Recipe – Cranberry Turkey Quesadillas

When I found this recipe on Foodgawker a few weeks back for Rosemary Scented Quesadillas, I knew it would be a perfect fall dinner.  Cranberry, turkey, rosemary…hmmm yum!

I didn’t think I would end up changing a lot of things, but I did omit quite a few steps to make the process easier so I think this qualifies as one of my originals :)  Instead of doing a cranberry salsa on the side, I actually combined the cranberry mixture in with the ground turkey and cooked everything together.  The flavor turned out AMAZING – it was like eating a mini Thanksgiving Dinner.  Only thing missing was the stuffing!

These are not your average cheesy and greasy quesadillas.  They are filling and the ground turkey is such a unique addition – they’re almost more like tacos than quesadillas.  I didn’t figure out the calorie content on these, but I would think they’re pretty healthy.

  

Cranberry Turkey Quesadillas – inspired by Made Famous By 

Ingredients:

• 3 stalks celery, minced, divided
• 1 small yellow onion,  minced, divided
• 1 package of Craisins (about 4 oz) 
• 1 large pear, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• Juice 1 orange (divided in halves)
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1lb ground turkey
• 6 low-carb tortillas (6-inch diameter)
• 1 cup of reduced-fat Mexican cheese (divided for 6 tortillas)
• Cooking spray

Let’s Get Cooking:

• In a medium bowl, combine cranberries, celery, onion, pear, garlic and half of the orange juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium for 1 minute.  Add cranberry mixture to the skillet and sauté, stirring occasionally for 7-10 minutes.
• Add turkey to the skillet and continue to stir occasionally.  Add in rosemary and remaining orange juice and sauté mixture for another 2 minutes.
• Drain turkey mixture using a colander.  Transfer mixture back to original medium bowl.
• Carefully wipe out skillet and then return to medium heat.  Spray a small amount of cooking spray onto the skillet and then add one tortilla.  Top the tortilla with ¼ cup turkey mixture and a few sprinkles of cheese.
• Cook the tortilla for 2-3 minutes until bottom side is slightly browned. With a heatproof spatula, fold 1 side of the tortilla over to make a half-circle (you may need to use the spatula to hold down the top to keep the shape).  Cook for 1 more minute. 
• Continue process with remaining tortillas and cranberry turkey mixture.  Serve immediately!

I did not serve these with anything but when I make these again in the future I may try to add some sort of a mayo or dipping sauce…I don’t think sour cream would be right so I’ll have to work on this for next time :)

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