Irresistible Veggie Quesadillas Your Kids Will Love

Some nights, I have time for trying new foods and experimenting with different flavors. But others, I am just trying to get dinner on the table — fast.

This week, it was the latter, so I kept Wifey Work From Home Wednesday simple with a kid-friendly favorite: quesadillas.

My three-year-old is a pretty picky eater, but she does love crunchy bell peppers and ooey, gooey cheese, so I try to stick to those ingredients if I want to avoid a dinner time meltdown (from either of us).

Making Veggies Palatable

I have found through the years that what turns many people off to eating salads or incorporating more vegetables into their diet is that some recipes and restaurants keep vegetables raw, flavorless, or in large pieces, making it difficult to eat. The more you can chop your veggies small, season them, and cook them properly, the more palatable the dish is for people who are not as inclined to eat them. Once they see the various possibilities by which vegetables can be incorporated into dishes, it’s easier to get them to try veggies separately to appreciate the unique flavor each brings.

For this particular recipe, I love using a variety of colored veggies, and the red, yellow, and orange peppers are particularly fun because of the innate sweetness they bring to this dish. Offset by the salty Mexican cheese and hint of smokiness from the ground cumin and paprika, these quesadillas pack a lot of flavor, making this mid-week meal anything but boring.

Serving Suggestions

To round out the meal, try a Rice-A-Roni Spanish rice or Knorr Mexican Rice side. I normally don’t go for these packet rices and pastas due to the sodium content and dehydrated ingredients.

However, they are useful every now and then to complement a dish I’m making. Otherwise, just serve with a side of some sour cream and salsa.

Kid-Friendly Sizzling Skillet Veggie Quesadillas

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 cups of veggies (chopped lengthwise- colorful bell peppers, onions, zucchini, mushroom work best)
• 1 cup of chopped greens – spinach, kale or arugula work best
• 4 large flour tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese
• 2 tsp Mexican seasoning of your choice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 Green chiles
• 1 avocado
• 1 tomato
• Cilantro to garnish
• 2 tbsp canola oil for sauté
• 2 tsp butter for cooking tortilla

Method

1. Heat oil in a flat skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add veggies to the pan one by one, starting with onions and stirring for a few minutes in between. Turn heat higher and keep stirring for a crisper veggie. Sequence: Onion, peppers, zucchini, mushroom, and greens (allowing each veggie to cook a bit before adding the next, but don’t let the veggies overcook either).
3. Add the spices – paprika, cumin, Mexican spice blend. Once veggies are done cooking, add salt to taste. Remove from skillet.
4. Place one large flour tortilla on a lightly buttered skillet over low-medium heat. Spoon cooked veggies on one half of the tortilla, and top the veggies with cheese. Fold tortilla.
5. Once the cheese has melted sufficiently, flip the folded and filled tortilla over to cook evenly on the other side. Once browned on both sides, remove from heat.
6. Cut quesadilla into 3-4 triangular pieces. Top with slices of avocado, and diced tomato, chopped green chile and cilantro and serve.

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