Quesadillas with Cashew Nacho Sauce

These mouthwatering quesadillas are made with sauteed vegetables of your choice binded together with cashew nacho sauce. Make the nacho sauce ahead of time and and these quesadillas will come together in a jiffy for a weeknight meal. And yes, you can stir in some green chilies, warm up the sauce, and dip your chips!

For the nacho sauce:

• 1 cup mashed sweet potato
• 1 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup sauteed onion, about 1/2 a medium onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 tbs nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup and 1/4 cup water, separated

For the quesadillas:

• 3 cups diced vegetables, I used 1/2 cup each:
  • red onion, poblano pepper, red pepper, corn, black beans, shitake
• tortillas of your choice, I used Ole Xtreme Wellness wraps
• little olive or avocado oil for grilling the quesadillas

Nacho Sauce

1. If you have a high speed blender, there is no need to soak the cashews. If using a regular blender, soak the cashews an hour, drain and proceed.
2. Put all of the sauce ingredients in a high speed blender and add the 1 cup of water. Blend on high and use the tamper to keep the mixture blending. Add water, one tablespoon at a time if needed to keep blending. The sauce should be as thick as possible but it needs enough water to blend into a silky, smooth sauce. This recipe will make 2 cups, plenty for making quesadillas and other uses.
3. Optional: stir in a can of drained tomatoes and green chilis if you like it a little spicy.

Quesadillas

1. I dry sauté the vegetables to reduce the amount of oil I use. Most vegetables will brown merrily without oil if carefully watched and turned before burning. If dry sauteing, save the beans for tossing in at the end. When the vegetables are almost done, season with your favorite fajita seasoning.
2. Warm some of the sauce up just before assembling the quesadillas. Spread a thin amount of sauce on the tortilla and top 1/2 the tortilla with the still warm vegetables. Brown on each side in a little olive or avocado oil. Serve with toppings like avocado and salsa.