Butternut Squash Quesadilla with Avocado Cream

I am a die hard fan of Cactus Restaurant's butternut squash enchilada.  Its so rich and creamy and very filling.  Plus, it has some goat cheese mixed in which is a bonus!  I stumbled across a quesadilla recipe last week and it looked delicious, fairly basic and a close resemblance to Cactus' specialty enchilada.

I made some tweaks to the recipe to make it my own, and am proud to say I now have an easy homemade version of one of my favorite enchiladas... in quesadilla form!

Cube about two cups of butternut squash and toss with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, two teaspoons ground cumin and a dash of salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  As a real time saver, buy a package of frozen butternut squash. Whole Foods sells frozen, cubed butternut squash and the package contains 2 cups! Perfect!  And this is usually less expensive than buying a whole squash that you then have to peel, seed and cube.

While the squash is roasting, combine one small container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt with a mashed avocado and juice from one lime (a couple tablespoons worth).  Mix well and set aside.  

*I used one 6oz container of nonfat, plain Greek yogurt and this made plenty of sauce.

When the squash is ready, heat a pan on the stove to medium.  Add a dash of olive oil to the pan and let warm up.  Take three large tortillas and cover each with about 1/3 cup goat cheese. 

One at a time, place the tortilla in the pan to warm and brown.  On one half of the tortilla, sprinkle with 1/4-1/3 cup of drained and rinsed black beans, a handful of baby spinach, and one third of the squash.  Fold over tortilla and let heat up and brown.  Flip to brown both sides evenly.

Remove from pan and cut in to wedges.  Serve with a dollop of avocado sauce and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro (cilantro is optional).  Enjoy!  And don't be fooled by what seem like a small portion, these are pretty filling and rich. Serve alongside some Mexican rice and slices of watermelon for a more filling and refreshing meal.

Jodi's Butternut Squash Quesadilla with Avocado Cream

3 large tortillas

2 c. cubed butternut squash (can use frozen, cubed squash)

1 c. goat cheese (I buy ours from Costco... two huge logs of it. Heaven...)

1 can black beans, rinsed/drained

3 handfuls of baby spinach

1 avocado

1 6-8oz container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 lime, juiced

2 tsp ground cumin

olive oil

salt and pepper

cilantro, optional