Black Bean & Corn Quesadillas

We love quesadillas around here. Any excuse to eat melted cheese is welcome. When you make a plain cheese quesadilla with nothing else, it is so boring. And if you make it with a corn tortilla, it is even more boring. However if you add fun and exciting things like black beans or chicken or avocado or olives or… well I am sure you get the idea. One of our go to additions is black beans and corn.

 Here is what you need:

Tortillas one for each quesadilla, you can use any kind of tortilla you wish. If you use corn, be aware that they will break in half very easily when they are not heated.

Butter or margarine.

Grated cheese. I have cheddar in the picture but any combination of cheddar, jack, pepper jack, Colby or even mozzarella will do. I use about ¼ cup per quesadilla I think. I never measure, I just sprinkle, er um, pile it on.

Frozen corn about 2 cups

1 can of black beans drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon or so of taco seasoning (store bought or you can make your own.)

Here is what you do:

 In a bowl combine the black beans, frozen corn and the taco seasoning. Heat the mixture in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove just until the corn is no longer frozen; a minute or two in the microwave and probably about 5 on the stove. Spread a little butter on one side of the tortilla and place on the hot griddle or pan (about med high?) Whatever temp you would use for grilled cheese. On the Griddler (it’s like a Panini press), I set the temp to medium high. Sprinkle some cheese on the tortilla and then spoon a few table spoons of the bean/corn mixture on one side. Sprinkle a bit more cheese on top of that and then gently fold over the side that doesn’t have the mixture. Let it cook for a few minutes until it is golden brown and then flip.

The second side only needs a couple of minutes.
The quesadilla is done when the cheese is melted and the tortilla is golden on both sides.
You can put these on a Panini press and get the lovely grill marks with no need to flip. Just prep and then close the grill. They cook in half the time and look cool with the marks.

We eat these with salsa and sometimes sour cream or guacamole or even refried beans.