Back from the break!

I think the first day back from a break is the worst. Even though the chics consistently got me up before sunrise during their Thanksgiving break, somehow the sound of the alarm this morning was just excruciating. After getting the big chic ready for school today I realized that I forgot to make her a lunch! Oops! We were so preoccupied with other things this weekend, that school kinda snuck up on me. Fortunately there's always the dining hall! Tomorrow, though, little chic has school, too and there is no dining hall at preschool.

Cucumber slices, Clementine with dried cherry, Wheat Chex, Cheddar cheese with ham twirls

Turkey Turkey

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I haven't made any Thanksgiving lunches! I'm trying to come up with some fun crafts for the kids over the holidays and came across the cutest turkey shaped sandwiches on Family Fun's website so I thought tomorrow would be the perfect day for a Thanksgiving lunch. My turkey did not turn out as cute as I would have liked, but I think it will suffice (plus big chic is becoming more concerned with having a grown up lunch, rather than a cutesy one!)

Turkey turkey and cheese sandwich with mini pepper feathers, grapes, chocolate chunk cookie

Immaculate Baking Co. makes ready made cookie dough in all sorts of flavors. Recently the hubs was reading some review of the best ready made cookie doughs and their chocolate chunk was the winner. I had seen it at Central Market, but had never tried it and that article convinced me that I should. The cookies are really good, but what I like more is that all of the ingredients are natural...no weird stuff, no corn syrup. They're made from the same ingredients that I make cookies from. LOVE that!

Pumpkin Patch

Tomorrow little chic is visiting a pumpkin patch! Well, technically the pumpkin patch is coming to preschool, but still... so, the theme for the day is orange. When I saw some orange globe carrots at the store this weekend, I knew I had to buy them for her orange lunch.

Ghost marshmallows, Cheese skewers (yes, it's American cheese...don't judge!), Orange globe carrots, Fruit leather and Trail mix cookie.

Today's lunch brought to you by the letter E

This week's preschool letter is E. Not many E foods out there except eggs and I just wasn't feeling an all egg lunch. So, I decided that E would stand for eclectic cause these lunches are kind of a mish mosh of several different things we had around the house this weekend. We had some leftover sticky rice, some blue cheese and pecan dip, some granola bars...none of it really goes together but we're gonna make it work. E is for Eclectic, remember?

Little chic's lunch

Rice balls with nori "E"s on a bed of carrots, Grape and blue cheese salad, Granola bar, snack mix with popcorn, puffed corn and chocolate Cheerios.

Big chic's lunch

Celery sticks, Granola bars, Grape and blue cheese salad, Ham and cheese sushi

I started out making "sushi" with ham, cheese, spinach, and carrots. Big chic loved it but Little chic wanted me to make hers into rice balls, so the ham and cheese and veggies are on the inside.


After a party this weekend, we had some leftover blue cheese and pecan dip. I mixed it with some halved grapes to make one of the hubs favorite salads. I was making it for his lunch, but the chics wanted to taste it and then insisted it go into their lunches as well.




The granola bars are the beloved Smitten Kitchen Thick and Chewy Granola Bars. So yummy!

"B" happy!

In preschool, the letter of the week is "B" so we did a lunch of all "B" foods...

"Brooke" made with Bread, Berries, Baby chick made with a Boiled egg, Blue cheese dip with Baby carrots

I know that my posts seem to focus only on the little chic's lunches, but I promise that big chic still takes her lunch! She pretty much takes the same lunch as the little chic on Tues and Thursdays and takes leftovers the rest of the time. It works out well and gives me a break from an entire week of fancy lunches. Here's one of her leftover lunches:

Wild Mushroom Quinoa Risotto, Blue jello (leftover from "blue day"), Applesauce, Purple carrots, Cheese stick

See...I'm feeding the big chic lunch...I swear!!

Blue Food

Warning: if the sight of unnaturally colored food makes you queasy, look away now!

Tomorrow is "blue day" at preschool. Gotta say, not the easiest color to achieve naturally. This lunch is more of a purpley blue combo, but it was as close as I could get. The only thing that I added color to was the cottage cheese. I thought it looked gross, but little chic thought it was awesome. Go figure!

Purple baby carrots, Cottage cheese(with a dot of blue icing color), Frozen blackberries, Blue jello.

"O" yeah!!

