While anticipating baby’s arrival, I prepped a bunch of veggies to have on hand. I knew that in our sleep deprived state, the ChowPapa and I would certainly acquiesce to Isaac’s repeated requests for slurpy pasta and pizza every night. Having veggies ready to heat and eat got us through the first week without totally depriving Isaac of nutritional value.

One of the things I made was a double batch of Butternut Squash with Honey, Lemon & Parmesan, which made its way into these yummy quesadillas. Between the squash and avocado, this vegetarian meal packs a nutritious punch and takes no more than 30 minutes to put together, start to finish. The avocado and squash go best with a fruity garnish like this Mango Salsa. Someone brought us a pineapple mango salsa that had cantaloupe in it, which worked great, too.

PS: This is another great veggie-centric meal to get you through sweets week! And also makes a great lunch—packed or for at home–that’s best eaten with hand (finger food alert!)

Butternut Squash & Avocado Quesadillas, makes 4 large quesadillas
(can be adapted for kids 8+ mos*)

8 large organic flour tortillas
1/2 batch of Butternut Squash with Honey, Lemon & Parmesan (you can substitute canned or frozen squash puree)*
1 organic avocado
organic shredded cheese (cheddar, monterey jack or a mix of the two)
organic butter

1. Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. In the meantime, assemble your first quesadilla: spread squash puree on one tortilla, top with thin slices of 1/4 of the avocado and top with shredded cheese (amount depends on how cheesy you like your quesadillas!). Top with a second tortilla

2. When butter just begins to sizzle, use a spatula to transfer quesadilla to pan. Cook about 2-4 minutes, until side facing down turns golden brown, then flip. Cook another 2-4 minutes until second side turns golden brown.

3. Remove from pan and repeat for remaining quesadillas. Top with salsa and serve!

*Note: If making this for kids under 12 mos and using my squash recipe, make sure to skip the honey and lemon. You can read more about why and how you can adjust the recipe in the original post. If using canned or frozen puree, you can mix with butter and parmesan for 8-12 mos olds, or butter, parm, honey & lemon (to replicate my recipe) for everyone 12+ mos.