Polar Bears, Salsa, and Quesadillas

Travis's school trip this past April was to San Diego to coincide with a study on animals in biology.  They went to the San Diego Zoo and Sea World and by all accounts had a great time.  His final project was to create an exhibit of one of those animals and he chose polarbears.  This past weekend I helped him complete it and he turned it in today.  I think it turned out pretty well ... what do you think?

Liam missed school again today for being sick so he was on again, off again with his moods.  After not getting much sleep again last night (I think this makes 6 days in a row now), I wanted something quick and easy to throw together.  I had purchased all the things to make this salsa this past weekend and threw it together this morning -- that way no prep work on that tonight.  I was surprised how delicious it was.  A little on the sweet side but it did balance the habaneros well.  This is my submission to Sweetnick's ARF/5-a-day Tuesdays -- with good for you fruit and veggies, it's a winner on the nutritional scale (just stay away from those tortilla chips!)  Head over there tomorrow to see what other good for you food everyone has come up with.

As for the quesadillas, I again used an already roasted chicken as the base.  It's amazing how tasty and reasonable they are.  This time I chopped the breast meat (throwing away the skin), mixed it with BBQ sauce, placed it on half a large tortilla, added sliced red onion, and asadero cheese.  Folded it over and lightly fried it in a small amount of canola oil until both sides were golden brown. See, delicious and simple!

Mango-Habanero Salsa
Tejas Grill and Cantina
Yield: 3 1/2 cups

2 ripe mangoes
2 to 3 fresh habanero peppers (see note)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium red onion, minced
4 tomatillos
1/4 cup honey (see note)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1/4 cup hot sauce (Tejas uses Frank's Red Hot brand)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste

Cut mango fruit from pit; scoop fruit from peel and dice. Place in a large bowl. Mince peppers and onion; add to bowl. Discard papery outer leaves from tomatillos; rinse tomatillos, dice and add to bowl. Add honey, vinegar, hot sauce, salt and black pepper; toss to mix well.

Serve with tortilla chips or as a garnish for grilled fish. Salsa may also be used as a marinade or sauce for grilled chicken.

Per ( 1/4-cup) serving: 48 calories; no fat (no calories from fat); no saturated fat; no cholesterol; 0.5g protein; 11.5g carbohydrate; 10g sugar; 1g fiber; 361mg sodium; 6mg calcium; 112mg potassium.

Note: Use gloves when handling habanero peppers. Honey is used to balance the flavor of the salsa, but can be omitted if hotter salsa is desired. Store salsa in a nonreactive container, such as glass or ceramic.

Comments

[Claire]

Poor Liam (and mom!)! I hope he was well today. I was never sick much when I was little and have been blessed with good health thus far in my "adult" life. I did get a cold last year about 2 weeks into working in the peds clinic...but what can you expect?! Your dinner looks so healthy and refreshing. I've never made fruit salsa but I bet it is yummy. The only time I've had it, I wasn't thrilled by it but the place that made it was a fish place...so that wasn't exactly their specialty! Cute polar bears, BTW!

[Alisha]

Unfortunately whenever Liam has gotten sick he stays that way for at least 3 weesk. He also gets sick very easily. I feel so bad for him because I know how rotten he feels. Thankfully he's better today even though he still doesn't have much of a voice.

You are very lucky not to get sick. Adrienne is like that too and I'm glad.

You should give the fruit salsa a try ... it's really refreshing!

[Brilynn]

That's an excellent combo of flavours, I love heat with mango.