[5 Recipes] Back To School Lunch Ideas With Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt

Back-to-school Lunch Ideas

It's a brand new year and welcome to 2015 folks! With new school term starting I am sure most of you with kid(s) like us who is going back to school it will be another year of brain cracking time to prepare their lunch and/or tea snack. Likewise our boy who is in higher primary this year will most probably be spending more time in the school or rushing for after school enrichment classes. So preparing some quick lunch/snack such as sandwiches, muffins or hot food (baked rice/pasta) will be a great choice to fill up his hungry tummy until dinner.

Recently Perfect Italiano has launched a new addition; Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt to their existing ranges exclusive only to Cold Storage supermarkets. This delicious blend is perfect for melting and grilling which is a bonus to turn simple tasty meals in minutes. Below are 5 recipes tested using this new blend of cheese to whip up some quick cheesy meal.

CHEESY CAULIFLOWER WITH BACON BITS

[Back-to-school Lunch] Baked Cheesy Cauliflower with Bacon Bits

Cauliflower which is part of the same family as broccoli, cabbage and radish is good for both adults and kids which helps to keep their immune system in good shape plus other nutrition benefits such as; rich in vitamin C for healthy gums, folate and for a healthy heart and fibre for good digestive health.

This simple Baked Cauliflower dish which topped with melted oozing cheese and crisp bacon bits will be a great favourite for everyone in the family. Between you can also consider to mix 1/4 to 1/2 portion of broccoli with cauliflower for this recipe for different layer of texture and visual effect. On top of that cooking (blanching) the vegetable in boiling water can be replace with steaming method to retain it's crunch.

[Back-to-school Lunch] Ingredients for Baked Cheesy Cauliflower

(Yield: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Baking: 5-7 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 300g Cauliflower, cut into medium size florets
• 1/4 Cup of Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt
• 1 Teaspoon of Olive Oil
• Some Bacon Bits / Chopped Nuts, optional

Method:
1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add in 1/2 teaspoon of oil, pinch of salt together with cauliflower florets and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until tender.

2. Drain the cauliflower and place it in shallow oiled baking dish (lightly greased the baking dish with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of oil), top evenly with Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt and put under the grill for 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown in colour.

3. Remove top with bacon bits or chopped roasted nuts and serve immediately.

Homemade Bacon Bits:
Ingredient:
2 Low Salt Streaky Bacon

Method:
1. Using a sharp knife and sliced the bacon into long strips about 0.5cm wide then cut the strips into small pieces.

2. Pan-fry the bacon (without oil) over medium heat until crisp.

3. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and set aside.

CHEESY GARLIC BREAD

Rushing for time to prepare lunch with low supply of ingredients available in the pantry? No worry, you can easily transform simple baguette into a mouth-watering cafe style dish in 15 minutes with butter, garlic and cheese. This Cheesy Garlic Bread is crusty on the outside yet soft and chewy when bite. We love to have this with a bowl of hot soup especially cream of mushroom on cold day or with some lovely salad green for hot afternoon lunch.

Between the garlicky taste might vary from one to another so it’s up to individual to adjust the amount of garlic used (either more or less) to achieve your desire preference.

[Back-to-school Lunch] Ingredients for Cheesy Garlic Bread

(Yield: 4 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Baking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 Baguette, cut into halved lengthway
• 1 Cup Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt
• 120g Unsalted Butter, soften
• 6 Cloves Garlic, minced
• Some freshly chopped parsley, optional

Method:
1. Place baguette crust side down on a baking try line with parchment paper. Meanwhile preheat oven to 200°C / 392°F.

2. In a small bowl, combined soft butter and minced garlic together to form a spreadable paste then spread it evenly on the prepared baguette.

3. Baked baguette in preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes until top is slightly golden brown.

4. Remove and sprinkle Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt evenly over it, top with some chopped parsley and back into the oven to broil for 1 minute or until cheese has completed melted showing some golden bubble marks.

5. Carefully remove bread from oven, slice it into diagonal pieces and serve.

Tip:

- You can freeze leftover or extra garlic bread wrapped in parchment paper (remember to place a divider between two slices of bread to prevent them from sticking together when storing in the freezer) and foil in freezer for up to a month or two.

- To Consume:  Remove required portion from freezer and pop it straight into the oven toaster for 15 minutes or until butter melted and bread is crisp on the outside and heated through.

AVOCADO CHICKEN QUESADILLA

Quesadilla is a flour or a corn tortilla filled with savoury mixture containing cheese, meat and/or vegetables and they are often folded into half to form a half-moon shape or sometime the ingredients is sandwich between two pieces of tortillas. This is a quick snack which is fast in making, crispy and cheesy when eaten; you can also explore different flavour with whatever ingredients on hand. But just remember some of these points when preparing quesadilla:

• Don’t use too much oil when cooking the tortilla; 
• Don’t over stuffed (quesadilla is better when keep light for easy flipping);
• Don’t overcrowd the pan;
• Monitor the heat since tortilla gets burnt easily.

