Summer Vegetables Quesadillas

Quesadillas are always a big hit at our house. So I thought it would be fun to add some Summer vegetables that are available right now. I love all the flavor that it adds to the quesadillas.

Ingredients

6 whole grain tortillas (make your own whole grain tortillas)
3 T oil (I used grape seed)
1 C chopped zucchini chopped
1 C yellow squash chopped
1/4 C purple onion chopped
2 green onion chopped
1/4 jalapeño chopped
1 C chopped red peppers
juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 C chopped cilantro chopped
1 tomato chopped up
1 C chopped cooked chicken * optional (for non vegetarian version)
1/2 C cheese ( I used mozzarella)
Salt and pepper to taste

garnish: 
chopped tomatoes
cilantro chopped
plain greek yogurt
salsa

Directions     Serves 6

1. Heat a skillet on medium heat put in zucchini, yellow squash, onion, green onion and jalapeño. Cook until softened. Stir in the lime juice
2. Toss in the tomatoes,  and optional *chicken and cook until just heated thoroughly. Take off the heat.
3. Place skillet on medium heat. Cook 2 tortillas on both sides until light golden. Place one on the skillet and then distribute 1/3 C of vegetable mixture on to the tortilla. Pour on 3 T cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Cook on both sides. If you have a quesadilla maker or tortilla maker to cook it in that would be easier.
4, Take off the heat once the cheese melts. Garnish with toppings and serve.

Yummy Enchiladas for Halloween night

These are delicious and would make a great meal for your Halloween night. Everyone loves Mexican food. It is something you can whip up in the morning, and put it in the fridge. They will be all set to pop in the oven right before you are ready to eat it. Mexican food is one of my families favorite meals to eat. Happy Halloween. 

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Meat:
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 C diced onion
1-1 1/2 C shredded cooked chicken breast
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 package neufchatel cheese
6 tortillas (try our homemade tortillas here)
shredded Mexican cheese mix
fresh chopped cilantro for topping


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Lightly saute minced garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chipotle chilis, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to a low simmer and for 10 minutes to let the spices meld together. Remove from heat.

3. In a medium saucepan, saute onions in olive oil until they soften. Add chicken, cilantro, chicken broth, and tomato sauce, as well as a couple of large spoonfuls of the sauce you have already made. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Divide neufchatel cheese into 6 even portions. Spread a portion on each tortilla and divide meat mixture evenly between tortillas. Roll and place side by side in 8x10 pan.

5. Pour sauce mixture over top of tortillas and top with cheese. Cover the pan with foil and put in oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 5 more minutes, or just until cheese begins to bubble.

6. Top with fresh cilantro.

Awesome Enchiladas

These are delicious and would make a great meal for your Halloween night. Everyone loves Mexican food. It is something you can whip up in the morning and put it in the fridge and you will be all set to pop it in the oven right before you are ready to eat it. Mexican food is one of my families favorite meals to eat. Happy Halloween. 

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Meat:
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 C diced onion
1-1 1/2 C shredded cooked chicken breast
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 package neufchatel cheese
6 tortillas (try our homemade tortillas here)
shredded Mexican cheese mix
fresh chopped cilantro for topping


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Lightly saute minced garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chipotle chilis, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to a low simmer and for 10 minutes to let the spices meld together. Remove from heat.

3. In a medium saucepan, saute onions in olive oil until they soften. Add chicken, cilantro, chicken broth, and tomato sauce, as well as a couple of large spoonfuls of the sauce you have already made. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Divide neufchatel cheese into 6 even portions. Spread a portion on each tortilla and divide meat mixture evenly between tortillas. Roll and place side by side in 8x10 pan.

5. Pour sauce mixture over top of tortillas and top with cheese. Cover the pan with foil and put in oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 5 more minutes, or just until cheese begins to bubble.

6. Top with fresh cilantro.

Chicken Flautas

We are looking forward to welcoming our third grandson. It will be a lot of fun to see what he looks like. I love the wonderful smell of a newborns skin. It is a wonderful gift to have these sweet babies straight from heaven. My heart will stretch bigger and make room for him. I love my other two grandsons to pieces. I love being a grandparent. It is a sweet time of life.

I made these the other day for my sons lunch. He was skeptical. Since he had never had them before.With all the experimenting I do. I understand why he might be. He was pleased how they tasted. It is hard to go wrong with Mexican food. It is one of my top picks to eat.

These come together really easy. I have found that it is handy to cook extra chicken when I am making it for something. Then I shred it and put the extra in the freezer. Then it is fast and easy to use.

Ingredients:
salsa
3 tomatoes cut up
small handful of washed cilantro
1/2 of an onion dice
1/2 jalapeno diced small
juice from one lime 
salt and pepper to taste

filling:
1 C cooked shredded chicken
1/2 C cheese (I used jack)
1 dozen corn tortillas
oil (I used grapeseed oil)
topping options: cheese black beans rice, guacamole, salsa, cilantro 


1. Stir all the ingredients for salsa in a bowl. and then set aside.
2. Soften tortillas with a little water. (You could sprinkle with water and soften 1 min. in the microwave.)  Lay out flat place a small spoonful of chicken and a spoonful of cheese on to the tortilla. roll up tight. Place on a plate seam down until all of them are rolled.
3. Heat oil to medium high heat. I did just enough to cover the bottom. I did not want to deep fry them.
4. Place rolled tortilla seam down. and cook to lightly golden then roll over and cook the other side till lightly golden. Place on a paper towel to absorb the oil.
5. Then serve on a plate with salsa and your other favorite toppings. :)  

Homemade Taco Seasoning Spice Mix

There are a lot of health benefits to making your own spice mixes.

You know we like making our own food from scratch because then we know what's in it. A lot of spices have additives like silica. You know, the stuff in those packets that say "Do Not Eat" on them? Silica occurs naturally in food, but it's also added to spices to make them not clump together. Personally I'd prefer to not eat extra silica. It's basically sand.

That was one of the better taco seasonings I found in my cupboard. The other one said it contained MSG as it's first ingredient. Yup, I'd rather just mix a couple of spices together. It saves me money too!


Ingredients

2 tsp chili powder (read here about the health benefits of chili powder)
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dried chopped onions


Directions

1. Mix spices together in a small bowl
2. Use as you would a taco seasoning packet. Mix 2 Tbsp of water with the spices and pour over taco meat in a large skillet.
3. Stir. Heat to medium heat. Continue stirring as needed until water has evaporated.
4. Serve.

Pretty spices before mixing