What’s for Lunch? Mushroom Quesadillas!

Our versatile lunch dish for today includes mushrooms!  You can use mushrooms in many lunchtime favorites (salads, sandwiches, soups), but today’s lunch, Mushroom Quesadillas, are very easy to prepare and even easier to heat for a good lunch.

Mushrooms are flavorful and can have lovely texture.  They are typically low in calorie and fat (as they are mostly water), and they are high in potassium and riboflavin (helpful in lowering blood pressure).  You can replace the mushrooms in this recipe with any type of mushroom you prefer (in the sample below, I used white button mushrooms), and you can also add other vegetables if you like (I’ve included spinach).  If you are meat eater, adding a little chicken or beef is an easy thing to do.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbls. butter (or use cooking spray)
• 2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped baby spinach
• 4 (10-inch or 8-inch) flour or wheat tortillas
• 2 cups grated Monterrey jack cheese
• Sour cream, cilantro sprigs, salsa

Directions

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat (or use cooking spray, as I did). Add the mushrooms, shake the pan to distribute them evenly in the pan, and then cook without moving until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Do not salt. Add the remaining tablespoon butter along the sides of the pan if the pan seems very dry. Toss the mushrooms, and continue to cook until nicely browned, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Season mushrooms with the chili powder and salt and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the cilantro and spinach.  Set aside.

Two preparation methods:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Toast the tortillas in dry cast iron skillet.  Place the tortillas on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the cheese on one half of each tortilla, top with some of the mushrooms and spinach mixture.  Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, to make a half moon shape. Lay another sheet of foil over the quesadillas. Bake until the cheese melts, about 12 minutes.

2.  If you are using the smaller tortillas, you can heat them in a skillet, and there is no need to turn on the oven.  Place a tortilla in the bottom of a skillet.  Spread the cheese on this tortilla, top with some of the mushrooms and spinach mixture.  Top with a second small tortillas.  Heat until the cheese melts (just a few minutes).  Flip and heat on the other side.  This is the method I use.

Serve whole or sliced into wedges.  Eat with optional garnishes.

Quesadillas are very easy to make and are great for lunch.  What ingredients do you use in your quesadillas?  Please leave suggestions in comments below.

[Images by Billie Hara, and licensed under Creative Commons.]