Sometimes I find myself struggling to come up with a new idea for the chic's lunches, and we all know that the little chic has seriously high expectations for her lunches this year. My lack of creativity and her demand for pizazz is a recipe for disaster. In the past, on a day where I'm just not feelin' it, I can tell big chic to buy her lunch in the dining hall. But, preschool has no dining hall to turn to in moments of weakness. Needless to say, I've been a little worried about disappointing her with the uninspired lunch. So imagine my delight when she comes home last week with a calendar listing all of the themes for the month. It's like the lunches can just plan themselves! WOOHOO! This week the theme is "O is for Ocean". She had already asked for this salad in her lunch so I decided to focus on the "O" rather than the "Ocean".

Spinach salad with apple O's and pistachiOs with pistachiO dressing, O sandwich with turkey and cheese, Carrot chips, Cherry fruit leather.

Big chic is buying her lunch tomorrow so little chic got to pick whichever containers she wanted to take and she chose the blue with the big container.

The salad is another Aarti Party recipe called The Ugly Duckling Salad. Little chic devoured it and asked if she could take it in her lunch this week. Aarti is my new favorite for finding new recipes. We've made almost all of her recipes so far, and we have loved every one of them. Nothing has even been mediocre, like "meh it was okay". It has all been so good, we are fighting over the little bits left in the bowl or pan. Seriously yummy! Tonight we are making her tumeric rubbed shrimp stuffed with cilantro and garlic with her apple lime peanut slaw and the whole family is excited about another Aarti menu!

A few from this week...

Two lunches (okay, technically three - I made the first lunch twice) to post today from this week. Both chics took this lunch this week:
Orange segments with blueberries, Homemade granola bar, Carrot and okra chips, Black olives, Turkey and cheese skewers.

These granola bars are called Playgroup Granola Bars. I used to make them all the time. That was before I found the Smitten Kitchen granola bar recipe! Anyway, I've been making Smitten Kitchen's granola bars for so long that I completely forgot about this recipe. One of my friends made them the other day and it reminded me of them. Although I like the Smitten Kitchen's granola bars more, the Playgroup Granola bars are much easier and require less special ingredients.

The other lunch for the week was a leftover lunch...Big chic took leftover Pioneer Woman's Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan cheese, Celery sticks, Fruit leather

Pioneer Woman's Spaghetti and Meatball recipe is really good and fairly easy. I made a batch of it a couple months ago and froze the leftovers in the trusty Foodsaver. All I had to do for dinner was cook the pasta and heat up the sauce. It's perfect for a busy weeknight and it's even better the next day (or a few months later :) )

Double Trouble

As I write this post today, my little chic is sitting in a preschool class...her FIRST preschool class...EVER! She was so excited about it this morning that she was literally telling me to leave. I think the exact words were, "Can I go color now? You can go ahead and leave." Although I am so glad that my little darlings are confident enough to meet new challenges head on, another part of me is kinda sad that my baby pretty much kicked me out of her class this morning. I have to say, though, that I was a tad excited too. I haven't had a day alone with no children, and no husband, and no appointments in years. So, I'm sitting here typing, listening to the sounds of the dishwasher and air conditioner instead of whining for snacks or the sweet sweet sounds of Nickelodeon (raise your hand if you wanna scream every time you hear a Big Time Rush song).

Because big sister's lunches were such a big deal last year, little chic has been thinking about her first day of school lunch for quite a while. When I originally asked her what she wanted in her lunch, she told me to make a Tinkerbell sandwich. I told her that might be a little hard and she said, "Nuh uh. Just make the sandwich shaped like Tinkerbell and her eyes can be blueberries and her dress can be lettuce leaves." Ooooookay... Maybe she should start making the lunches? I finally convinced her to go with something a little less time consuming and she decided to help me make them. While big chic goes more for the surprise aspect of the cool lunch, little chic wants to have a bit more control (and by control I mean BOSSY!) She told me every thing that would be in her lunch and how to make it (again, BOSSY!) Did I mention that she stood over me, umm, I mean helped, the entire time? Both chics took pretty much the same lunch today with a few variations..

.

Big chic's...Lite turkey bologna butterfly sandwich, Peach flower filled with goat cheese and almonds, Sugar snap peas inside mini pepper rings, Cranberry white chocolate chip cookie and dried cranberries

Little chic's...Cranberry white chocolate chip cookie and dried cranberries, Celery sticks inside mini pepper rings, Peach star filled with goat cheese and almonds, Lite turkey bologna butterfly sandwich.

Summer's getting closer!

This is the time of year when I love going grocery shopping! All the summer fruits and veggies are starting to show up in the stores and we start focusing on eating more salads and grilled proteins. (It also helps to know that we will be having to put swimsuits on at any moment!) You can pretty much buy any food any time of year now, but the quality is usually poor and the price is usually high. We are finally starting to see some of the "in season" fruits at "in season" prices. YAY!! Tomorrow's lunch is include the first of our REAL summer berries.




