Healthy Recipes for the Whole Family

BBQ Chicken Quesodillas

Ingredients:

- Tortillas
- Left Over Chicken, or Rotisserie Chicken... chopped or pulled in strips
- Your fav BBQ Sauce
- Shredded Cheese (any really, but we use mexi 3 or 4 cheese)
- Tomatoes (chopped) or Pico de Gallo
- Cillantro (chopped)

Directions

- Preheat Broiler
- Lay out tortillas on baking sheet
- Swirl BBQ sauce on tortilla almost to the edge, just like pizza
- Shredded Cheese

On HALF of the tortilla add:
- Chicken
- Pico de Gallo or Chopped tomatoes
- Cillantro

Cook under broiler until cheese is ooey gooey (about 60 seconds)

Pull out tray, fold tortillas in half, use pizza wheel to cut into 1/3s.

Serve with rice & beans. ((It's cheaper for me to grab them from the local mex restaurant than to cook my own... I know, crazy))

This is a meal that is easily customizable. My son has been making his own (putting on the sauce, cheese, and any topping he wants) since he was about 1.5

I made this for the first time and me, hubby and my daughter (17 months) loved it. It was also easy to make. Oh and my daughter is very picky! She did take the chicken out but was scrapping the bowl to get all of it out. That rarely happens! Let me know what you think if you make.

Garlic Chicken with Orzo Noodles

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
Sea salt to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Preparation:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo pasta, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and red pepper 1 minute, until garlic is golden brown. Stir in chicken, season with salt, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned and juices run clear. Reduce heat to medium, and mix in the parsley and cooked orzo. Place spinach in the skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese. 

Nutrition: Servings per recipe: 4, Calories per serving: 351, Total fat: 10.6g, Cholesterol: 38mg, Sodium: 164mg, Total carbs: 40.4g, Dietary Fiber: 2.9g, Protein: 22.3g

When trying to make alot of people happy, I like to serve things that are build your own. Like Tacos. Pizzas. Salads. Etc.
for example
I put out whole wheat french bread, alfredo and marinara sauce. Low fat pizza cheese and toppings - pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, diced chicken, whatever I have. When kids build thier own they are much more likey to eat it. You can make a bbq chicken pizza with leftovers.. Subsitute bbq sauce for marinara. add cheese and chicken.

Some of my quick go to week night meals are

I buy bags of frozen fish filets. They thaw in minutes on the counter. Season any way you want - olive oil with italian seasonings, or lemon pepper, or cajun seasoning, or whatever else you can think of. You can cook them on stove top in a skillet or in the oven wrapped in foil. You can add white wine and veggies to the foil packet if you're feeling it. Serve with minute rice and steamed brocolli.

Saute shrimp in garlic, salt and pepper and serve over noodles.

Saute chicken, shrimp, or steak with veggies and soy to make a quick stir fry. Add stir fry sauce if you want or add a little cornstarch slurry to thicken. Make freid rice by adding soy, scrambled eggs and veggies to white rice or lo mein by tossing cooked whole wheat noodles in olive oil.

I grill extra chicken breasts and freeze them. You can slice them over a ceasar salad or make a wrap with a whole wheat tortilla.

Go to Food Network.com, check out Ellie Krieger, she's really sweet to watch and has a MILLION healthy, yet REAL food recipes!

I write a blog with a dietitian that has lots of easy, kid-friendly recipes. www.welcomingkitchen.blogspot.com

This is my favorite and we eat it about once a week. I just take a jar pasta sauce and add to it. I brown some ground turkey with onion, green/red/yellow/orange pepper, garlic (you can use whatever your family likes, of course :). Then I add the pasta sauce and usually mushrooms, diced tomatos, and even black olives (my kids love them).

I use a whole wheat, whole grain pasta (I think Ronzoni's Healthy Request is the best). Rotini or another small pasta shape is great for the little ones (spaghetti is too messy!).

This is a little labor intensive with all the chopping, but I make a huge amount when I make it and divide it into family sized servings and freeze it. It's so easy to defrost it, warm it up, cook the pasta and you're good to go. Plus, you don't have to make a veggie because you've added so many to the sauce. Bon Appetit :)