Secret Agent Cheesy Quesadillas

My kids love these! They are so easy and fast to make. The Secret Agent Ingredient makes them even more impressive. The Secret Agent ingredient in this recipe is white bean puree.

[box type=”note” ] A Secret Agent Ingredient is an ingredient that adds nutritional power to a recipe but does not add overpowering flavor. It is a creative way to add in foods that your child (or yourself) may not normally go for. The Secret Agent Ingredient is usually in small amounts, but the way I look at it all those small amounts add up! For more Secret Agent Ingredient recipes check out the Secret Agent Recipes section of my blog.[/box]

To make the white bean purees simply open and drain a can of any kind of mild flavor white beans. Rinse them well and put in a food processor and pulse a few times to get them broken down. Then blend the beans until smooth. If you need to add a little bit of water to help out the pureeing process go ahead. If you feel like you added to much water them simply pour puree into a fine mesh strainer and let the excess water drain out that way.

This is one of those meals you serve to your picky eater when you just don’t want to fight about dinner but you still want them eating something healthy. I like to make these when I am making something I know my kids won’t eat (like veggie sushi or a really new meal that I have no clue how it will turn out). It is also the meal I make for my friends and their kids, everyone loves this one!

These Secret Agent Cheesy Quesadillas make great lunches too, and can be made ahead of time and then reheated.

By using a vegan cheese you are getting the taste and texture of cheese without all the fat and other problems you can get from real cheese (trans fat, hormones and antibiotics, cholesterol, etc). There are several types and brands of vegan cheeses available. We tried several brands out and settled on Go Veggie brand for right now. It was available in our local stores and they offer coupons on their Facebook page. Try the brands you have in your store out and find one that works for you and your family. Lots of people seem to really like Daiya Vegan Cheese.  I will tell you I do not like the taste of raw vegan cheese (I can’t just pick up it up and just eat it like I used to be able to do with real cheese) but I am starting to really enjoy it in cooked dishes like this Secret Agent Cheesy Quesadillas recipe. (I love it on my homemade pizza and my lasagna recipe).

On to the recipe!

Secret Agent Cheesy Quesadillas

• [box type=”shadow” ]Depending on how much cheese you use on these will depend on how many this serves. If you go light on the cheese you can make 5 of these. I give one each person one and serve it with lots of cut up veggies and fruit, or a salad. Serving some Mexican Rice (recipe soon to come) with this recipe is a great way to make it and your $ stretch too.[/box]

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Tortillas (10 count package)
• 1 package of vegan cheese
• 1 can of white beans drained and rinsed
• Cooking spray

Make your white bean puree and have it ready. You will not use all of it in this recipe so you will have a good amount left for other Secret Agent Recipes.

The key to getting these Secret Agent Cheesy Quesadillas right is to start with small amounts of the Secret Agent Ingredient and work your way up over time.

Now you are ready to move it to the skillet to cook.

Spray a little cooking spray in a large heated  skillet ( I usually cook mine on medium heat  on my stove). Using the cooking spray will help your quesadilla slide out easier.Carefully place the tortilla with the bean puree and cheese down in the pan like the picture shows.

Carefully place another tortilla on top of that one. Press down with a spatula on the top of the tortillas to help the cheese melt. The cheese melting will help keep the two tortillas together.

Once the cheese starts to melt carefully flip the tortillas over so the other side can brown a little too.

Once both sides of the tortilla have been heated up thoroughly take the quesadilla out of the pan and place on a cooling rack. Let them cool for a few minutes and then serve them however you would like. We like to cut ours up with kitchen shears into lots of triangles. I find if it looks like there are a lot on your plate them you tend to not eat as many as if you only had 4 cut up triangles.

-if you have a vegetable lover in your house you can also cut up some veggies and put them in this quesadilla. My youngest loves broccoli so I pulse up some in the food processor and throw it in hers. My husband and I love veggies so we like to load ours up with things like peppers, black beans, onion, mushroom, and spinach or kale.  Use whatever your family will enjoy!

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Secret Agent Cheesy Quesadillas