satisfying meal.
This week we were going withGarlic Chicken, Black Bean, and Spinach Quesadillas.
Click HERE to save this recipe for Garlic Chicken, Black Bean, and Spinach Quesadillas to Pinterest!
Chicken tenderloins are my go-to meat on busy days.
Chicken goes with just about anything and the tenderloins are smaller than breasts, so if I haven’t planned ahead I am able to thaw them pretty quickly just before preparing my recipe.
I browned some chicken tenderloins in a pan with Garlic Herb Sauté Express® Sauté Starter.
This gave the chicken a nice flavor without me having to marinade meat ahead of time or take several different bottles of herbs and spices out of the cabinet.
Click HERE to save this recipe for Garlic Chicken, Black Bean, and Spinach Quesadillas to Pinterest!
I stuffed whole grain tortillas with refried black beans, sliced garlic herb chicken, chopped fresh spinach, purple onion and pepper jack cheese.
My sister has been working like crazy with tax deadlines approaching. Last Saturday she came home from a long day at work and I had this meal ready for her. She said: This hit the spot! I was really craving Mexican.
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Yield: serves 4 - 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
We usually have all of the ingredients on hand for a simple tortilla and cheese quesadilla but I love to make stuff them with all sorts of delicious ingredients, depending on what we have on hand, to round them out into a more nutritious and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- 2 squares Garlic Herb Sauté Express® Sauté Starter
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins, thawed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 ounces chopped fresh baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ of a small purple onion, cut in half and then sliced thin
- 1–14 ounce can refried black beans or homemade black bean spread
- 8 ounces grated Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack Cheese
- 8 taco sized whole-grain flour tortillas
Instructions
- In a sauté pan, melt the Sauté Express® Sauté Starter over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Add the thawed chicken and cook for 3–5 minutes, or until browned. Turn and cook the other side until browned and the chicken is cooked through. While cooking, brush some of the Sauté Express® Sauté Starter on the side of the chicken facing up.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the chopped spinach, cilantro, and purple onions. Stir until tossed well. Set aside.
- Spread 2 tablespoons of refried black beans on one side of 4 of the tortillas. Set aside.
- After chicken has cooked, slice or shred it into bite-sized pieces. Squeeze the lime over the chicken and stir to coat. Divide the meat between the 4 tortillas and layer it on top of the beans.
- Then, divide the spinach mixture between the 4 tortillas and layer it on top of the chicken. Top with the cheese and then place the remaining tortillas on top of each quesadilla.
To cook the quesadillas:
- In the oven: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Using 1 tablespoon of olive oil, brush each side of the tortillas. Arrange the quesadillas, oiled sides down, on a baking sheet.
- Bake the quesadillas until the tortillas are golden brown and the cheese is melted, turning halfway through, about 8-10 minutes total baking time. Cut into quarters or sixths and serve. Goes great with guacamole and Spanish rice.
- Stovetop: Heat a griddle over medium heat. Grease the griddle with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Cook the quesadillas 2–4 minutes per side, or until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are browned. Cut into quarters or sixths and serve.
- Goes great with guacamole and Spanish rice.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1345Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 1127mgCarbohydrates: 168gFiber: 54gSugar: 4gProtein: 98g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsem*nt of Sauté Express® Sauté Starter. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. All opinions are my own.
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Click HERE to save this recipe for Garlic Chicken, Black Bean, and Spinach Quesadillas to Pinterest!
