Black bean quesadillas and yet another way to make black beans

So, today I found a recipe that I wanted to make for black bean quesadillas in my Saving Dinner cookbook.  I had a book checked out from the library last week called Daisy cooks Latin. I didn't end up making anything out of it because it seemed time consuming, or included ingredients that I never see at my grocery store, so I didn't try much, but she did say in the book that she never remembers to soak her beans overnight, but that she just cooks them for a couple of hours and they are done, so I decided to try it today.  Lo and behold, it worked.  Super simple too.  So, today you get the recipe for the black beans (which I totally made up.) and the recipe for the quesadillas.  They both turned out great.  I resisted my cumin urge, and actually added much less than I usually do to black beans.  They were still great, and I liked the change of flavor.  I also liked the black bean quesadillas.  They would get a 4.5 from me, but they weren't as big of a hit with the kids - Tavio didn't like the bell pepper - not sure what Benjamin didn't like - Duncan ate 2, so a 4 star wins for today.  I'm putting a picture of how it looked without the  lid since it just looks like any other quesadilla with the lid on it.

Black bean ingredients

• 1 lb black beans
• lots of water (I didn't measure, you just cover the beans by a couple inches and add more as needed.)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic blend
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon dehydrated onion
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin

Directions

1. Rinse beans.  Put in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water.  Boil for 2-2 1/2 hours or until desired tenderness is reached, adding water as needed so they don't dry out.  When they are almost done, add garlic blend, salt, onion, and cumin.  Simmer for a little longer to blend flavors.  Serve.

Quesadilla Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (I used the above homemade and eyeballed how much a can would be.
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 package frozen corn (5-6 oz.)
• 12 flour tortillas (I used more and still had mix left over.)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (I used more and made them good and cheesy.  I also used a variety - white cheddar on top, Monterrey jack on bottom for some, 4 cheese Mexican blend for others.)

Directions.  

1. In a large skillet, saute onion in butter.  Add garlic.  Mix in corn (until unfrozen)  Add beans, bell pepper and tomatoes.  Cook until heated through.  
2. Make quesadillas in a large skillet.  (I layered mine tortilla, cheese, veggie/bean mix, cheese, tortilla.)  I sprayed my pan with non-stick spray and cooked them until browned on each side.)