When it comes to preparing meals, lunch stumps me far more than either breakfast or dinner. Breakfast is no problem – usually something quick and easy, like oatmeal, cereal or even fruit and yogurt. I never struggle for dinner ideas either (though motivation is sometimes a problem), plus we have quite a few go-to recipes I can turn to if all else fails. But lunch… I guess you could say I’m picky and a lot of the traditional lunch ideas (think soups, sandwiches, salads, etc.) don’t appeal to me at all. I do enjoy grilled cheese quite a bit but over time I’ve convinced myself that it’s not the healthiest thing to eat for lunch on a daily basis. So, needless to say, I’m always on the lookout for new ideas, anything that will make my mid-day meal less of a struggle.
I came upon these quesadillas in an issue of Eating Well I borrowed from the library recently and what a find they’ve been! I love quesadillas so I’m not sure why the idea of making them at home never crossed my mind previously. Mushrooms and onions are one of my favorite combinations – they’re my pizza toppings of choice – so it wasn’t too surprising that I really enjoyed these quesadillas. I made them earlier this week and enjoyed them so much I made them for lunch again the next day. I found myself at the store yesterday picking up a few things, including more mushrooms so I could yet again have quesadillas! I’m sure the novelty will wear off, but for now they’re the perfect lunch – quick and easy, substantial enough to hold me over for quite a while and sooo delicious!
The first day I made this recipe I followed it almost exactly. The only change I made was to reduce the amount of barbecue sauce (the amount listed below is the reduced amount I used, not the original) based on some of the reviews of the recipe on Eating Well’s site. When I cut the mushrooms up, it seemed like there were way too many, but they cook down quite a bit so don’t be concerned. Also, I didn’t measure the cheese – I just spread it over the tortilla until I had a layer that covered one half. I used two tortillas as the recipe suggested, but my toppings were spilling out of the sides so I think you could even stretch your filling to make three (or use slightly larger tortillas to make two). The second day I made quesadillas, I used crimini mushrooms, more red onion and skipped the barbecue sauce mixture. They were still terrific and the best part is there are a ton of other flavor combinations to try so hopefully I won’t get sick of this lunch for a while!
Barbecue Portobello Quesadillas
adapted from Eating Well (as seen here)
2-3 tablespoons prepared barbecue sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1/2 pound portobello mushroom caps, (about 2 1/2 medium), gills removed (a spoon works well), diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
2 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
6 tablespoons shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Combine barbecue sauce, tomato paste, vinegar and chipotle in a medium bowl.
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until the onion and mushrooms are beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with the barbecue sauce; stir to combine. Wipe out the pan.
Place the tortillas on a work surface. Spread 3 tablespoons of cheese on half of each tortilla and top with half of the filling. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently to flatten.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the quesadillas and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Cut each quesadilla into wedges (a pizza cutter does the job nicely) and serve.
These smoky flavors sound just perfect for portabello mushrooms. I bookmarked this and can’t wait to try it!
These look absolutely delicious! Chipotle and mushrooms…can’t wait to try this.
You and I are like minded on so many things, Tracey. I have lunch issues, too. These quesadillas sound delicious because I love just about anything with barbecue sauce. I can’t wait to try these soon.
Yes, get tired of sammys, soup, salad. This quesadilla is perfect and quick. I made one w/out the sauce and it was good. Next time will try with BBQ sauce.
chipotle is my favorite chilli, and added to a quesadilla…heaven on a plate, well done! cheers from london
Ooooh yum!! I love mushroom quesadillas, so I must try these ASAP!! They look awesome!
-Amy
http://www.singforyoursupperblog.com
These look awesome Tracey and healthy too since they are meatless. I’m a sucker for anything BBQ so I could see myself very happy if I had one of these in front of me right now.
What great flavor! I am always up for portobellos!
Your post makes me feel so much better… I have lunch issues, too. My hubby is fine with slapping a piece of meat between two slices of bread and calling it lunch, but that doesn’t do it for me. I also have cold food and leftovers issues, which makes it even more complicated. Maybe we should start a support group? LOL… I make quesadillas a lot for lunch, and I will definitely try this recipe!
These look insanely good. I even have portobello mushrooms and whole wheat tortillas. Thanks for posting these…I can’t wait to make them!
Yum…cheesy goodness.
I never thought of using portobello mushrooms in quesadillas before. It looks amazing.
Sounds great. I love making quesadillas, everyone can have them the way they like them.
Peace, Stephanie
I’ve put a lot of things in quesadillas in my time, but I never thought to try mushroom. I will now.
Mimi
These portobello quesadillas sound really good!
I made this tonight. Delicious. Next time I would go lighter on the BBQ sauce (very strong flavor) and even substitute chicken or steak for the mushrooms. Maybe even toss in some frozen corn? I could not find the chipotle in adobo (not even sure what it is), so I added a few shakes of Goya’s Adobo seasoning. We used much larger plain tortillas – two fit side by side in a huge pan and they cooked perfectly. Loved this recipe! Thanks.