Today’s “It Takes a Village to Pack a Lunch” post shares a delicious and healthy lunch box recipe from Katie Morford of Mom’s Kitchen Handbook: Raising Fresh-Food Kids in a French-Fried World. (If you’re not familiar with Katie’s blog, you’re in for a treat: beautiful food photography, tasty recipes and excellent writing.) Katie’s the author of Best Lunch Box Ever, which I couldn’t review last fall because the book was so popular it had sold out! I’ve since purchased my own copy and it’s given me so many new ideas for packed school lunches. I’ve even included some of her lunch box recipes into my dinner rotation and may well do the same for today’s recipe: “Sweetie Pie” Quesadilla.
Katie’s recipe wraps up this year’s “It Takes a Village to Pack a Lunch” series and I hope it’s been helpful for all of you lunch-packers out there. The collected posts in this year’s series may be found under the Related Links heading below. And, remember, you still have until tonight (Monday, September 15th) until 6pm CST to enter to win some free eco-friendly lunch gear from UKonserve!
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Sweetie Pie Quesadilla
by Katie Morford
I’VE BEEN MAKING CHILI with black beans and sweet potatoes for years. This takes those two winning flavors and pairs them with melted Monterey Jack cheese for a quesadilla that is far more satisfying than the norm. Cooking the quesadilla over medium instead of high heat allows the sweet potato to get tender by the time the outside is crispy and the cheese is melted. Leftover cooked vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini, or peppers can be chopped up and substituted for the sweet potato.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
- 3/4 cup coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese
- Two 8-inch whole-wheat flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup grated peeled raw sweet potato
- 1/4 cup cooked black beans, drained
- 2 tablespoons mild green taco sauce
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over one tortilla. Scatter the sweet potato over the cheese, followed by the beans. Spoon the taco sauce over the beans and top with the remaining cheese and the remaining tortilla.
In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Put the quesadilla in the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. With a spatula, flip the quesadilla and cook until the second side is golden brown and crispy, about 2 minutes.
Transfer the quesadilla to a cutting board and let cool for a few minutes.
Cut into quarters. Wrap or pack into two containers.
MAKE-AHEAD NOTES: can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. In the morning before school, reheat in a pan or pop into the toaster oven to restore crispiness, if you like.
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