Creamy Chilled Tomato Soup With Black Bean Pepper Jack Quesadillas Food

BLACK BEAN QUESADILLAS WITH PEPPER JACK CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat a pot or a large pan over medium heat. Add the oil, onion, bell pepper, poblano pepper, corn, jalapeño and garlic. Saute until cooked through - about 5 minutes.
• Heat the refried beans in a small pot, add taco seasoning to flavor the beans (to taste)
• Once the veggies have cooked, add the cumin, chili powder and salt to taste.
• Meanwhile, grate the pepper jack cheese and set aside.
• Assemble your quesadilla and get ready to cook it! First, take your tortilla and slather half of it with the refried black bean mixture (about 1/4 cup per tortilla). Top it with the veggies (1/4 the veggie mixture). And then top it with the cheese (1 oz per quesadilla).
• Fold the quesadilla in half. Spray a large pan with the olive oil cooking spray, and let the quesadilla cook until it's brown and crispy. Flip it to cook the other side and continue cooking until the cheese has melted and both sides are crisp.
• Cut into slices, serve with salsa, guacamole or 2% Greek Yogurt.

HOMEMADE CREAMY TOMATO SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the oil or butter. When the oil shimmers (or the butter melts), add 1 chopped onion.
• Season with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil.
• Saute until the onions are lightly browned, 5-8 minutes.
• Add 3 cloves of minced garlic (about a tablespoon) and saute for 1 more minute.
• Add the can of whole tomatoes (with juices) and the can of diced tomatoes (with juices). Add 4 cups chicken broth.
• Turn the heat up to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook for at least 10 minutes, or up to 45 minutes if you have the time.
• Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup. If you do not have an immersion blender (why, why??) then let the soup cool for a couple minutes before transferring to a blender. You will have to do it in a few batches. Do not fill the blender to the fill line; add less than you think. The soup is very hot and will expand when blended, which could overflow your blender and splatter you with molten hot lava tomato soup. The other thing I recommend is to take out the little spout at the top of the blender and hold a towel over the top of the lid while blending. This will allow steam to escape and you will be able to avoid tomato soup Pompeii.
• Once all the soup is blended, heat it back up again on the stove if necessary. Turn off the heat and slowly stir in 1/2 to 1 cup cream.
• If you want, chop up about 1/2 cup basil and stir it into the soup, or top each serving with fresh basil.
• Serve warm with grilled cheese sandwiches! If you want you can cut sandwiches into tiny "croutons" and put them in your soup like in the photos. But...they get soggy pretty much right away. So unless you are taking photos of your soup to put on the internet, I say just dip your sandwich!

CHICKEN AND PEPPER JACK QUESADILLAS WITH CILANTRO SLAW

Steps:

• Toss the coleslaw mix with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk the lime juice, garlic, cilantro, vegetable oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a small bowl.
• Lay out the tortillas and sprinkle the cheese on half of each. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and layer on top of the cheese. Fold the tortillas in half. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 quesadillas and cook, turning once, until browned and crisp and the cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and repeat with the remaining butter and quesadillas.
• Cut the quesadillas into wedges and divide among plates. Add the lettuce and lime dressing to the coleslaw mix, toss to combine and season with salt and pepper. Add to the plates and drizzle the quesadillas with the crema.

BACON JACK AND JALAPENO QUESADILLAS

Steps:

• Guacamole: Coarsely mash the avocado in a large bowl. Add the tomato, scallions, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno, and garlic until blended. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
• Quesadillas: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Lightly spray a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Crumble and set aside.
• To the same skillet, add the scallions, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat, until the scallions are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Place the tortillas on the baking sheet; sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 of the scallion mixture, and 1/3 of the bacon over half of each tortilla. Fold the unfilled half of each tortilla over the filling. Lightly spray the quesadillas with cooking spray. Bake until lightly browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges and serve with the guacamole and sour cream, if using. Garnish with cilantro.

CREAMY ORZO

Steps:

• Bring a heavy large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the cream and peas. Add the orzo and toss to coat. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the Parmesan to the pasta mixture and toss to coat. Stir the pasta mixture until the sauce coats the pasta thickly, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to maintain a creamy consistency. Season the orzo with salt and pepper, and serve.

CHILLED BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a blender, combine tomatoes and V8 juice; cover and process just until blended. , Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the beans, chopped cucumber, sweet pepper, onion, vinegar, sugar and seasonings. , Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve with sour cream. Garnish with sliced cucumber if desired.

EASY PEPPER JACK CHEESE QUESADILLAS

Steps:

• To assemble quesadilla, place one tortilla on a dinner plate. Arrange sliced cheese atop tortilla, leaving at least 1/2 inch space from the edge of the tortilla. Arrange sliced tomatoes atop cheese layer followed by another layer of cheese (remaining). Top with remaining tortilla.
• While assembling the quesadillas, preheat an electric griddle to 350 F (or grill to medium-high heat). I use a griddle (rather than a grill) to cook quesadillas, as it is easier to turn them without losing their insides.
• Brush 1 tbs. olive oil onto the griddle, covering the surface. Brush the remaining 1 tbs. olive oil onto the top exposed tortilla. Gently slide the quesadilla from the dinner plate onto the griddle (olive oil-less side down).
• Cook for 5-7 minutes or until bottom tortilla begins to brown. With a large spatula, gently but swiftly turn quesadilla to brown other side. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until bottom tortilla begins to brown. Remove to a cutting board and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Slice into quarters and serve immediately with garnish of your preference. I like to use sour cream, salsa or guacamole. For this particular recipe, I served it with my Easy Tex-Mex Tomato Soup.

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Put the oil, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and bay leaves in a big casserole dish, or two saucepans. Fry gently until the onions are softened - about 10-15 mins. Fill the kettle and boil it.
• Stir in the tomato purée, sugar, vinegar, chopped tomatoes and passata, then crumble in the stock cubes. Add 1 litre boiling water and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15 mins until the potato is tender, then remove the bay leaves. Purée with a stick blender (or ladle into a blender in batches) until very smooth. Season to taste and add a pinch more sugar if it needs it. The soup can now be cooled and chilled for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
• To serve, reheat the soup, stirring in the milk - try not to let it boil. Serve in small bowls for the children with cheesy sausage rolls then later in bowls for the adults as Hot Bloody Mary soup (see 'Goes well with' recipes, below).