Copy Cat: Taco Bell Quesidillas

The Copy Cat series will be an ongoing series in which I attempt to re-create mine and others favorite restaurant foods.  There are always exceptions, but generally food cooked at home is more affordable than food ordered out - and often times more healthy.  Learning to create the foods we crave can save dollars and sometimes calories! 

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Ok, don't act like you didn't know about my Taco Bell addiction! 

Anyway, if you are familiar with their Quesadillas?  You know they have such a unique flavor.  I've made Quesadillas at home before and they taste nothing like the Taco Bell ones.  Usually good, but not the same. 

What's the secret? For this, I went to the internet.  Specifically: Food.com: Taco Bell Quesadillas Recipe 

Unlike my usual approach to recipes, I followed this one (almost) to the letter, which required the sourcing of these:

Jalapeno Pepper Slices

You can by them already diced too, but not the day I went at target.  However, these were being clearance which is pretty cool. (Apparently, because of a label change - the food was still fine)

The secret ingredients to creating that zesty sweet flavor are mayo and sugar.

SAUCE  (I left this part as is.)  

1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 2 teaspoons minced jalapenos , slices
• 2 teaspoons jalapeno juice , from minced jalepenos
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 dash salt

QUESADILLAS (I try not to eat processed American Cheese... if I can help it)

• 4 flour tortillas
• 4 chicken tenderloins
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• 2 slices process American cheese  

The sauce!

I fully cooked the chicken before adding it to the tortilla sandwich, which I fried in a bit of canola oil (spray kind) to get a crispy shell.

Topped with tomatoes and hot sauce

Verdict: These are amazing!  I licked my plate, and the boyfriend thinks they are more flavorful than the original.

Reality:  they are not amazing health wise:

My version of the had this for calorie counts:
Note: Depending on how much sauce, chicken and cheese you use, you may wind up with more than a serving, but I think this is as accurate as possible assuming averages.  Substituting lower calorie replacements like light mayo or low-fat cheese would be an easy fix if you are wanting to cut cals. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 110 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 361 Calories from Fat 216

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 24.0g 37%

Saturated Fat 12.2g 61%

Cholesterol 59mg 20%

Sodium 487mg 20%

Total Carbohydrates 21.3g 7%

Dietary Fiber 2.5g 10%

Sugars 2.4g

Protein 16.3g

Vitamin A 14% • Vitamin C 1% Calcium 45% • Iron 6%

Nutrition Grade C+

(source: caloriecount.com)

Cost:  I basically had everything on hand already, so the only special purchase was the Jalapeno Peppers, which were clearanced to $1.15, and I did not even come close to using all of them.  My back of the envelope math says these were about $1.06/per serving or $4.24 for the whole recipe.  The chicken being by far the most expensive part.

For comparison a Quesadilla at Taco Bell costs $2.89 (varies by store) and has 530 calories.  Not a shocking difference per say, but yeah taking out that American Cheese helps - no surprise there. 

The debate is over.

I've been doing a bit of will I / won't I dance in my head about what races I will do this year.

I decided I won't do the Olympic Tri - I had in mind.  Simply stated the equipment needs are more that I can justify financially, and I really just want to get my feet wet with the Tri thing first.  So a sprint it is!

I thought about doing the Women's Rock Half Marathon, because it looks like FUN! and there jewelry and hot men involved - but I've got too many commitments at that time of year for a teacher (Sept 1st race date).

I've been telling people that I won't be doing the Twin Cities Marathon again and that I'm taking the year off... but guess what -- I will!

Either I'm an idiot or awesome.

Currently my vote is both.

Back Story:

Earlier in the week I saw this tweet:

I'm doing it, R U? RT @tcmarathon: 2 things: 1. The marathon is half full. 2. The price increases on Friday. REGISTER! ow.ly/9KBru
— Ann F. (@Minnesota_Ann) March 19, 2012

... and then I had an awesome run!   I did make a point to talk to my workplace running buddy before I exhaust the cash to do this thing in which we had a mini pro/con chat, but mostly: she was all for it!

Further Back Story:

I really did mean to take this year off initially...  but the more I thought about I realized I didn't want to put it off, as I wanted to do another at some point.  Truth is:  I learned a lot along the way of training for my first marathon, which is to say - mistakes were made!  Everything turned out okay, but I keep thinking about what if's?  What if no injury? What if I did hill training?  What if this?  What if that?  I know the what if questions aren't always the best - but I just want to know - so here I go.

Spring has Sprung

It's the official first day of spring and I spotted these on the raspberry bush!

Expanding my Running Horizons

So I realize that 2 years ago I would have never even bothered to run period.  I didn't even exercise regularly.  I'm proud of what I've done running wise - and no matter what I do from here tackling that marathon will always be something I look back on with pride.  

