Vegetarian Recipe 3: Crack-a-dillas

I'm going to save the trouble of explaining to you why I haven't updated in 6.7 billion years. It might have something to do with the fact that my life has been 98% more complicated than it was when I started this blog and I cannot seem to keep my head above water long enough to write about my diet, take pictures of all the meals that I create and then write something lengthy and witty about them. It's not that I don't love doing that. I love to talk about the new ways that I find to eat well. However, it's a bit of an operation to do all of these things well and I am not really much of a half-asser. So here I am returning to you with not much credibility under my belt since I can't seem to keep any of my promises and not much promise for the future. But I am damn well going to try.

I tend to make lists for myself and then either shred them up with my lack of motivation or rearrange them so that they no longer resemble the original goal. This is what I have done for my blog. I have made a very fancy little list that maps out the titles and subjects of each entry for the rest of the month of May. This list has a little more promise than my "cleaning house" list. One, because I'm currently out of school and have nothing to do besides sit around the house, talk to my stuffed animals and watch Food Network. Two, because I will probably use this blog as a procrastination method to put off the cleaning house list to a later date. But again, I can't make any promises that I won't find something much more entertaining to do other than write this blog....like build a log cabin out of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Today is Monday so that means that I have to do something vegetarian. I say that so painfully, like I HAVE to, but to be honest it's not all bad. I could stand to put a little more green in my life and a little less red. I'm just not vegetarian material as far as lifestyle goes but having a good meatless meal a few times a week is actually really nice. In fact, this recipe that I have found for you is actually quite simple, tasty and fast. This recipe can be made with meat, but personally, I prefer it completely meatless. This is something that I make when I have just enough time on my hands to open the fridge and start tossing things in the oven. Usually on nights when I get home late from a night out, or I have a lot of homework or am just feeling lazy, this is my go-to recipe.

I found this recipe one night while I was surfing YouTube. Pre-current boyfriend era, I had no life. I know that's really hard to believe but I didn't really do much but attend school and spend a good bit of time at my apartment. YouTube swiftly became my best friend and connection to the outside world. Right at your fingertips there is a whole slew of home cooks that post videos onto YouTube showing you their recipes and techniques right there for you to watch. I follow quite a few cooks on the YouTube, however there is one man who has opened my eyes to a whole new world of quesadillas. His name is Michael, also known as Freitasex on YouTube. NO. His name is not Freita Sex. It's Freitas Ex. I was quite confused about that upon seeing his channel. I thought that I had found something dirty when really, YouTube just doesn't allow the usage of spaces in your username. So Michael is Freitas Ex....not Freita Sex.....moving on.

I'm in college so I am always looking for something ridiculously easy to do. So when I saw Michael making these quesadillas I knew I could easily do my own rendition of this. I've altered the ingredients just a little because I did not have all of those things that he used in my pantry. So I did what he said to do and "use whatever you like". The version that I created has been a favorite amongst boyfriend and I for as long as we have been dating. In fact, I cooked these for him on our second date and he hasn't left since! Because I don't have a picture for this entry (I know I fail at this), I am going to offer something better. I have attached the video of Michael making the quesadillas to this entry. So you can watch the original video and then read about how I made mine. I would also like to point out at this time for any vegetarians reading this entry, Michael does use a chicken breast in his video. However, the version that I have created is meatless. So this is just a warning.




Here is my rendition of Michael's Quesadillas in which I have affectionately nicknamed "Crack-a-dillas" for their addictive properties.

Ingredients:

2 6-inch flour tortillas
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons of no fat cream cheese
Red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions chopped
Light sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Lay out a baking sheet large enough to fit your tortillas. Spray one side of one of the tortillas with cooking spray generously and lay down on baking sheet spray side down.

In a mixing cup or bowl, combine the cream cheese with the red pepper flakes and mix thoroughly. You may add as much flakes as you would like depending on how spicy you like your quesadillas.

Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the oiled tortilla.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese evenly on top of the cream cheese.

Sprinkle the green onions on top of the cheddar cheese.

Spray one side of the second tortilla with cooking spray generously and lay it on top with spray side facing up.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until desired gooeyness and crispness is achieved.

Slice into four wedges and serve with sour cream. The sour cream is optional. You can also substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream.



As you might have noticed, I made a few alterations. Since I did not have the adobo chiles on hand (does anyone know where I can buy these, I need them for a different recipe?) I took his alternative suggestion and used the red pepper flakes. I am sure that this is not as tasty as the adobo chiles but I find that the red pepper flakes are just fine for me. I also opted to use just plain cheddar since I did not have any Mexican cheese mix on hand either. I used green onions instead of red onions (I had been cooking Asian meals that week that I first tried this so I had LOTS of green onions in the fridge). Although now that I go back and re-watch this video I think I will try these with the red onions. Delicious. I also used a much smaller tortilla since I am quite carb sensitive and have to cut back on my portions anyway. I did not use salsa because I am not a huge fan of it on anything other than corn chips and so I don't really buy it. But this is how I serve mine. I wonder if Michael will approve of my toppings? I wonder if adding sweet corn would be nice as well? As you can see, this is very versatile. I have to thank Michael however for showing me the red pepper flakes in cream cheese technique. I would have never thought to put cream cheese on a quesadilla. Fantastic idea Michael!

So how does it weigh in on the healthy factor? Upon looking at this recipe you might think it is quite indulgent and unhealthy. However, I am here to report that one quesadilla (4 wedges) is about 440 calories (sans sour cream). If that means absolutely nothing to you, I will say that when I was on the Aspen Clinic diet they told me that around 400 calories is a good ball park for a meal. So that is my rule of thumb. Most of the Lean Cuisines in the markets are around the 400 calorie ball park as well. Now some of you might be raising your hands and wondering about the fat content and you would be mostly right to say that this meal is high in fat, mostly because of the cheese. But it is also high in protein and in a healthy calorie range. I have been advised before by many dietitians that if you are going to count something, let it either be calories or fat grams. It must be either or. Things that are high in fat could be less calories and things that are high in calories could have less fat. Eggs are a good example of this phenomenon. Not many calories but a good amount of fat.

It is really difficult to count both things closely. What I will do is count calories closely and sort of keep an eye on the fat grams. There are some things that are blatantly wrong. Eating a fudge cake is BOTH high in calories and fat grams so that's a large no no. But having two eggs in the morning for breakfast is pretty high in fat grams but it also gives me protein and does not count for many calories. The cheese in this recipe is the same way. I used the no fat cream cheese so actually that has no fat in it obviously. The cheddar cheese will have a little fat but I only opted for 1/2 cup. Also, a key element in keeping this recipe healthy is not frying it. I did the quesadillas just like Michael did in the video, in the oven. This makes them baked and not fried reducing the fat and calories as well. I will also substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream in the future. While I was staying at my aunt's this past week I discovered Fage Greek Yogurt. If I didn't know the difference, I'd say it was sour cream. It's very savory and goes with a lot of things.

When it came around to Monday and I had to write a vegetarian entry, I immediately thought of these. Now vegan...I cannot help you guys. I'm leaving you on your own because I simply cannot cope with your eating habits BUT veggies...I hope you will try this one out and love it! Base credit for this recipe goes to Michael or "Freitasex" of YouTube. Check him out.

Eat, Pray, Love,

The Hungry Hungry Health Nut