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Onion and Cheese Quesadilla

April 27, 2011

I've talked before about my son's overwhelming love of onions, both raw and cooked....and my bewilderment over this fact. Raw onions have such a strong and intense flavor, yet I have seen him on more than one occasion eat handfuls of raw onions until his breath was so strong I had to turn my face away. Of course cooking onions makes them sweeter and much less sharp, but I’ve still seen some kids respond poorly to their texture. Believe me, I like onions every now and then, but my little guy could eat them morning, noon and night.

However, the real surprise came last week after I had made this recipe. Chloe had just woken up from her nap and there were several remaining pieces of the Onion and Cheese Quesadilla I had made for Kenya's school lunch resting on the cutting board in the kitchen. She saw them and chirped, "I want some quesadilla". I haven't seen Chloe eat onions often, but I didn't say anything and handed her a piece. I expected her to take one bite and be done with it. Three slices later I was proved wrong. Very wrong, obviously. Could it be that I have two onion loving kids? Then again, is it really so weird for kids to like onions or is it just weird that I think it's so odd? No matter what the answers are, my guys loved this recipe and since it's so easy to make, I see a lot more onions in my future.

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Onion and Cheese Quesadilla  (Serves 4)

  • Prep Time:3 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes,
  • Total Time: 15 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 small red onion, sliced thin
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded & divided
  • 4 tortillas, flour, spelt or whole wheat

Preparation

  1. 1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and sauté onions and salt for 6 minutes or until golden. Remove and set aside.
  2. 2. Place one tortilla in a dry pan over medium heat, sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over tortilla and top with half the cooked onions.
  3. 3. Top with another tortilla and heat through, about 3 minutes on each side or until cheese is melted and tortilla is slightly toasted.
  4. 4. Repeat with the remaining ingredients for the second quesadilla.
  5. 5. Cut into wedges and serve.
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Comments






  1. melissa@the hungry artist

    April 29, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    Reply

    It’s funny — my son recently decided he loves onion too. He likes them on burgers. He’s six now. We are a family of onion lovers, so it’s all good. Love the quesadilla recipe. :)

  2. Julia's Child

    April 28, 2011 at 9:19 am

    Reply

    Yes! I cook with onions every day, but I have a slightly different way of serving them raw in salads– I chop the onion and then pour red wine vinegar over it. I let that stand for a half an hour, and then I put the “pickled” onions into the salad, and use the vinegar to make my dressing.
    The “pickled” onions are still crunchy, but the acid from the vinegar takes that harsh sting out of them. It’s one of my very favorite kitchen miracles.
    S.

  3. Tina

    April 28, 2011 at 8:40 am

    Reply

    I would like to talk about Kenya’s lunch . . . how do you keep Kenya’s food warm? Would you be willing to post her lunch items every day? Please. I struggle with my finicky son and my daughter is often teased by her classmates if she brings something they don’t understand which is a whole ‘nother topic in of itself. I’m just curious if you’d be willing to share some additional information. Thanks.

    • catherine

      April 29, 2011 at 2:51 pm

      Reply

      Here is our school lunch album on Facebook :) http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.485552296608.256909.248062301608

      Kenya eats his lunch at room temperature and I often put an ice pack in his lunch. Hope the album helps, I know it is very hard when it comes to school lunch which is why I made this album :)

    • bunbunbaby

      April 28, 2011 at 7:56 pm

      Reply

      Tina,

      Kenya is actually Catherine’s (the creator of this food blog) son, and you can view what is in his lunch daily by going to the home page of the weelicious site and clicking on the “school lunch” icon.

      Cheers :)

      • Tina

        April 29, 2011 at 7:03 am

        Reply

        Thanks bunbunbaby :-) I feel like I just hit the jackpot, lol!!! I’m still curious if anyone struggles to keep items warm in the lunchboxes for the kids? I’m talking items that aren’t thermos friendly like the above recipe. Thanks.

  4. MJ_Mom

    April 27, 2011 at 11:37 am

    Reply

    I have to try this recipe…over the weekend we ordered a blooming onion and my 19 month old couldn’t get enough of it.

  5. anitasc

    April 27, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Reply

    Just made this for my 19 month old.. and me.. for lunch. We both enjoyed it very much! :) Thanks for another quick and delicious recipe.

  6. Ashley

    April 27, 2011 at 11:05 am

    Reply

    My son HATES onions. He is only 3 and will pick them off of anything they are on. He reminds me everytime I cook that he does not like onions. I’m still thinking that I will try this. He LOVES cheese. Maybe he’ll eat onions this way.

    • catherine

      April 27, 2011 at 11:49 am

      Reply

      I had the same reaction with Chloe, but I didn’t say anything and she ate it all up. When you cook onions the caramelize and sweeten up a bit. I say give it a try :) I love being surprised when they like a food I didn’t think they would enjoy.

  7. Liz

    April 27, 2011 at 10:11 am

    Reply

    My first reaction to this recipe was, BLECH!! And then I remembered that my pregnancy changed my tastes, and I actually like cooked onions now :P I’ll definitely try this at some point!

  8. Emily

    April 27, 2011 at 8:45 am

    Reply

    I was one of those weird kids that loved onions when I was little. My mom thought it was bizarre back then, but I still love them today. I will definitely be making this quesadilla and perhaps tossing some mango in with it!

  9. Mags

    April 27, 2011 at 8:37 am

    Reply

    I, too, have two raw-onion loving kids! Try chopped scallions on their scrambled eggs, my kids request this all the time.

  10. Jane

    April 27, 2011 at 6:03 am

    Reply

    Good reminder not to pass our food aversions or preconceptions on our kids! I don’t like anything too “oniony” but this reminds me to keep that to myself when serving onions!

  11. Lana

    April 27, 2011 at 5:02 am

    Reply

    Did you ever try sweet onions.Some people eat them like apples,because they are so sweet and mild in taste:)Great recipe.Thank you :)

  12. CuteEverything

    April 27, 2011 at 1:31 am

    Reply

    Yum! I love that you used whole wheat tortillas, they have such a great nutty flavor.



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