Mushroom and Sausage Quesadilla with Gruyere Cheese

 Of late, quesadillas are my favorite things to make. I love using the whole-wheat tortillas from Trader Joes. In fact my daughter takes them for lunch at least once or twice a week. I feel good about the low-fat cheese I use and the whole-wheat tortillas. A bag of carrots completes the meal for her.

They make a good snack or even a meal. In this case I made a meal out of them. I wanted to use mushrooms and maybe sausage to add some protein. I bought some cremini mushrooms and Gruyere cheese for the meal. I use creminis because of the brown color, I love the way they look- in terms of taste, they are very similar to the white ones- so use any you want. I love Gruyere, it is typically used for fondues and so it melts really well. I prefer it’s mild, nutty flavor- it goes with any thing!

For this meal I sauteed the mushrooms with chicken sausages I had in my freezer, and some garlic. The mixture took a few minutes to make. In the meantime, I grated the cheese and was ready to make the quesadillas.

I had fresh tomatillos from the farmer’s market. I wanted to make a vibrant salsa to serve with the quesadillas. The processor did all the work for me and I had a yummy tasting condiment in no time.

Overall, it was a simple, fast and delicious weeknight meal. I served a green salad with it and called it a night!

• 1 pound Cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt
• 3 links chicken sausages, Italian, casing removed and crumbled

In a large non-stick pan, heat the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 5-6 minutes on medium high heat. Add salt and the chicken sausages. Saute for another 5-6 minutes till the sausages are cooked through. Divide the mixture into 4 parts and keep aside.

• 8 whole-wheat tortillas
• 2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 4 teaspoons olive oil

Heat one teaspoon oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add on tortilla and ½ cup shredded cheese. Add a quarter of the mushroom mixture and place the second tortilla on top. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat on both sides. Cut into wedges and serve with the tomatillo salsa.
Repeat the process 3 more times.

Leave any leftover sausage mixture for breakfast the next day!

Tomatillo Salsa

• 5-6 medium tomatillos, husks removed and roughly chopped
• ½ medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• Juice of a large lime
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

In a food processor add the onion, garlic and cilantro. Process for a minute or till everything is chopped fine. Add the tomatillos and process for another minute or two till a smooth sauce is formed. Add the limejuice, olive oil and salt. Check for seasonings and take out in a bowl to serve with the quesadillas.