Quesadillas for Kiddos

Cooking meals for kiddos is something newer for me. They have less complex palates and like things a little more plain than I do. Nothing wrong with that - they will grow to love food later in life. Believe it or not, I was an extremely picky eater as a child. I would only eat a baked potato or noodles with butter and Parmesan cheese when we went out. I disliked marinara sauce and ketchup, and it wasn't until high school that I started to really enjoy what I was eating and experimented with flavors. I have never and will never like McDonald's hamburgers (I have had one in my whole life with a bun soaked in ketchup and mustard and never wanted one again!)

I asked my mom recently what some of the go-to meals were in our house once my brother and I were a little less picky. She told me that we loved tacos, spaghetti, grilled cheese, pizza casserole, broccoli chicken rollups and quesadillas. I ran these ideas past my guy and he told me quesadillas would be a home run with the kiddos.

I started by seasoning up some chicken breasts with cumin, cilantro, onion powder, salt and pepper. I chopped them up and put them in a pan to cook through.

Then I shredded the meat and put it back in the pan with Wildtree Taco Seasoning and water, and simmered for 15 minutes. The kiddos weren't crazy about the idea of chicken in their quesadillas but I knew that my guy and I would love it.

The kiddos chose just cheese in theirs and my guy and I went a little more complex. I chopped up some black olives, red pepper, added some salsa and the chicken and we were set.

I put the oven on broil and in just 5 minutes, the quesadillas were done, flipping once to crisp each side of the tortilla a bit. The kiddos selected sour cream and salsa on the side to dip. They both ate  their entire quesadillas and I got two thumbs up on the meal. That isn't the easiest to get from the kids, so I added this meal to the staple list.

My guy and I enjoyed sliced avocado and sour cream with ours. The avocados were perfectly ripe -- so buttery and rich.

In a matter of a half hour, I had dinner on the table and then a half hour later, there were happy bellies all around.

Moe's Southwest Grill

I had heard of Moe's Southwest Grill from a few friends over the years, but never ventured in. I wasn't sure if it was a sit down and be waited on place or a quick serve and it just never made it to the top of my list.

This past summer, a perk I receive for working at the Waukesha County Fair is enjoying the Main Stage entertainment from the Hospitality Area. This includes a meal, 2 drinks and a raised platform to enjoy the concert from. Sponsors of the Fair are given access this area as a way of saying Thank You for their support of the Fair.

Each night the meal is provided by an area restaurant or food vendor on the grounds. Cousin's, Silver Spur,  and Moe's more have provided us dinners in the Hospitality area. And that was where I found out about Moe's famous Queso!

I took some chicken, some chips and the cheese and made myself a mini set of nachos this past year and fell absolutely in love with the cheese. I then found out from talking to others that love Moe's that it's a quick serve place like a Qdoba or Chipotle and I definitely need to try it.

My mom and I were heading home from babysitting my niece and nephew and were starving, so we hit Moe's on the way back.

The menu has all sorts of unique names for things and I wasn't sure how to order so I asked the guy for a Chicken Quesadilla and he informed me that was the "John Coctostan." I was then able to pick out the exact fresh ingredients I wanted inside the 'dilla. I went with cheese, black beans, chicken, pico de gallo, and cilantro. There was also cucumbers, rice, spicy salsa, corn salsa, jalepenos, bacon, sour cream, guacamole, queso, pinto beans and more.

My mom chose a hard shell chicken taco with cheese, chicken, sour cream and guacamole on it. We splurged for a cup of queso and chips. We weren't aware chips and salsa came with all meals at this point but I told my mom we just had to have queso!

I thought that my quesadilla was excellent (much better than Qdoba's) and my mom really enjoyed her taco. Nice and crunchy and we both agreed the chicken was nicely seasoned but not spicy. We were silly to think that the cup of queso was goign to be going home with us, because even though we were full, when it comes to chips in my family, down the hatch they go. And the queso was delicious. I definitely need to keep that in mind for a party.

I did notice the food wheel on the wall and wanted to read more about it. Take a moment to read about their ingredients the provide their customers daily!

I did think that it was a little pricey for what we got - the quesadilla (we could have split it) one taco, queso and chips and two drinks - it was $20. Not horrible but the drinks were over $2 a piece and yes we could get unlimited refills but I try to limit the amount of processed sugars and such going into my body lately. I think next time knowing how it all works there, we will order and share.

I will definitely be back and am totally in love with the queso sauce - I see there are some copycat recipes online. I'll have to test them out to see. But for $4, you can't pass that up for a quick treat.