Cheesy Mushroom and Jalapeño Quesadillas

These quesadillas are quick, simple and oh so delicious!! I made them for myself for a quick dinner Sunday night while the husband ate chicken wings and watched football. I will definitely have to make them again. They are sooooo good!!!

Cheesy Mushroom and Jalapeño Quesadillas

8 oz. package sliced mushrooms
2 medium or large size flour tortillas
~4 tbls. unsalted butter
4 jalapeños, sliced
~1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
salt
pepper
worcestershire sauce
cilantro, sour cream for topping

Saute the mushrooms with about 1 tbls. butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Season with salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce. Saute about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Heat another pan with a pat of butter and brown the tortillas. Probably about 2 minutes on each side. Set these aside.

Then saute the jalapenos in some butter for about 5 minutes.

Now you're ready to build your awesome quesadilla. One tortilla in the bottom of the pan on medium heat. Layer the cheese on the bottom, then top with sauteed mushrooms, jalapenos and place the second tortilla on top.

Cook until the cheese is melted and oh so yummy. Remove to a plate and cut into fourths. Put a dollop of sour cream in the middle and then sprinkle on some cilantro. That's it!

Enjoy!!!

Notes: This could be great for an appetizer, a snack or a meal. You could also serve with some salsa or guacamole.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

With all this winter weather swirling about, I thought beef stew would be perfect. I have made this recipe a couple times and I think I finally perfected it. It's warm, hearty and really delicious. The leftovers were gone in one day! So bundle up and make some stew!!

Beef Stew

~1.5 lbs. of stew beef, cut into bite-size chunks
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cups of low sodium beef broth
2-3 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, rough chop
1 tsp. sugar
pepper
paprika
3 bay leaves
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
4 ribs celery, sliced
4 red potatoes, quartered
Tabasco (if you like the spice)

Heat the veg. oil on low in the crockpot (you could also make this in a dutch oven) and add the beef, spices, garlic, and worcestershire sauce.

While that starts to slow cook, wash and chop all the vegetables. Add the remaining ingredients to the crockpot and gently stir to combine.

Cook everything on low for about 2-3 hours, then turn to high for about 5 hours. Dash Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce on top.

Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Notes: This is so delicious! Seriously. It's delicious. If you like a thick, more stew-like consistency you could add some cornstarch to the broth at the end. We like it prepared as listed above. Husband had 2 heaping bowls and I had a very large bowl. The meat was so tender and juicy you could cut it with a spoon. This is so tasty and pretty healthy too!! Next time I think I will serve it up with some cornbread to soak up the tasty juices in the bottom of the bowl. Enjoy!!

Servings: 6
Cook time: 7-8 hours

New Year, New Books

I'm not super-keen on New Year's resolutions, but I usually make a couple just for kicks. This year, at the top of my list, I want to read more. Books, magazines, newspapers, you name it and I need to read it. I really loved reading as a child and still do...so here's to starting and finishing plenty of good reads in 2014!

I already have a healthy start from the Christmas loot. Check out what I will be reading below!! Cookbooks (love Giada), history, fun reads and I even threw in my new Sodoku book

Happy New Year!!!!