Quesadillas and Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Delicious

I was inspired by Vivacious Vegan's post on quesadillas here. You can make them with almost anything, but I used a low carb tortilla with refried black beans, fresh salsa from whole foods, black olives, and jalapenos. I thought about sauteing some spinach but I was soooo hungry. I served it with a simple tomato, cucumber, avocado salad dressed with some lemon juice and zest. Fold in half and toast in a non stick plan-I did not use oil but I guess you could. TIP: if you need to make a lot of quesadillas for a party (see my Superbowl post on sweet potato quesadillas) set the oven to 350. Lightly spray a cookie sheet and place quesadillas on it. Flip after 5 min and cook 5-7 minutes more. Let cool a bit and slice with a pizza cutter.

Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby and we will be going out to western MA to party hardy with my family. I wanted to bring something yummy but not too sweet for an afternoon garden party. I've made a lot o cookies lately and so I decided to make my favorite muffins. I made these a lot this fall because they are great around the holidays, but I missed them so they are coming out one last time before summer!
Pumpkin Cranberry Orange Muffins
2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ea. cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg
1 cup maple syrup
1 can of pumpkin
1/2 c applesauce
Juice of 1/2 orange and zest of whole orange
1/2 cup orange flavored cranberries (from Trader Joe's or just use regular ones)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
NOTE: You can use pumpkin pie filling and omit spices and 1/2 cup maple syrup

Set oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients, then add dry, fold in nuts and berries, and fill lightly greased muffin cups 1/2 way. Bake 14-17 min.