[Back-to-school Lunch] Ingredients for Chicken and Avocado Quesadilla

(Yield: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 4 Pieces Of Flour Tortillas
• 1 Cup Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt
• 1 Cup Cooked Chicken Breast, diced
• 1 Avocado, diced sprinkled with pinch of sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• 1 Medium Red Onion, diced

Method:
1. Melt butter in the griddle or frying pan then place a piece of tortilla over it.

2. Evenly sprinkle 1/4 portion of the diced chicken, avocado, onion and cheese on 1/2 side of the tortilla then fold it into half-moon shape (if your pan is big enough you can make two at a time).

3. Cook on medium heat till tortilla (the bottom) turns browned; gently flip it over using a spatula and cook till the flipped side is browned.

4. Remove quesadilla and repeat with remaining ingredients.

5. Slice quesadilla with a sharp knife or pizza cutter into 3 wedges and serve immediately on its own or with some extra salad greens.

HOT DOG BUN WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND CHEESE

[Back-to-school Lunch] Hot Dog Bun with caramelized onions and cheese

I am sure most of you including us loved hot dog bun especially those sold in carnival or IKEA (quite popular in IKEA Singapore). For us instead of adding the usual mustard and/or tomato sauce, we love to stuff our hot dog bun with caramelized onions, sliced tomato then covered it with generous amount of cheese and broil/bake it until browned.

(Yield: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt
• 2 Hot Dog Buns
• 2 Chicken Hot Dog/Sausage
• 1 Medium Brown Onion, sliced
• 1 Medium Tomato, sliced
• 10g Unsalted Butter

Method:
1. In a frying pan caramelize onions with butter and 1 teaspoon of olive oil until soften and slightly translucent (it takes about 5-7 minutes or so on medium low heat).

2. In a pot of boiling water cook sausage for about 5 minutes and drain well. Alternatively you can cook it together with the onion on one end of the pan.

3. Slice bun lengthwise from the side, arrange caramelized onions, tomato and the sausage on it. Sprinkle with cheese and place it on a baking tray.

4. Melt cheese in the preheated 180°C / 356°F oven until browned, garnish with dried parsley or desire sauce and serve with a glass of cold milk or juice.

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA

[Back-to-school Lunch] Chicken Parmigiana

Parmigiana is a Southern Italian dish made with a shallow-fried sliced filling, layered with cheese, tomato sauce and baked before serving. This Chicken Parmigiana dish is one of my boy's favourite weekday lunch order which goes well with either pasta salad or mashed potato. We simply love the tender chicken breast schnitzel which topped with a spread of tomato pasta sauce, fresh avocado and generous amount of grated cheese for that perfect finishing taste.

[Back-to-school Lunch] Ingredients for chicken parmigiana

Recipe adapted from Perfect Italiano recipe booklet

(Yield: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 Skinless Chicken Breast, halved
• 1/4 Cup Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1/4 Cup Cornstarch
• 1/2 Cup Dried Breadcrumbs or Panko
• 50ml Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoon Tomato Paste Sauce
• Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 Ripe Avocado (optional), sliced

Method:
1. Lightly marinate chicken with salt and pepper. Coat it with cornstarch, then in egg and finally in the breadcrumbs.

2. Heat up oil in frying pan and shallow fry chicken on both sides until golden brown. Remove and drained well on kitchen paper towel.

3. Next spread a layer of tomato paste sauce on the prepared chicken, top with Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt and a few slices of avocado if using.

4. Place under the grill for 2 - 3 minutes until cheese melts or alternatively, bake in preheated 180°C / 356°F oven until cheese melts and golden brown.

[Back-to-school Lunch] Chicken Parmigiana

[SIDE DISH] Mashed Potato:

Ingredients:

• 4 - 5 Medium Potato, skin removed
• 15g Butter
• 50ml Fresh Milk
• Salt and Pepper

Method:
1. Peel and cut potato into 1.5" cubes then place them into a saucepan.

2. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and water until potatoes are covered. When the mixture comes to boil reduce to low heat and simmer, covered for 10 - 15 minutes until potato is soft and easily poked through with a fork.

3. Drain excess cooking water from potatoes (if any). Add soften butter and use potato masher or fork to mash potatoes until well mashed.

4. Next beat in milk (1 tablespoon at a time) to achieve your desire consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt

Perfect Italiano 4 Cheese Melt (450g) is a delicious blend of traditional and easy melt Mozzarellas with Cheddar for full flavour and Romano for bite. Besides that the end product doesn't go oily and it melts with a lovely golden brown which makes it perfect for melting and grilling. So why not pick up a pack or two at your nearest Cold Storage supermarkets to try out these quick recipes above or hop over to Perfect Italiano website @ www.perfectitaliano.com.sg\recipes for more other recipe ideas.

[Back-to-school Lunch] Chicken Parmigiana with avocado and cheese, mashed potato and salad

Lastly hope these ready in 30 minutes quick lunch ideas will be useful in your meal planning and do leave us your suggestions if you have any kid's lunch ideas so that we could try it out too. Between do keep a look up for our next back-to-school lunch ideas which we will featured some other new inspiration ideas soon.


Disclaimer: This post is brought to you in partnership with Nuffnang and Perfect Italiano.