Quesadillas!

When I take my eye off the ball tea-times (the girls' lighter meal) get very samey; cream cheese sandwiches, crackers and cream cheese, eggy bread, scrambled egg etc. All fine but I have learnt to my cost, with my Big Girl, that variety is good for children and introducing them to new foods is important. So I do try to do new things.

They like tortilla wraps but I don't like the fact that I buy a packet and they will only need two or three. It ocured to me that I must be able to make them myself, and maybe I might be able to freeze the left over dough and only cook them when I need them. 

I found a great recipe. I would say if you want a tortilla that fills a normal size  frying pan then it makes more like 10 portions, not 12. I used two, wrapped the others individually in cling film and popped them into a bag and into the freezer. I have since used two from the freezer and they freeze and defrost just fine. But if you're going to make quesadillas, as below then I recommend cooking them with the filling, not before.

So, I took my two dough portions out of the freezer and rolled them out with a little flour on the work surface. Heated the frying pan and then popped in the first tortilla. Spread homemade tomato sauce* on the tortilla, and then topped with beans (kidney are best but cannellini, as in the photo, are fine) and cheese, and then the second tortilla. It takes around 10-15mins, flipping it a few times. I put a plate on top, then placing a hand on top, turn it over and slide it back into the pan.

When it's cooked you can slice it up with a pizza wheel and, once it's cool, pass it round your little ones. My three gobbled one of these down between them. 

* I add courgettes and carrots to my homemade tomato sauce in a sneaky Mummy attempt to get veggies into them. I make a huge vat of sauce and freeze it up in little pots. It also gets used as a pasta sauce and we make pizzas, Big Girl helps me, we cut rounds out of pieces of toast and top the tomato sauce with sweetcorn, some sort of cooked meat and cheese. They get gobbled too.

 I love cooking for them when they eat!