Chicken Quesadillas

About once a week, my family eats at a Mexican place close to our home. We go there so frequently the waitstaff have become buddies with my son, giving him high fives and fist bumps, and tousling his hair as they pass by our table. We are recognized, which is nice...but can lead to some embarrassment. Since the restaurant is so close to us, we often walk there when the weather is nice, pushing the kids in strollers. On one such trip, we finished up a lovely meal, got our bill (which our son has begun to hold himself to take up to the counter to pay), and then started the affair of packing the kids back up in the strollers and making sure we didn’t leave anything behind. This can take upwards of fifteen minutes, especially if we discover a wet or dirty diaper in the process. So, there we are, frantically changing diapers and gathering various kiddie items as the restaurant fills with more patrons waiting for a table. We finally got both kids with clean diapers in their strollers and everything packed up, made sure nothing was left on the table, and, satisfied with another successful restaurant outing with two kids under 3 years of age, proceeded with a relaxing stroll back home. Whew!

Oh, wait…

“Did you pay the El Nopal bill?” my husband asked me the next day. “Nooo….” I replied, my voice trailing off. “...Did you?” Nope, he hadn’t either.

OOPS.

Yes. In our mad rush to clear out, we accidentally forgot to pay our bill. Later that day my husband went in to pay, and they had the bill taped to the wall behind the register. How mortifying! We weren’t sure if we’d ever be able to show our faces there again...which was so very unfortunate, because our favorite dish to share is their chicken quesadilla with guacamole. When we got to craving it again, the embarrassment was still too raw...we decided to just try to make it at home. Turns out, it was actually pretty easy to do! We even had the freedom to add more veggies to the quesadillas, and adjust the amount of cheese to our personal preferences. The bonus with making them at home is we could make burritos with the leftovers! WIN!

 

Ingredients: (6-8 quesadillas)

3 chicken breasts

1 medium onion

1 green bell pepper

~1 cup Mexican-style cheese blend (Monterey Jack, cheddar, asadero, queso quesadilla - can use all Monterey Jack or cheddar, or Colby Jack, instead of Mexican blend)

6-8 tortillas (I used flour tortillas, about 10” in diameter)

Chili seasoning (spice mix - not red chili powder)

Garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)

Cumin powder

Salt, pepper to taste

A little oil for cooking

Cook and shred chicken breast per the instructions found here. Slice the onion and green pepper, and sauté in cooking oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent. If the chicken is cooked just before the onion and pepper, you can use the leftover drippings to cook the vegetables. Add the cooked chicken to the vegetables, and season with garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

 

Place a tortilla in a pan heated over med-lo heat. Sprinkle about 1 TBSP cheese on half the tortilla, spread about ¼ cup of the chicken-veggie mix over the cheese, and then top with more cheese. Fold the other half of the tortilla over, and let it sit for a few minutes until slightly browned and crispy, then gently flip and cook on the other side, until cheese is thoroughly melted.

 

For some extra crisp, grease the pan with a little bit of butter before assembling the tortilla in it. Serve with a scoop of fresh guacamole and garnish with cilantro.

~Karla

P.S. We’ve since been able to bolster our courage to dine at our favorite Mexican restaurant again, and we made absolutely sure we paid!

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Lemon Pepper Tofu

In addition to beans, nuts, and leafy greens, tofu is an excellent protein supplement to salads and sandwiches for vegetarians.  My favorite way to eat tofu is to squeeze out as much liquid as possible, rehydrate the tofu with a marinade, then cook it until firm and slightly crispy. Typically I use soy sauce and/or vinegar based marinades, but I wanted to try a different flavor this time. I decided to use just two simple ingredients and make lemon pepper tofu. I’m not a huge fan of extreme lemony flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious this turned out! While there is a noticeable citrus flavor, it isn’t overpowering, and one can always add more lemon juice on top for extra tanginess.

Ingredients:

7 oz extra firm tofu

~2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

2-4 Tbsp water

Ground black pepper to taste (I used about ¾ Tbsp)

Salt to taste

Prepare marinade by mixing all ingredients in a microwave safe container.

Slice the tofu into ¼” thick slices. Using paper towels, gently squeeze out moisture from the tofu. Add the slices to the marinade and ensure that all the tofu is coated by the marinade. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

I used the microwave and stovetop method for this one, however it can all be done in the oven if you prefer.

Microwave the tofu with the marinade for ~8 minutes on high until most of the liquid is soaked/evaporated but not completely dried.

In a nonstick pan over medium high heat, arrange the tofu slices in a single layer. Cook one one side until browned, then flip gently and cook on the other side. Use a couple drops of olive oil or a dab of butter if required (I generally don’t use any, but that requires wiping the pan off between batches of tofu).

Squeeze more lemon juice over the top and serve with some delicious basil pesto or spinach walnut pesto sauce.

Lemon pepper tofu is a delicious way to add protein to your salads, sandwiches, wraps or pasta.

~Gayatri

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Lemon Pepper Tofu - healthy and delicious vegetarian protein! http://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2016/01/lemon-pepper-tofu.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Garlic and Black Pepper Roasted Cauliflower

Some foods are special to us because of the memories we associate with them. Every time we make or eat these, they remind us of a particular time or incident from the past. This pan roasted cauliflower recipe has a special place in my heart because it takes me back to my elementary school days when mom used to pack me lunch. It was always a pleasant surprise to open my lunchbox and find the roasted cauliflower simply seasoned with salt and pepper. Over the years as I started cooking for myself, this recipe has evolved perhaps because my taste has evolved. Roasting brings out the sweetness of cauliflower, so in addition to the salt and pepper seasoning, I like adding garlic to balance out that subtle sweetness, and fresh cilantro and lemon juice to really make the flavor pop!

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt

Black pepper

1 tsp oil

Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Lemon juice (optional)

Chop the cauliflower into small florets. Heat oil over medium high heat. I like using a nonstick pot for this since it doesn’t need too much oil. If using a steel pot, add a little more oil. Once oil is heated, add the garlic and cauliflower, and mix well. Sprinkle a pinch of salt, cover and cook until the cauliflower is a little tender. Keep stirring occasionally to get an even cook and to ensure the cauliflower at the bottom doesn’t burn. Add ground black pepper and more salt if required, continue to cook until cauliflower is tender to your liking. I like it a little crunchy when eating as a side, but I cook it until it is fairly soft and browned if I plan to serve it with roti. Once cooked, take it off the heat, mix in chopped cilantro, squeeze some lemon juice on top and serve hot.

~Gayatri

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Simple ingredients bring out the best flavors in fresh vegetables! Here's an easy recipe for garlic & black pepper...

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Thursday, December 10, 2015