My Salsa...

Welcome to Day 2 of My September, everyone! I can't guarantee there'll be a new post every day this month, but I'm sure going to try to post a lot more often than I have been, that's for sure.

Today, while surfing around the internet, I got to thinking about a birthday gift I just received from my lovely husband: a KitchenAid 12-Cup Food Processor (in pink, of course, to match my stand mixer). What should I make with my pretty new toy, hmmmmm? I bajillion thoughts ran through my mind, but I kept coming back to salsa. I wanted FRESH salsa, nothing pre-packaged, I wanted everything to be as fresh-tasting as possible.

I couldn't settle on just one recipe, so I decided to just wing it and threw a bunch of stuff into my food processor, and voila! Salsa! (It made me want to dance around like Eminem at the end of the "My Band" music video, but I restrained myself. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably laughing to yourself at the thought of me dancing around my kitchen like that, going "My salsa!").

Anyway, back to the story: I couldn't just make salsa. I had to make dinner, duh! So, I decided on something easy-peasy, that my husband could totally make even if I weren't here. Also, my dear friend Angee is getting ready to prepare a dinner-date at her house for her new man-friend, and requested a guy approved recipe from me. And, since my husband gave me the two thumbs up on this one, this is the recipe I recommended to her.

Black Bean & Corn Quesadillas with Homemade Salsa and Guacamole (A Mehgan Original):

Ingredients:

For the salsa:
-1 white onion
-1 jalapeno pepper, minus the stem & seeds
-3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, juices squeezed out
-juice of 1/2 a lime
-5 to 10 sprigs of cilantro (depending on how you like it)
-1/4 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-pinch of pepper

For the guacamole:
-2 ripe avocados
-2 to 3 scoops of the salsa above

For the quesadillas:
-4 taco sized flour tortillas
-1 1/2 cups monteray jack cheese
-1/2 can of corn, drained
-1/2 can of black beans, drained
-1 small can of sliced olives, drained
-cumin, garlic salt and pepper for sprinkling
-a few dollops of sour cream
-softened butter or margarine

Instructions: If you have a food processor, combine all the salsa ingredients and pulse until you achieve the consistency you want (some people like it chunkier than others). If you don't have a food processor, don't worry, you'll just have to do all that chopping by hand. You can make it as chunky or as runny as you like. To make the guacamole, slice the avocados in half the long way and pull the halves apart. To get the pit out, place your avocado face up on the cutting board and swiftly hit the pit with the blade of your knife and then twist the pit out. Scoop the avocado into a bowl and mash it with a few spoonfuls of your salsa.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spread a thin layer of butter onto one side of a tortilla. Place the tortilla butter-side down, then layer on the cheese, seasonings, corn, black beans, olives, a few leaves of the cilantro, then more cheese. Butter another side of a tortilla, and place it butter-side up on top of the rest of the quesadilla. Carefully flip it over and brown on both sides of the quesadilla till they're golden brown. Cut into fourths (I like to use a pizza cutter, it's faster and cleaner than a knife), and then garnish with the guacamole, salsa, dollops of sour cream and sprigs of cilantro.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. I made mine a bit spicier than the recipe calls for (I made mine with two jalapeno peppers, instead of just one), which my husband loved since he loves all things spicy. This recipe gives you a lot of creative freedom: if you want more onions, go ahead, throw in some more. It's all up to you and your tastes. Lemme know how yours turns out if you do try it!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~