Veggie Quesadillas

Tonight's dinner choice came about thanks to my co-worker Darrell. He fixed one of his famous chicken, mushroom, artichoke and red pepper quesadillas in the kitchen next to my office. All I can say is...the smell of them cooking is torture!! I knew I had everything at the house with the exception of the fresh mushrooms and the right kind of artichokes.
We were discussing how the last time we bought artichokes from Wmart, all they had were the plain ones. You'll want the marinated ones as they add a better flavor. The Dollar Tree keeps Fire Roasted and Roasted Red Peppers on the shelf. For $1 you can afford to keep plenty of jars in your pantry. I really wasn't feeling the chicken so I opted for refried beans instead. If I'm fixing refried bean quesadillas, I usually stir in about half a pack of taco seasoning after I warm the beans up. With the flavor of the roasted red peppers and artichokes, I thought Cajun seasoning would be better. The hardest part of fixing these is chopping the veggies. It's worth it!

• Ingredients

• 1 can refried beans
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• Fresh baby spinach
• Chopped onions (red is better, but I had sweet white)
• Sliced black olives
• Sliced mushrooms
• Sliced roasted red peppers (from water-packed jar)
• Sliced artichokes (marinated in can or jar)
• Shredded Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese, for each quesadilla
• Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning

Optional:

Guacamole, sour cream or salsa 

Directions

Sliced veggies. Warm refried beans in microwave to make it easier to spread. Pre-heat skillet on medium heat. 

Brush bottom of tortilla with butter. Spread refried beans on one half of tortilla. Top with onions,  mushrooms, red peppers, black olives and artichokes. Top veggies with shredded cheese and season to your taste with Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning. Fold over tortillas, making a half moon. Place quesadillas in skillet and cook approximately 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and cheese melts. Let set on a cutting board until you get the next one started. With a large knife, cut into halves.