Vegetable tortilla

Two days ago my daughter asked me if she could have a vegetable tortilla for lunch. She had tried one in a Mexican restaurant and she liked it a lot. That one had cheese and several vegetables inside, but she ordered me one with cheese (Mozzarella), zucchini and cauliflower. And that's what I did using pita bread! I put it on the panini press, but you can press it on a warm frying pan or even put it in the oven for a little bit. Other vegetables can be used to make it more "colorful", like carrots, broccoli, peppers... 

This is the tortilla before going to the panini press...

And after...

Quiche Lorraine with a twist

Usually I make my quiches without a crust, to be easier and faster. But today I had some extra time and decided to add some delicious crust... I only had whole wheat white flour, so I used it, which made the crust look a little darker but equally tasty.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

For the crust:
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk (save the egg white for the filling)
4 Tbsp of water
1 stick of butter (melted)
1 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs

Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Mix until a ball forms. You can add a bit of flour or water to adjust the consistency. Open the dough with a rolling pin and cover the bottom and sides of a baking dish. Using a fork, poke holes in the bottom. Bake for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:
4 eggs plus 1 egg white (leftover from the crust)
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of shredded cheese(one that you like)
1/2 cup of turkey or chicken from the deli (in small dices)
1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
Salt to taste

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Put the mixture on the crust and bake for around 34 minutes. To check, insert a toothpick in the middle of the quiche, if it comes out clean, it's done.

Tonight we'll be eating the quiche with a salad, and tomorrow the kids will bring the leftovers for lunch!!

Rice Cakes

Hello everyone, it's been a while since the last time I posted... But I'm back and planning to offer you more ideas of healthy lunches for your kids.

Yesterday I did a recipe that is quite simple and doesn't require a lot of ingredients.

In a large bowl mix all the following ingredients:

1 cup of cooked rice (leftovers??)
1 cup of flower
3/4 cup  Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of milk
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro, or thyme, or oregano)
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything well and make little croquettes using two table spoons. Put them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and drizzle a little bit of olive oil (you can also bake them on mini cupcake trays). Bake them on a pre heated oven (350 F) for about 20 minutes or until they are well cooked. I usually broil them for an extra 2 minutes to give them a little color. My kids ate them for lunch, at room temperature, and enjoyed them a lot. They can also be eaten warm as a side dish, or even as an appetizer. Enjoy!!

Chicken Salad

This is a salad that my mom used to make. It's great for a summer weekend's lunch and also to send in the kids lunch boxes. Very simple and quick to prepare, which makes it a winner!!! Start boiling a chicken breast with the spices that your kids enjoy. I just add salt, pepper, dried thyme and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. When it's done, let the chicken cool down. While you wait, shred two or three carrots in a bowl,  add one cup of corn and half a cup of pitted olives. They can be black or green. I usually cut them in half  just to make sure there are no pits left. When the chicken is cold, I shred it or cut in small pieces and add to the bowl. Now we just have to season with salt, olive oil and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. You can add other spices that your kids enjoy to make them happier. Toss everything together and serve it with shoestring fries (you can find them at grocery stores like Meijer or Kroger). That's how we traditionally eat this salad, but you can omit the fries to make it healthier. 

Shoestring potatoes

The chicken salad

This one was bought at a local grocery store

Empanadas

This  is a recipe that will take some time to get ready even though is super easy to make. So my suggestion is to make it on a Sunday, and send to school Monday and Tuesday. My kids love the empanadas so much that they wouldn't mind bringing them for lunch a couple of days in a row.

The ingredients that yield about 22 empanadas:
1/2 cup of creamy swiss cheese like The Laughing Cow or Polenghi (about 6 wedges)
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of corn starch
salt to taste

Mix the cheese and butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine until together. Make a ball, cover with plastic and leave in the fridge for one hour. To fill the empanadas, I usually cut turkey breast, mozzarella cheese and diced tomatoes. But you can use anything that you like. Open the dough with a rolling pin, use a cup to cut circles and put a table spoon of the filling in the middle. Close the dough circle using a little water as glue. Put the empanadas on a tray previously covered with parchment paper. Brush the empanadas with the mixture made with a egg yolk and a splash of water. Bake them in the oven at 350F for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!!

Small potato salad

Last week I was at the grocery store with my kids. We were buying vegetables when my daughter saw a package of baby potatoes. She asked if I could make a salad with the potatoes for her school lunch. Sure!!

Baby Potatoes and Arugula

Baby potatoes

For this simple salad, I cooked the potatoes with their skin on for about 20 minutes or until tender. Let them cool down and added arugula leaves, cherry tomatoes and one hard boiled egg. The seasoning was just salt and olive oil. They totally cleaned their lunch bowls!!!!

Veggie wraps

Here I am one more time trying to incorporate vegetables on my kids school lunches. As they love wraps, I created a veggie one with ingredients that they like. I washed one zucchini and one yellow squash, cut them in half, removed the seeds and cut again in thin stripes. After I saute them with olive oil and salt for two minutes. While it was cooling down I shredded one carrot. When I was ready to assemble, I got one multi-grain wrap, arranged  two slices of Havarti cheese (can be any sliced cheese) close to the border and on top put a handful of the zucchini, yellow squash and the shredded carrots. Started by rolling the tortilla and cheese on top of the veggies, then tucked in both sides and finally rolled until the end. To glue I spread a bit of mayo, but I'm sure my kids would prefer hummus. Next time!!!