Scrambling for Quick Summer Meals?

ARA - Do summer schedules have you scrambling for quick, on-the-go meals? Although summer brings longer days, time is of the essence in warm weather months. There seems to be even less time for the family to sit down and enjoy a meal together. However, just because your family is going a dozen different directions, it doesn’t mean that nutritious meals need to be over looked … they just need to be portable.

Instead of stopping for fast food, stock your refrigerator with versatile, nutritious foods, like eggs. Eggs contain all-natural, high-quality protein, and they go well with many other foods. Scrambled eggs take just minutes to prepare. Add some garden fresh vegetables, pack them in pita pockets or roll them in tortillas, and you have a hand-held meal that your family can take with them to the baseball game or soccer practice.

If you’re looking to grab a quick snack after an afternoon at the pool, be sure that you have vitamin-rich fruits washed and ready to go along with protein-dense foods such as hard-cooked eggs. These hand-held goodies are sure to offer cool pleasure to hungry snackers.

Here’s a recipe for a portable meal that will be sure to a family favorite. Add any garden fresh toppings that your family may like such as onions, green peppers, chopped tomatoes or shredded lettuce.

Scrambled Egg and Chicken Wraps
(Makes: 3 servings)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 tablespoons skim or low-fat milk
3 (7- to 9-inch) flour or whole-wheat tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) chopped cooked chicken
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, if desired
3 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Salsa, taco or pizza sauce

Preparation:
Break eggs into a bowl. Add the milk. Beat the eggs and milk until blended. Set the bowl aside.

Heat tortillas according to package directions. Cover tortillas with a towel to keep them warm.

Coat a 9-inch pan with cooking spray. Heat pan until a few drops of water sizzle in the pan.

Add chicken and chili powder, if desired. Cook and stir the mixture until the chicken is heated all the way through to the middle of each piece, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour the egg mixture into the pan over the chicken. The eggs will start to set. Hold a pancake turner upside down and gently pull it across the bottom and sides of the pan. Keep pulling the pancake turner through the eggs and chicken until the eggs are thick and you can’t see any more liquid eggs in the pan. Don’t stir all the time or the eggs will break into tiny pieces. When the eggs are thick and there is no more liquid egg in the pan, remove the pan from the burner.

Spoon the eggs into a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Spoon the eggs into the center of each warm tortilla. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1 tablespoon cheese. Spoon the salsa or taco or pizza sauce on top of the cheese. Add any other toppings you like. Roll up each tortilla.

Nutrition information per serving of 1/3 recipe using 8 inch flour tortilla, 3/8 teaspoon chili powder and Cheddar cheese without salsa or other topping: 273 calories; 12 gm total fat, 243 mg cholesterol, 321 mg sodium, 212 mg potassium, 21 gm protein and 10 percent or more of the RDI for vitamins A and B12, niacin, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc.

For more egg recipes and quick summer meal ideas visit www.incredibleegg.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent