Who loves a fast, easy-to-pull-together, and delicious meal?  Is your hand raised, because mine is sticking WAY up in the air!  While I am one who will not complain about spending hours in the kitchen, I don’t always have time for such pleasures.  Thus, I always love a meal that I can pull together quickly. . .like say 15 minutes before I have to be somewhere.  That was certainly the case when I made this scrumptious quesadilla.  It combines some of my most favorite Mexican flavors.  The smoky cumin combined with the green salsa and cream cheese is heavenly.

Now, if you’re in a quick hurry like I was when I made this, then I suggest having cooked chicken on hand (which is a staple in my house).   You can either cook up a big batch of chicken, freeze it, and pull it out at your convenience (my usual method).  Or, you can simply buy it precooked.  This helpful tip has saved me numerous times when I have had extreme time pinches.

Back to the quesadillas! Hurry and make these. . . right. . . now!  They are healthy, delicious, & easy to make.

Salsa Verde Chicken Quesadillas
Source:  Mimi Original

1/4 cup green salsa
2 T. nonfat cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup fat free cheddar cheese
8 oz. cooked chicken, cut into strips (or bite-sized pieces)
1/2 bell pepper, cut into strips
1 whole slice red onion, sliced in half and separated into strips
2 whole wheat tortillas (such as Mission Carb Balance – 110 calories)
2 T. light sour cream

In a small-medium sized bowl, combine salsa and cream cheese.  Mix in spices and cheddar cheese.  Put cooked chicken in bowl and toss to coat.

Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat.  (See tip below for optional cooking directions.) Place a tortilla in the skillet and spread half of the chicken mixture over half of the tortilla, followed by bell pepper and onion strips.  Fold tortilla over the filling and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Turn and brown the other side.  Removed from skillet and set aside.

Repeat with remaining tortilla, chicken mixture, peppers, and onions.

Cut quesadillas into wedges and place on small plates.  Serve each set of quesadillas with 1 tablespoon of sour cream and additional salsa if desired.

Serves 2.

Optional Cooking Tip:  I often cook these on my indoor grill (aka George Foreman).  It makes it SUPER handy so that I don’t have to actually flip the tortilla over in a skillet (which sometimes can be disastrous with the filling falling out all over the place….not that I would know!).  I can also cook at least two at a time (one for me and one for the hubby) in record time.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving = 1 Filled Tortilla)
Calories:  292
Protein:  36.4g
Carbs: 26g
Fat:  5.1g (1.2g = Sat.)
Fiber:  11.7g