Roasted red bell pepper makes Pimiento Cheese Quesadillas a standout.

As already has been established in this blog, I’d walk a mile for a good pimiento-cheese sandwich. If any magazine contains a PC recipe, I’m drawn to it like a magnet. I blitz to add it to my collection of great ways to prepare this Southern concoction.

But I never had imagined pimiento cheese spread on tortillas to make quesadillas. Prevention magazine’s September 2011 edition took care of that with its recipe section on perfect pairings. It paired the quesadillas featured here with Tortilla Soup, which I’ll feature in the very near future (attractive to me since the soup recipe includes squash).

The appealing feature about these quesadillas is that instead of opening a jar of grocery-store-ready canned pimientos, you make your own by sautéeing a small amount of chopped red bell pepper in a small skillet coated with cooking spray. When the pepper begins to brown and starts to soften, take it off the burner and mix it into the grated cheese. The red pepper’s what unlocks the door in this recipe. It kicks what could be just another spread WAY up another notch.

Once the spread covered half the tortilla, I folded the top over it and cooked it on my countertop grill. Easy! Waiting to cut it into wedges until after the quesadilla cools is important so the little cheese sandwiches will harden a little and not cut jaggedy.

Don’t need to convince me that pimiento cheese is God’s ultimate gift to the palate; here’s just one more way that it shines.

Grilled Pimiento-Cheese Quesadillas

2 ounces yellow Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

1 tablespoon 0% Greek-style yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped roasted red bell pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon minced onion

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Mix together the first 6 ingredients for pimiento cheese (makes 1/2 cup). Spread each of 4 tortillas evenly with 2 tablespoons of the pimiento cheese. Top with remaining tortillas; press to adhere. Heat grill pan coated with olive oil spray over medium-high heat (can also use countertop grill sprayed well). Grill quesadillas in batches; turn once until golden on both sides and cheese is melted, about 4 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut into wedges. Makes 4 servings.

Thoughts of spring not far away with this Three-Leaf Salad

When we left for our Westward journey some weeks back, our part of Texas still was in the clutches of icy winter. We’ve returned to glorious spring—gorgeous, bright days, jonquils filling the flowerbeds, mild temperatures. What a transition—hooray!

On return, one of the first things we did was to inspect how the garden had fared during Jack Frost’s icy grip. The lettuce leaves that we thought might be so tender that they would succumb actually were hale and hardy. Onions seemed OK, too. Harvest days for our winter plantings may be just around the corner.

I had spotted this recipe earlier and had thought it would be a wonderful celebratory dish when we bring in our own crunchy lettuce. I couldn’t wait to try it, however, so into the salad bowl went three kinds of storebought greens. Hopefully our own will be ready for the next serving.

The ingredients were so simple, I couldn’t imagine how tasty this salad would be. But after downing one bowlful I kept going back for more. I also couldn’t help but think that this should be relegated to the Christmas-recipe section of my binder—the bright red of the pepper and the holiday green of the lettuce and spinach were Christmas colors, for sure.

But thoughts of next Christmas don’t linger around too long with these pretty springlike days that get us ready for one of the most beautiful seasons of all. Can planting our next garden be too far behind?

Three-Leaf Salad

1 head romaine lettuce

2 cups fresh spinach

1/4 head iceburg lettuce

1 large red Bell pepper, cored

3 tablespoons cooking oil

3 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, grated

1 teaspoon salt (I used salt substitute)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Rinse all greens and slice into thin shreds. Put shreds into a large salad bowl. Cut pepper lengthwise into thin strips; add to the bowl. In a small container blend oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Add cheese and toss again. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings.