Mexican Progressive Dinner: Appetizer Quesadillas

I am beyond excited to be teaming up with Christine from The So-Called Homemaker to put together a virtual Mexican Progressive Dinner! Over the next two days, Christine and I will cover four recipes for you to create a delicious and fun fiesta!

Today, I'm kicking off the dinner with an appetizer: Black Bean & Goat Cheese Quesadillas. The beauty of dishes like this one is that if there is an ingredient that you aren't fond of, you can either replace it with something else or leave it out altogether! It's so easy to customize to your own taste. 

(Be sure to follow the link at the end of this post to see Christine's entree recipe today!)

I'm sharing today the recipe I used.

Ingredients:

•  1 can (13.5 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 oz. goat cheese
• 1 medium tomato, chopped and seeded
• Kernels from 2 ears of corn
• 1/4 of a red onion, diced
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 inch corn tortillas

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mash the rinsed and drained black beans with a fork until about half are mashed and half are still whole. 
• Add the goat cheese, tomato, corn kernels, red onion, and cilantro to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and stir until the goat cheese is well incorporated with the other ingredients. The mixture will be very creamy, as you can see in this picture.

• Once the mixture is ready, heat a cast iron skillet or an electric griddle to medium heat. Spread the mixture onto a corn tortilla - use as much as you wish, but remember that the more filling they have, the harder they'll be to flip without filling falling out!
• Place another tortilla on top, and place in the pan.
• Once you begin to see grill marks appear on the bottom, flip it over to heat on the other side. It is finished when both sides have some grill marks, and the mixture inside is warm.
• Cut into wedges and serve warm!
• You can serve with a side of sour cream or salsa. We substituted sour cream with Greek yogurt, and it was delicious!

Be sure to head here and read all about the entree recipe from Christine: Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas!



Until next time - -