Chicken Quesadillas

Quesadillas of all kinds are a healthy, quick dinner for nights when no one wants to cook much. You can go vegetarian by just using cheese and perhaps sauteed vegetables like peppers and onions or even roasted corn. You can have a vegan quesadilla by using vegan cheese of course (many tortillas are already vegan). You can have any type of thinly sliced and cooked meat inside of course, but I love a good chicken quesadilla. Here's how you make them. Heat a pan over medium high heat and add 1 TB of oil to the pan. Take strips of chicken and season them with adobo or if you lack that then use salt, pepper and cumin. Place them in the pan, not too many at one time or they will not brown properly. You can do the chicken in batches if you like, just do not crowd the pan. When the chicken is cooked through (will not take long since the chicken is cut up into strips, maybe 5 minutes. Do not stir the chicken, simply turn it over when it gets brown on one side. Set chicken aside when cooked and place sliced bell peppers, sliced onions, thinly sliced strips of carrot. If you'd like to add sliced fresh mushrooms, cook them last and cook them separately so they can get browned, taking care again not to overload the pan. Cook all the vegetables until they get some brown color on them and are uniformly soft. Turn down heat to medium and wipe out the pan and place a tortilla in it. Quickly add some shredded cheese to the center of the tortilla, add some chicken strips and cooked veggies, top with more cheese, but do not overload the tortilla or it will be difficult to flip. Add another tortilla to the top and let the bottom tortilla brown and cheese melt, then flip and let cook on the other side. Serve with pico de gallo, sour cream or plain yogurt, and a simple mixed green salad. YUM! As far as amounts go for my family of 4 we need about a dozen tortillas (we use the smaller 6 inch size), half an onion, one bell pepper, half pound of mushrooms (if using) 1 carrot thinly sliced, 1 C of shredded cheese and about 1 good sized chicken breast, pounded flat with a rolling pin and cut into thin strips.

Meatless Monday Menu: Vegetarian vegetable soup, quesadillas

I prefer quesadillas to grilled cheese sandwiches, there I said it. They are just easier to make, faster, less clean up. You don't have to butter the tortillas, they toast just fine in a dry pan. Also, because you fold the tortilla in half it is less likely the cheese will fall out when you flip them. I make them ALL the time.

Anyhow last night the baby was very ill so I made 2 cans of Campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup and some quesadillas. I strained some of the soup and gave the baby some broth, a popsicle and some ginger ale. This morning she seems to be doing much better.

If you or a loved one comes down with a stomach bug there are some things you can have on hand to help settle the stomach.

Things that are always in my pantry:

Gatorade powdered mix (any flavor but no bright reds)
Saltine crackers
Peppermint tea
Peppermints or mini candy canes
white rice
jars of apple sauce

Things that I get from the store:
White bread
bananas
ginger ale
popsicles (not the good kind with fruit juice, the cheap sugar water pops, also no bright reds)

I grew up following the BRAT diet for upset stomachs, Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. The reason I use white bread and white rice is that they are more easily digested and if your stomach upset also involves diarrhea then skipping the fiber seems like common sense. A cooled peppermint tea or a ginger ale can alleviate feelings of nausea and do not give the sick person anything dyed bright red to drink. If they do throw up again, red is the hardest stain to get out of clothes pr bedding or heaven forbid upholstery! I also avoid the high quality pops because the fruit juice could also aggravate the very delicate gastrointestinal tract. I only deploy the Gatorade if the sick person has been ill many times over several hours, otherwise ginger ale, water, very dilute apple juice, and tea are plenty to keep them hydrated. Once you've been up all night with a constantly sick kid then you can get the Gatorade out.

Be on the lookout for dehydration, signs can include:

Sunken eyes
crying without tears,
dry mouth
decreased urination (dry diapers in babies)
darker urination
lethargy

Keeping your sick kid drinking small amounts of fluid over long periods of time is easier on the stomach then having a big drink, encourage them to take many small sips.