Source: eathealthy-getfit-sleep-repeat.tumblr.com via Erin on Pinterest

Most days I think it's pretty cool that the girl who dreaded "the mile run" in elementary can simply run at all.  And that I want to is even stranger.

However - even though I've conquered a lot with running and I'm happy about that - I know I'm slow.

Most of the time it's okay with me and of course, I could always be slower...

Source: ourtimetochange.tumblr.com via Erin on Pinterest

One thing about this slowness is that it's been hard to see improvement.  My first 5K was a time of 36:52 or an 11:53 pace.  My last race was a 7K in 48:36 or an 11:11 pace.

It's an improvement, but not a huge one.

So anyway, I'm not here to be all sad - I'm just outing the fact that I see room for improvement in the pace.  I have some [perhaps over zealous] speed goals this year and I want to get there...  I don't know if it's even possible but I'm so going to try.  (1 mile under 10 and 5K under 30)

The 7K was a good time I accept that, but it was also a reminder that I'm not going to get there doing what I'm currently doing (or I seriously risk npt).  I need a change of pace.

SO ... I'm trying something new.  I consider myself more of a solo runner, but I joined a running group called Twin Cities Running Experiment - they meet almost everyday of the week so there is lots of places and times to choose from.

The first run I did with them was call Hill Repeats.  I barely could do the hills .. let alone the repeats, and I basically tagged along at the tail end of the pack the whole time.  However, everyone in the group was very nice and they said "Good Job!" whenever they saw me climbing those hills.  It was intense!

Next night, I met the same group for a not hill run (phew!) and again I lagged along the path.  It didn't exactly feel great falling behind, but it must of been a huge motivator because I ran those 3.3 miles in 35:35 mins!  AHH!  That's a 10:46 min-mile and a record pace for me!

Hmm... maybe I'm more of a social runner after all.

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P.S. I promise I'll talk about food again one day.

Get Lucky 7K

This won't quite be the play by play, but I'll try to capture the high points. 

The swag

STATS: this was my first team ortho race, second race with a medal. 

I saw my running friend Sara right away, and we hung out before we got into the starting lineup.   There weren't literal corrals, but they had marked off various expected times.  I stood right at the 11 min/mile pace area, because that is what I was hoping for.  

There weren't any mile markers for this race, but they marked the K's.  I had to quick do the math to figure out what my K pace would be.  For simplicity, I estimated about 7min Ks - knowing I would need to be a little faster to meet my goal time. 

So green!

I kept pace with 7 min Ks (6:56), but didn't shave enough to be under 48 mins.  My official end time was 48:36 - which I think it's fair to say is a really solid finish for me.  It's an 11:11 minute pace.  I think I probably over shot with wanting to finish under 48, but still makes me a little disappointing having said I would and then not (quite) doing it.    

On the (non-health-related) up swing, I drank my first green beer.    

It tasted like beer, so sort-of-okay-I-guess.

Treadmills, Training and Trauma

Treadmills

My gym membership expired on March 1st, and I didn't renew! The gym has been great for me as a default option to workout (or run as I usually do), but it is an added expense.  I have a gym that is free for me to use at my work, but I don't take advantage as often because it is hard to fit that in while I work and the locker room is pretty lack luster.  However, the big reason I am no longer a gym member is this:

Yep, I purchased a treadmill.  It was $50 on craigslist and while it isn't glamorous, it suits my needs for now.  

Because of my triathlon dreams, I was originally intending to upgrade my gym membership to one where there is a pool, but in that process I learned that there is a local community pool that is very affordable for me to use.  No gym membership required. 

Training

I am currently putting all of my training efforts into the Half-Marathon I will be running on April 28th.  I am using the Hal-Higdon plan, but using it more as a guideline.  Unlike in the past, I am making more of an effort to do cross-training by getting out on my bike.  I also want to warm up for the future tri.  I think the added cross-training will also help me prevent injury.  I will also be running the Get Lucky 7K next Saturday.  My original goal was to run this at 11 min miles, or under 48 minutes total.  I still think this goal is in the realm of doable, but feel it's going to be a pretty big stretch for me.       

Trauma

I got dreadfully sick a few weeks ago, and am still not quite at 100%.  Functional, but still a little stuffy.  My grandpa passed on recently as well, which was tough as a family and there was also a funeral for me to attend.  My car decided to break down twice in one week too, so that was also stressful.  (It currently runs again though - don't die Sentra!)  

The sickness alone through off a whole week of training.  I actually did run the morning of the funeral, which was a nice way to de-stress.  The car trouble accounted for another missed run.   *sigh* things never go perfectly do they?  So now, I am in catch-up mode with my half-marathon training.  I am feeling confident that I will still complete okay, as I already did the full.  hah.  But meeting my time-goal, under 2:30, is not feeling as sure.  I'm not giving up, just saying I've had a to dodge a few punches here.

On the plus side: I recently had a good hair day.

    

Still working on the self-portrait thing... but I am trying to end this post on an upswing.