Jack Quesadillas with Cranberry Salsa

OK, these were surprisingly delicious. I wasn't so sure about the salsa with the cumin in it when I taste tested it by itself. But it is the flavor combination of the quesadilla and salsa together that truly is award winning. We cannot wait to make this again! We substitute leftover chicken for turkey.

Jack Quesadillas with Cranberry Salsa


This salsa is also great on turkey sandwiches. To make meatless quesadillas, use sautéed vegetables in place of the turkey.


Salsa:
1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 Anjou pear, cored and finely diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

Quesadillas:
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (2-inch-thick) slices green onions
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

To prepare salsa, combine first 7 ingredients. Cover and chill.

To prepare quesadillas, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup sliced onions to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Remove onions from pan; reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over each of 4 tortillas. Top each cheese-covered tortilla with one-fourth of onions, 1/2 cup turkey, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 1 tortilla.

Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add 1 quesadilla to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and cheese melts. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into 6 wedges. Serve with cranberry salsa and sour cream.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3 wedges, about 1/4 cup salsa, and 1 tablespoon sour cream)

CALORIES 356 (25% from fat); FAT 9.7g (sat 4.2g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.2g); IRON 2.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 42mg; CALCIUM 218mg; CARBOHYDRATE 47.8g; SODIUM 372mg; PROTEIN 19.4g; FIBER 3g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2004