Black Bean & Corn Quesadillas

It's time for a quick fix! Despite being off of work today I wasn't feeling like making a big dinner that was time consuming, after all I did make soup too today. So for dinner tonight I made some black bean and corn quesadillas, they are super easy and vegetarian and I'm sure if you put more into it, you could make them vegan, so here we go!



I started the dinner by draining and washing some black beans (my favorite) and setting them aside.



I preheated the oven to 350 and sprayed a cookie sheet and laid down a tortilla, layered it with some shredded Mexican cheese (courtesy of Aldi).



I then layered on some black beans and some corn and top it with a touch more cheese and then I put on the other tortilla. You then repeat it for the second one if you are making it for more then just yourself.



Then stick them in the oven for 15 minutes at 350.



To have something extra special, I decided to use an avocado to put along side of the quesadilla. I'm new to avocado, so I started with a peeler and then was able to pop off the rest of the skin.



I then cut it in half and removed the pit.



I also put out some salsa that I got in PA yesterday at the Christmas Markets, it's a great Mango salsa. I highly recommend it.



At that point the quesadillas were done and served, and they are nice and hot on the inside and crispy on the outside.



And they always get Danny's sign of approval.

Oh and if your wondering where Gracie is, she was busy playing with Bella at the tree skirt....



Enjoy!

Vegetarian Cassoulet

Cassoulet is a French dish that normally contains beans, veggies, and a French pepperoni called seitan. It's really a peasant dish, but has found it's way into mainstream French cuisine and the ever popular French bistro. This version is a vegetarian version. Cassoulet is a hearty dish, warming and nice with a sprinkle of romano cheese.

To start your cassoulet, preheat your oven to 350. You're going to need it.

In a large pot, start by softening a finely chopped onion, and 6 cloves of garlic - if you're not big into garlic you can do a little less. Then throw in some thymne, fresh rosemary, margorum (I can't figure how to spell it and my computer won't fix it, so you'll have to deal), and a few bay leaves. stir is around until a few onions start to brown and the rest have softened. It'll take about two minutes.



While that happens go get a nice dry red wine. I chose one of my favorite wines from the Bartlett winery in Gouldsboro, Maine. You can't find it in any local market except if you go to Maine, but it's worth it, and you can order it over the internet. It's actually a blue berry wine and I thought it would go well with this dish.



Uncork your wine and then you can deglaze your pan with a 1/2 cup of it, and then you can enjoy a glass. Then let the onions continue to soften in the wine, make sure you also turn down the heat on your mixture in the pot so it doesn't dissolve all the wine.



The deglazing will put a great smell in the air, so the adoring public of the Tiny Ass Kitchen will join you in the kitchen.

So while the onion, garlic and spices along with the wine does its thing, go ahead and peel enough potatoes to give you about a cup worth of potatoes and the same thing goes for carrots.



Be careful not to go to fast with your peeler, it can result in casualties and the need for a Hello Kitty band aid.



When the onions have softened for another 5 minutes you can add them in. The stir it in to the rest and let it cook for a few more minutes so the potatoes and carrots can start to soften.



Also add in a can of drained chopped tomatoes, you can use the real thing, but since it's winter the tomatoes aren't that great in the markets, and using canned is pretty cheap (45 cents at Aldi) and easy when you're in a rush.



Open up and drain one can of kidney beans and one can of canellini beans (you know I lurve them)



You can then add them to the veggies in the pot.



Then add a tablespoon of both dijion mustard (don't worry it doesn't overpower a thing, just trust me) and a tablespoon of molasses. (again, don't worry)



Mix up the whole thing.



Add in some salt and pepper and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Once everything has had time to simmer and the beans have a chance to get a bit softer, grease a casserole dish and then add the mixture in the pot to the baking dish.



Make sure you spread everything out and also make sure that the ingredients are well combined (so you don't get areas of all potatoes, or all beans)

Then shove it into your 350 degree oven and bake it for 50 minutes.

This isn't a quick fix dinner, but it's worth the wait.



When it's done it's nice and hot, with the potatoes and carrots cooked through.



You can load it into a bowl and enjoy!!

Cannellini Bean Soup

Here is the story of Cannellini Bean Soup, brought to you by the Tiny Ass Kitchen:



One day I had some cannellini beans that I didn't know what to do with. And I thought I would use them to make a soup, but I would puree the beans.

Interesting huh?



So I put two cans in a pot and added about 5 cups of water.



The I broke out the immersion blender my Mommy got for me that I don't use as much as I should (and I really should because it's AWESOME - thanks Mom)...



And I took my aggression out on the beans and went to town. I messed up and brought it to high up and got some all over the stove, but it's ok, Danny will clean it, it's what he does best...



But I blended until all of the beans DISSAPPEARED! Woooooooooooooooo. Scary huh? (I'm in a mood, leave alone ;-) )



I turned on the stove under the bean mixture and added in two bullion cubes (veggie ones) and let it simmer.



While that did it's thing I started to chop up two carrots, a red bell pepper and an onion - which I did in my mini chop (just the onion) because they really hurt my eyes.



I threw them in a pot and let them soften and added in some garlic. I added in some cumin as well, it made the tiny ass kitchen smell lovely.




And then I added it to the bean mixture and let it cook down even more. While it cooked down I added in some pepper, and dried chives and oregano.



I wanted to do something a little special with the soup so I went into my fridge and pulled out two tortillas (99 cents at Aldi!) and cut them into little wedges on a baking sheet.



I coated them with just a touch of oil and a little bit of salt and baked them at 350 for 10 minutes, when they were ready to come out of the oven, the soup was ready as well.



Dinner was done and ready to be eaten by all in the Tiny Ass Apartment in West End.



And everyone in the Tiny Ass Apartment was wonderfully full with a warm feeling in their bellies.

The End.

(and don't worry, I didn't feed it to the cats.)