Cheese & Veggie Quesadillas - Kids Special

I love the challenges of being a mom. It’s like reliving your childhood; it's great that you can do it at this age, because if you have missed out on anything then this is the best time to make up for it. I love reading my kids’ books – to them and for myself too! I always loved books and my mom got us the best books that we could ever ask for. Now when I see both my kids sharing the same love for books I understand what my mother must be feeling then and why she would save money and go out of her way to exhibitions and book shops to buy us books.

Talking about the challenges of being a mom, the biggest thing in my entire day is to make sure my kids eat well, at least at dinner. They love fruits, bread, curries and anything else that I make. The hardest thing in the entire world is to have them eat some vegetables. Every single day I have to sneak in at least one portion of veggies in their diet. I have started experimenting with various recipes that include veggies but still manage to taste yummy!

Cheese & Vegetable Quesadillas:

Ingredients:

Corn Quesadillas
Shredded cheese (any variety that you have handy)
Finely chopped spinach
Finely grated carrots
Tomato ketchup
Olive oil or butter
Salt
Pepper
Crushed peanuts

Heat a griddle, add a few drops of olive oil or butter and start cooking a tortilla. Cook for about a minute on each side and set aside. Cook another tortilla in a similar way and place the well-cooked Side looking at you. Add cheese, veggies, ketchup, peanuts, salt and pepper. Place the first tortilla on the top of this and press with a flat wide spatula. Let one side cook well, and then flip to the other side. Let it cook till subtly crunchy. Make small sections and serve. Trust me, kids love this stuff. It’s a wholesome meal - grains, veggies, protein. Be creative - add sliced grapes or pomegranate, cooked shredded chicken, grated broccoli, finely chopped hardboiled eggs are just a few examples. Try your hand at this; you will be surprised how creative you can really get when it comes to having your kids eat a really healthy hearty meal!
Remember to eat your veggies today!
-Sheetal

Chicken Lettuce wraps

My husband and I have been big fans of these wraps available at two of our favorite restaurants. I always wondered what went into these to make them so perfectly pleasing for the taste buds. I decided to give it a shot, I had to try and make in a very short time (as always) to make it a quick recipe, without compromising on the yummy factor. So this is what I came up with and I think it worked pretty well!

For preparing the Lettuce:
1 Head lettuce
1/4 cup Vinegar
1 bowl water

Separate leaves from the core and clean with water. Add vinegar to a large bowl of water. Immerse the leaves in this bowl and swish in the mixture. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pat dry the leaves and refrigerate in an airtight container. If you have time, an hour in the refrigerator makes the lettuce cold and crisp and perfectly ready to go with the hot chicken. 15 minutes does wonders too!

For the Chicken:
2 Tsp. Oil
1 Tsp. minced garlic
1 Tsp. minced or grated ginger
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup finely chopped medium onion
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup Chicken broth
1 Tsp. Vinegar
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
2 Tbs. Teriyaki Sauce
2 Tbs. Peanut Sauce (or 1Tbs.Peanut Butter)
1 Tbs. Chili sauce (I use the Sriracha brand - you can add more or less per your preference of spice)
Salt
Pepper


Heat oil in a pan on a medium flame. Add ginger, garlic and onions. Cook for a few minutes or till the onions turn pale. Add mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally. While this is cooking, mix all other ingredients in a bowl, whisk well and keep aside. Add the ground chicken to the onions and mushrooms and mix well. Add the sauce mixture to the chicken and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered on medium flame, stirring occasionally, till chicken is well cooked.

For garnish:
Crushed roasted peanuts.

Tip: I always keep some roasted crushed peanuts handy. It’s a great way to add a yummy protein rich garnish to the food. It goes with any preparation of chicken, tofu or even stir fry veggies. Kids love it! (Please confirm for peanut allergies before adding it so someone’s meal) I also add this in a variety of salads I make. I will share those with you very soon.

Cook well! Eat well!
Sheetal