Black Bean Sweet Potato Quesadilla

My family loves quesadillas, I make them for dinner a few times a month and pack them for lunches at least once a week.  We usually keep the fillings pretty basic - chicken, beef, black beans, cheese - and serve them with sour cream, salsa and avocado.  They are always tasty and filling, we enjoy them, but having the same thing over and over can get a little tiresome, so this week I decided to mix things up.

Black bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas.

These aren't a crazy flavor change, the base flavoring are basically the same as our typical quesadillas, but the sweet potato flavor is a nice change.  Plus we love cooking with sweet potatoes because it gives us a chance to sing the Sweet Potato song from this fun book - if you don't know it you have to go read it.  

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadilla

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Sweet Potato filling
2 large sweet potato
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven 375°
Peel and cut sweet potatoes into thin rounds.  Place in bowl drizzle with olive oil and add seasoning.  Toss until thoroughly coated.  Arrange potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet.   Bake for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft and slightly brown.  

Black Bean Filling
1 large can black beans
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning mix
½ cup salsa

Drain and rinse beans.  In a skillet add a drizzle of olive oil and warm pan over medium heat, add garlic cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add beans, seasoning mix and salsa cook until warm.

Quesadilla assembly
Tortillas
Sweet potato filling
Black bean filling
Salsa
Monterey cheese, shredded

Over a medium heat, in a skillet lightly coated with oil, warm both sides of one tortilla, just until light golden brown.  Remove from pan and add second tortilla, again lightly browning both sides.  When browning second side add a spoonful of each filling, salsa and a handful of cheese.  Top with the first tortilla, cover with a lid that will press the tortilla down.   Cook until cheese begins to melt.

Keep warm in 200° oven, while assembling additional quesadillas.  

Serve with salsa, avocado or sour cream