Cheever Sauce

¿Te gusta la comida Mexicana? Same here. After recently getting back from a work trip in LA, I find the city’s culinary triumphs usually stick with me upon my return. Yes, NYC is home to some of the best pizza, bagels, and pasta in the country, but I have to say, Los Angeles has got its Mexican food down to la perfección. Even the Manhattan favorite La Esquina pales in comparison to the mom and pop restaurants that line the Hollywood hills.

Still in a full craving mode this week, I wanted to cook a delicious Mexican meal, but still keep it CheeverSauce friendly. Also, Mexican food is great to make for dinner because it still tastes delicious (if not better) the next day for lunch. And we all know how I feel about lunch.  I decided going the salad route was the safest bet, but because I sacrificed tortillas and cheese in this recipe, I had to make sure all the other ingredients popped with flavor. This meant sautéing shredded chicken with chili powder and spices, and adding other hearty yet healthy ingredients, like a black bean and yellow corn salsa. I also swapped sour cream for Fage 0% Greek yogurt and I swear (trust me, my roommate was originally skeptical at first, only to completely take back her original doubts once she ate it) you can hardly taste the difference. While completely eliminating the fat, yet still offering a creamy texture and sweetly sour taste, Greek yogurt is the best healthy replacement to sour cream. 

I know a lot of you die hard Mexican fans may think this salad isn’t true Mexican fair and I can’t agree with you more. Trust me, I wanted to melt cheese all over this. But I can promise you it is an amazing healthy alternative packed with authentic flavors, and it completely satisfied my Mexican food cravings until I get to fly back to LA - or even Mexico - for the real thing. :) 

Onward to the recipe:

Who doesn’t like a Quesadilla? This is one Mexican food favorite I can never turn down so I thought it was only appropriate to cook and post the dish here.

Chicken…Beef…Veggies…add any of these with melted cheese and wrap it up in a warm tortilla and it doesn’t get much better than that. I like this recipe because it calls for a can of black beans, which is a lot easier to prepare than chicken or beef, and is still such a good source of protein. The mix between the sharpness of the Monterey Jack cheese and softness of the light, creamy textured goat cheese, balance off all these ingredients perfectly (I know I know, I am always blabbing about the mixing and the perfect balancing of ingredients…but its true!) Oh, and the dish is pulled together with THE ingredient of all ingredients: cilantro. Enough said.

1. Combine in a bowl 1 can of drained black beans, 1 small log of coat cheese (crumbled), a large handful of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 2 minced jalapenos (stem and seeds removed), 1 head of minced cilantro, 4 dashes of ground cumin, dash of salt, and dash of pepper.  (CheeverSauce tip of the day: do not mix this with your hands, try to use a spoon. Don’t mix this with your hands especially if you’re going to a Bikram Yoga class that’s 101 degree room will open your pores and absorb hot jalapeno juice. To say my hands were on FIRE is an understatement).

   Keep reading to get the rest of the recipe.