Black Eyed Pea Quesadillas

I posted the other day about needing to find uses for some neglected pantry staples, and when I shared on Facebook, too, I picked the brains of a couple of vegetarians I know.  One of them recommended black eyed pea tacos.  Any excuse to eat anything resembling Mexican food is fine by me.

Tonight, my husband had a work dinner, so it was just me and the two little girls- Baby Squirrel, age 6 1/2, and Baby Turtle, 22 months.  He's not often away during dinner, but when he is, I generally go meatless.  It's just easy, and a good way to cram more vegetables into my hotdog fiends for children.

One of their favorites is quesadillas.  I generally use pinto or Ranch Style beans, a southwestern favorite of mine.  You can find a good blog post on making your own Ranch Style beans here.

My pantry inventory had some black eyed peas that needed a culinary home, so I took the taco idea and ran with it, but opted for the quesadilla route instead, per my 6 year old's request.

Quesadillas are super easy to make, but the simplicity can be deceiving.  As with a grilled cheese sandwich, you can't rush the goodness.  Don't get in a hurry and turn up the heat, or you'll wind up with runny cheese and a blackened tortilla.  That's just no fun for anybody.  Take your time, and you'll be rewarded.

All you need are:

1 (15 oz.) can black eyed peas, drained (I prepare dried beans, so I used a 2-cup container from my freezer, defrosted and drained)
Chili powder, cumin, garlic granules
About 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mixture of Kraft mild cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Coconut oil, vegetable oil, or nonstick spray
Flour tortillas
Sliced pickled jalapeños (optional)
Electric griddle or large skillet
Sour cream (optional)


Sprinkle a little granulated garlic (not garlic salt!), chili powder, and cumin on your drained black eyed peas and mash them a little with a fork.

I stopped buying aerosol nonstick spray a couple of years ago.  I use a silicone pastry brush to apply a thin layer of oil as needed.  I like Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value brand of coconut oil.  I use refined for cooking, and virgin for things like chapped skin.

Coconut oil is sometimes solid and sometimes liquid, depending on the temperature of your home.  My kitchen stays a bit warm in the summer, so my jar is liquid right now.  I just dip the silicone brush in the jar and schmear it onto my electric griddle.  Give it a good lube.

You can also use regular vegetable oil or aerosol nonstick spray, if that's what you have.

You can't have too much cheese.  Fine shreds will melt more readily.  I like a Colby-Jack or cheddar-Jack blend.  Pepper Jack would be good, too, if you're going spicy.

And for the love of cheese, don't buy it pre-shredded!

Plenty of sliced jalapeños for Mama.  I like the Cajun Chef brand, which I found in the Ethnic section of my store.  They're inexpensive, really good, and sliced more thinly than other brands. 

Slap your tortillas onto a preheated griddle or skillet.  My griddle has a temperature dial, which I set to 250º (about medium heat).  Give them a good sprinkling of cheese and spread out the black eyed peas.  Leave a little room at the edges for melting.  Add sliced jalapeños, if desired.

Top with a second tortilla if making a whole one, or fold over a single tortilla if feeding a kiddo.  Grill slowly until heated through and melted.  The tortillas should be spotty golden brown and slightly crispy.

Allow them to rest on a cutting board for a few minutes before slicing up with a pizza cutter.  Serve wedges with sour cream for dipping.

Pantry Raid

My pantry can become a little overrun with dry goods on occasion.  I do so love my glass jars full of pasta, beans, rice, and other handy, non-spoiling items.  The time comes, naturally, when I need to do a little inventory and clean out. 

Here's a list of stuff I need to make use of:

• Cornmeal - I really should make cornbread from scratch, but often wind up using Jiffy brand mix.  Shame on me.
• Pearled barley - Used in beef stew in wintertime, but needs other applications, too.
• Couscous - I'm sure there's something interesting I could do with this.
• Rye flour - Purchased with the intent of making rye bread, which never happened.
• Wheat bran - Purchased for whole wheat bread recipes.  Still searching for a perfect recipe combo of flavor and texture.
• Tricolor spiral pasta - Used for pasta salad, needs other uses.
• Ditalini pasta - Used for pasta e fagioli soup, needs other uses.
• Canned beets - Purchased originally for including in smoothies.  I love beets, but nobody else in the house will eat them.
• Brown rice - Bought with the intent to eat more healthily.  We love rice in this house, but the brown just doesn't do it for us.  Maybe there's some interesting method of preparation that could change that.
• Black eyed peas - Bought for making cowboy caviar, have some left over in the freezer.  Again, I like them- nobody else is a fan.
• Lentils - I occasionally use them to make soup for myself, but would love to make them for the family without receiving grimaces.
• Split peas - See above.
• Self-rising flour - Purchased for a particular recipe that called for a couple of cups.  Not sure what to do with the rest.
• Bulgur wheat - Used to make tabouli.  Not sure what else you can do with it.
• Pinto beans - Need to eat more pintos.  Love them.
• Chickpeas - Used for hummus, which is well-received.  Something makes me think you can make blondies with these.  I'll have to look into that.
• Orzo - I make a Greek orzo side dish with Cavender's Greek seasoning, minced onion, and chopped green olives.  I'd like to do other things with it.
• Navy beans - Every time I cook navy beans, there's something to the taste that I'm not fond of.  Am I doing something wrong?

If anyone has any suggestions for an item, holler at me!  I'd love some ideas.  Meanwhile...to the Pinterest!

The Well-Appointed Pantry

A sampling of what's in my pantry...

Back row, from left: dry pinto beans, ground flax seed, instant potato flakes (for making bread only!), lentils, rigatoni, slivered almonds, bulgur wheat (for tabouli), egg noodles and rice stick noodles, and Bob's Red Mill 7-Grain hot cereal.

Front row, from left: green split peas, black turtle beans, great northern beans, red beans.

I've been doing some organizing and deep-cleaning in my kitchen lately. I did an inventory, got rid of a couple of things, and cleaned each shelf in the pantry. A bottle of red wine vinegar was out of date and looking nasty, so I poured it out and threw the rinsed bottle in the recycling. (Remember the 3 Rs...reduce, reuse, recycle!)

While I was doing this mini-project, I decided a blog post was in order on a well-stocked pantry. Dry goods are an essential part of cooking, as they can be a big money saver.
Some of my favorite dry goods are rice, wild rice blend, black beans, red beans, pinto beans, lentils, split peas, canned fruit, Craisins, and old fashioned oats. Try some in your next kitchen adventure. Your wallet and your belly will thank you!