An Olympic Effort

Olympic fever has hit our house, with the hubs reporting on and watching almost every event possible. I have to admit, even when the hubs isn't around to lord over the TV (and he was gone doing his Man Weekend thing most of this weekend), I switch on the channels to try and get a glimpse of my boy Lochte or listen to some of the inspiring stories that inevitably make me get a little choked up every time. I'm a total softy at the core. Just don't tell anyone.

While tonight's feast would certainly not make for a carb-loading pre-race choice, it was a major effort in prep work. Once all of the chopping was complete, the sprint to the finish was almost as fast as Lolo Jones. (See how I did that?!)

Rosemary-Scented Turkey Quesadillas
Source: Clean Eating, November/December 2011

Ingredients:

• 8 stalks celery, minced
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 4 oz fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped (thaw if frozen)
• 1 large green pear, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• juice 1 orange
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp evoo
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 10oz ground turkey
• 8 corn tortillas (6-inch)
• 2 oz shredded mozzarella

Directions:

• Make salsa: Combine 2 stalks celery, half onion, cranberries, pear, 1 clove garlic and OJ. Add 1/4 tsp sea salt. Set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on med for 1 min. Add remaining celery and onion and saute for 3 mins. Stir in rosemary, remaining garlic and 1/4 tsp sea salt and saute for 2 mins. Add turkey and cook for 5 mins. Drain turkey mix and transfer to a large bowl.
• Wipe out skillet and return to med heat. Working in batches, add tortillas to skillet (I could do 3 at a time). Top each with 1/4 c. turkey mix and 1 tbsp cheese and cook for 3 mins. Gently fold 1 side of each tortilla over to make half circles and cook for one more minute, lightly pressing the top of the tortillas down. Repeat with remaining tortillas, etc. Serve with salsa.

Yield: 4 servings (2 quesadillas and 1/2 c. salsa)
Per serving: 345 cals; 10g fat (4g sat, 1g mono, 1g poly); 42g carbs; 7g fiber; 23g protein; 523mg sodium; 65mg chol.

Reviews:
Ugh - the prep on this was annoying. I could have bought pre-minced celery and onions, but I decided to chop away. Regardless, once it was done, it was super fast to cook. I am not a big fan of cooking food in batches because we eat as a family (sans baby, who for now goes to bed way too early), and I always try hard to make sure the food I serve is very hot and fresh. As far as taste - I was kind of expecting the boys to turn their noses up at this one, due to the carefully chopped fruit - but I was pleasantly surprised as the hubs really liked the salsa. The kid? Not so much. Me? Not worth the effort, but it made the entire meal very fresh tasting. The quesadillas were good - despite the batch annoyance, I liked the overall effect once they were done.

Ranking:
Silver (Get it? Going with the medal ranking this week). Good taste, major effort.

Nothing silver about this performance! Lochte Nation!