Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Cooking Show: Quick Meals Before Rushing Out The Door!

The theme of our recent cooking show was a timely subject for me.


I thought that my days of rushing out the door to get to a ball field were over, but now that I'm coaching softball again I find myself trying to throw together a last-minute dinner almost every night.


I made a list of dishes that I had made over the previous few days, figuring that anything I had made while in the throes of softball season would be a good fit for this show!

(Click on the titles to be taken to the recipes.)

We started with Mango Margaritas.

Toss some frozen mango chunks, tequila, triple sec and simple syrup into a blender, mix it up and add a lime wedge.  Done.

Next, we prepared Marinated Grilled Chicken and Pasta Salad.

To be taken to a blogpost with step-by-step instructions for the pasta salad, click here.

Each of these recipes can be prepared in advance and pulled out of the fridge when it's dinner time.  I like to prepare a large batch of the chicken and use it throughout the week in salads, sandwiches, wraps and quesadillas.  Which brings us to ...

Rice Tortilla Quesadillas.  Which aren't really traditional quesadillas, because I don't follow any quesadilla recipe that I've ever seen.  I use leftovers!  It's a great way to pull together a quick meal while emptying out your fridge at the same time.

Since I didn't want to feature my fridge full of leftovers on the cooking show, I made these quesadillas with ingredients that I might typically have on hand.  The only sure thing that I use every time I make them is

1. Olive Oil spray, so they don't stick to the pan.

2. Rice Tortillas.  You can find them in the frozen food department at your supermarket.  They're
    really crispy, which is a huge hit with my family.  No soggy quesadillas in this house!

3.  Cheese.  It holds everything together.

We made a variety of quesadillas.  Roast Beef and Cheese. Ham, Avocado, Tomato and Cheese (my
favorite). And Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas with Spinach.

And finally, Caramel Coconut Chocolate Bark.  No baking involved!