Salsa Stoup and Double-Decker Quesadillas with Gaucamole

I might have cheated a little on this week's recipe.. I did make it from scratch, but it's a recipe that I've made numerous times before.

What can I say... I had the ingredients, it's freaking delicious*, and I've been in a soup mood lately.

All that being said here's the recipe (taken from Rachel Ray's 365 cookbook**):

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped with greens
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
• 6 flour tortillas, 6 to 8 inches
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar***
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 4 ounce brick Pepper Jack or chipotle cheese, shredded, about 1 cup
• Sour cream, to pass at table
• Gaucamole

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat.
   
3. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan and the jalapenos, bell pepper, onions, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper then saute veggies 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and stock and bring soup to a bubble. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in cilantro.
5. Paint 1 side of 2 tortillas with oil and place them next to each other, oiled side down, on a large cookie sheet.
   
6. Mix cheddar with scallions and divide the cheese between the tortillas evenly.
   
7. Top with another tortilla and top each of those with equal amounts of Pepper Jack cheese.
   
8. Set the last tortillas on top and brush tops with extra-virgin olive oil.
   
9. Cook 10 minutes in the oven to melt cheese and crisp up tortillas. Cool quesadillas 5 minutes to set then cut each quesadilla into 6 pieces.

I did not have the recipe for the gaucamole until I got home from the store, so I opted to just buy some. But if you want to make your own:

• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 cup sour cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 plum tomato, finely chopped

1. Remove 1 avocado flesh to a bowl.
   
2. Add the cilantro and scallions.
   
3. Pop the lime in the microwave for a few seconds.
   
4. Add the juice of 1 lime, the sour cream, and season with salt and pepper.
   
5. With a fork or spoon, smash up the mixture, leaving chunks for a good consistency.
6. Chop and seed the plum tomato and fold into avocado. Serve.
   

Hope you all enjoy it!

*And by "freaking delicious" what I mean is that my friend was upset she couldn't come over for dinner when she found out I was making this.

** I know some people cannot stand Rachel Ray, but when it comes down to it.... her food is effing good. So, if you can't stand her... don't watch the show and just get a cookbook. ;)

*** Dude, Mom... you'd be so proud of me... I bought my own cheese shredder (don't know how I didn't have one already, but, oh well) and shredded my own cheese. Look at me... "I'm a big girl now."