Normally the month of October inspires images of candy. It’s a time when the store shelves seem stocked full of sweets that you can only find once a year. I take that back – maybe it’s that I usually try to avoid the candy aisle, so bags of Baby Ruth or NutRageous don’t mysteriously find their way into my grocery cart.
So here’s another food to celebrate in October: Vegetables! That’s right: October isn’t just the month of Halloween; it’s also Vegetarian Awareness Month. You might use that as reminder to up the amount of veggies you and your family eat each day… and the excuse to try out new veggie dishes, like this veggie quesadilla recipe.
You might even want to look at some of your family’s favorite recipes and try out a vegetarian twist. Maybe instead of ground beef in your spaghetti sauce, try mixing in sauteed eggplant. Or forget the regular burgers and try out black bean patties. If your kids normally request ham-and-cheese sandwiches for lunch, what about a veggie wrap? Toss rice with shredded cheese and leftover cooked vegetables and roll it up in a flour tortilla.
Why not take the kids with you when you head to the grocery store and have them each pick out a new-to-them vegetable that you can use in your dinner that night? There are so many ways to make vegetables exciting for your kids’ taste buds.
I’m passing along this quick and easy recipe for veggie quesadillas. I used thin sliced peppers and onion to make these, and slathered on refried beans and sprinkled on some cheese to hold the whole thing together. These are great cut with a pizza cutter then dipped into salsa. Yummy veggie dinner? Done.
Try my veggie quesadilla recipe here!