Another quick weeknight dinner (inexpensive,too)

Quesadillas are one of my guilty pleasures, although I rarely indulge in the cheesy ones at restaurants. It isn't just the cheese; what bothers me more is the trans fats in most mass produced tortillas, especially flour tortillas.
When you make quesadillas at home, you can select the best tortillas and control what goes inside them.
Here's a recipe for some very tasty and healthful sandwiches.

NOTE: When selecting tortillas at the store, read the ingredients label and avoid those that say "partially hydrogenated" anything. Even if the nutrition label claims the product has zero grams of trans fat, that's often misleading because it's per serving, and if the designated serving size (usually way less than we'd eat) has less than a gram of trans fat, they can claim "zero" grams. The stuff still adds up, even at .75 grams per serving.

RECIPE: Turkey and Onion Quesadillas
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 8 slices deli turkey, preferably smoked (8 ounces)

Preparation

1. Combine onion and vinegar in a bowl; let marinate for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the vinegar for another use, such as salad dressing.
2. Warm 2 tortillas in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about 45 seconds, then flip. Pull the tortillas up the edges of the pan so they are no longer overlapping. Working on one half of each tortilla, sprinkle one-fourth of the cheese, cover with 2 slices of turkey and top with one-fourth of the onion. Fold the tortillas in half, flatten gently with a spatula and cook until the cheese starts to melt, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side is golden, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Make 2 more quesadillas with the remaining ingredients.

Adapted from Eating Well magazine

Grilled eggplant sandwich -- go meatless!

Processed lunch meats are some of the worst foods we can eat, health-wise, although if you buy nitrate-free, no antibiotics sliced turkey, it's not bad for you.
If you want something a little more ambitious, not to mention really tasty, try this vegetarian treat.

Recipe: Grilled Eggplant and Portobello Sandwich
(makes 4 sandwiches)

Ingredients:

• 1 clove(s) (small) garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup(s) low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon(s) lemon juice
• 1 medium (about 1 pound) eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 large portobello mushroom caps, gills removed
• Canola or olive oil cooking spray
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
• 8 slice(s) whole-wheat sandwich bread, lightly grilled or toasted
• 2 cup(s) arugula or spinach, stemmed and chopped if large
• 1 large tomato, sliced

Instructions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.
2. Mash garlic into a paste on a cutting board with the back of a spoon. Combine with mayonnaise and lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Coat both sides of eggplant rounds and mushroom caps with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables, turning once, until tender and browned on both sides: 2 to 3 minutes per side for eggplant, 3 to 4 minutes for mushrooms. When cool enough to handle, slice the mushrooms.
4. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic mayonnaise on each piece of bread. Layer the eggplant, mushrooms, arugula (or spinach), and tomato slices onto 4 slices of bread and top with the remaining bread.