This is my spinoff of Chili’s Quesadilla Explosion salad which is delicious, but highly caloric. For a salad, it can really weigh you down. It has 1430 calories and 96 grams of fat–more than I consume in a day on both counts. Yikes! My Quesadilla Salad has only 451 calories and 21.2 grams of fat and is every bit as tasty!
Quesadilla Only: 317 calories
Salad + Dressing Only: 134 calories
Roast Beef Quesadillas:
9 ounces Deli Roast Beef
1 Cup beef Broth
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
4 ounces light sharp white cheddar cheese
4 Low Carb Tortillas
Olive oil cooking spray
Directions:
In medium saucepan heat beef broth and seasonings over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with water to make a slurry. Whisk cornstarch into beef broth. Chop the roast beef, add to broth, and heat until warmed through and broth thickens. Remove from heat.
In a skillet, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil and add onions. Cook until onions are brown and tender (caramelized).
Scrape the onions out of the pan and set aside in a bowl.. Assemble the quesadillas in a cast iron skillet on a tortilla with 1/4 of the caramelized onion, 1/4 of the cheese (placing some as the base and then some on the top so the quesadilla adheres together), and 1/4 of the roast beef (strain off excess liquid when removing from beef broth mixture so quesadillas won’t be soggy) on one side of the tortilla.
Allow cheese to start melting and then fold the tortilla in half and heat for another minute. Remove from pan and set aside.
Repeat process for all 4 quesadillas. Cut the quesadilla into thirds and place atop the assembled salad.
Servings: 4 * Calories Per Serving: 317 * Fat: 13.1 g * Carb: 17.1 g * Fiber: 7.6 g * Protein: 30.8 g * Sugar: 1.5 g * Sodium: 628 mg * Cholesterol: 71 mg
Salad:
12 ounces Romaine lettuce
20 Black olives
2 Roma tomatoes
6 Large Pepperoncini
1 Red Bell Pepper
Directions:
Clean and spin-dry the lettuce. Slice the bell pepper and Roma tomatoes. Cut the black olives in half and the pepperoncini into thirds. Toss together in a salad bowl. Pour dressing atop the salad.
Servings: 4 * Calories Per Serving: 72 * Fat: 2.7 g * Carb: 12.6 g * Fiber: 2.6 g * Protein: 1.9 g * Sugar: 5.2 g * Sodium: 621 mg * Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sour Cream-Dijon Salad Dressing:
1/2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon shallot minced
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash of hot sauce
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Place all ingredients in food chopper or food processors. Blend until smooth.
Servings: 4 * Calories Per Serving: 62 * Fat: 5.4 g * Carb: 1.9 g * Protein: 0.7 g * Sodium: 30 mg * Cholesterol: 6 mg
