Chicken quesadillas

Children often love wraps but are still a bit small for eating a whole one (and even eating one or half a one makes a huge mess) so try making quesadillas instead. It’s great for hiding veg and the recipe is really flexible. And cheap too! The spices are optional if you have fussy children but most do like them. You can use Mexican seasoning if you like but these spices are the main ingredients so it’s much easier to use what you want out of your store cupboard.

Serves 4 hungry children!

Ingredients

• 2 large tortilla wraps
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 small skinless/boneless chicken breast fillet, cut into strips or as small as needed
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 small red pepper, chopped as small as required
• 1 small yellow pepper, chopped as small as required
• 50g button mushrooms, sliced
• 50g hard cheese, grated coarsely
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder or more to taste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• (optional – 1 clove garlic, crushed)

Preparation method

Heat the oil in a frying pan or wok until hot. Add the onion and chicken and cook on a high heat for about 3 mins, turning regularly.

Add the spices and garlic if using and continue to stir around for a couple more mins.  Add the peppers and mushrooms, and cook on a medium heat until the vegetables have softened (check the chicken is cooked through if your chicken is sliced thickly) – normally around 5 mins.

Turn on the grill to high.

Place one of the wraps on a baking sheet and grate about half of the cheese onto it. Spread the mixture from the pan evenly on top of it and cover with the other wrap. Grate the rest of the cheese on top and place under the grill. Cook for 2-3 mins until the cheese melts.

Remove from the grill and cut into slices, like a pizza. (Pizza wheels cut them up well!).

I like to serve with chopped tomatoes and slices of cucumber.

There are all sorts of variations if you vary the veg – courgettes, grated carrot, sweet corn, broccoli, chopped fresh tomatoes will all work well. Try to keep the veg “dry” as it stops the quesadilla going soggy. Any leftover mixture can be bunged into a wrap for a hungry mum too, possibly with some coleslaw on the side!