Bagel Thin with strawberry yogurt spread, strawberries and blackberries, Jicama and sliced cucumbers, Babybel cheese

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on my Laptop Lunchbox carrier issue. A few hours after I posted my review, the wonderful people at Obentec contacted me and offered to replace my carrier. YAY! There are so many companies that don't stand behind their products once it's out of their hands and I'm glad to know that they AREN'T one of them! It's that kind of customer service that makes me stick with a company!

Three Amigos

This lunch didn't start out being faces, but when I put the ham and cheese in the container, they were just begging for a face. I'm gonna tell the big chic that the ham and cheese people are she and her two besties (one's a boy and one's a girl). She'll love that!

Natural applesauce, Whole grain sandwich thin, Frozen green beans, Ham, turkey, and cheese amigos.

Mushroom Risotto...hold the mushrooms

Yesterday I was really hungry for risotto. I knew that I had a bunch of mushrooms in the fridge, so I was planning to make it with mushrooms. I normally prep everything before I even turn to range on, but I was in a hurry last night and decided to chop as I went. Well, by the time I got to the "slice mushrooms" part, I found that my mushrooms had gotten all slimy and gross. Since I was already mid-risotto, I had to wing it. I cooked up some chicken and a few slices of bacon, caramelized some onions, and chopped up some frozen grilled eggplant and voila! - smoky balsamic chicken and eggplant risotto. At least that's what I'm calling it and if the hubs asks, it was totally intentional and no I did not waste the $5 container of mushrooms that he told me I would forget about!

The chics call it "the cheesy rice". Whatever. Big chic was thrilled that it was in her thermos, I mean Lunch Jar, today. I didn't take a photo of the thermos, cause, really, it wasn't that exciting. But, here it is in a bowl ready to eat.

She took a slice of French bread, and some white grape juice with her Lunch Jar AND she's buying a yogurt from the dining hall.

Salad and Ricotta Stuffed Peppers

It seems like sometime around Winter Break the big chic's lunch turned away from the "cute" and towards the leftovers. Even when I try to send a decorated lunch, she ends up asking if she can take "some of this" while we're sitting at the dinner table. We are very lucky that she is able to heat things in the microwave in the dining hall. Otherwise, we'd probably be a lot more limited with the leftovers. Tonight's dinner was Italian salad with ricotta stuffed mini peppers.

Italian salad, red grapes, ricotta stuffed mini peppers

The mini peppers recipe came from my new Giada cookbook (it's also on Food Network) and the salad is the Olive Garden copycat salad dressing with banana peppers, Parmesan, and black olives. (Big chic LOVES banana peppers!)

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna is soooooo good, but I rarely make it because I feel so guilty eating it. The same things that make it great are the same things that make it bad for you...cheese, cheese, and more cheese! I came across a lasagna soup recipe that had all the flavor of lasagna with only a bit of cheese. It's Paula Deen's Tastes Like Lasagna Soup. I know that Paula Deen is not normally known for her healthy cooking, but this recipe is actually very healthy. I made a few modifications, though, to boost the nutritional value even more. I added a buncha spinach and omitted the mozzarella. I also added a small spoonful of ricotta cheese to the top. YUM!

I packed the soup in her lunch jar and then sent a few snacky type things in a little bento to eat with it.

Oreo, Goldfish crackers, Lasagna soup, Dried cranberries

Elvis Roll-Up

Tomorrow's lunch is a popular item with our family...okay, everyone except the hubs who insists that peanut butter and bacon is gross. But he is so SO wrong! They compliment each other perfectly! I think it's an even better combination that peanut butter and chocolate. Seriously! When I was pregnant I went through a grilled peanut butter, bacon, and honey sandwich phase. (No wonder I gained 53 pounds!) But I still love the sandwich post-pregnancy and this is a much lighter way to enjoy the sandwich.

Elvis roll-up, banana (to add to the rollup at lunch so it doesn't brown), carrot slices, Cottage cheese with strawberry.

.

Elvis Roll-up

1 tortilla

2 Tbsp natural peanut butter

1 banana, sliced lengthwise

1 slice thick cut bacon, cooked till crisp

1 Tbsp honey

Spread peanut butter on the tortilla. Lay bacon and banana on one end of tortilla. Drizzle with honey and roll up. (If you're feeling adventurous, try it on buttered bread and grill it as you would a grilled cheese. You can thank me later ;) )

The Proud Mom Lunch

I let the big chic make this lunch. I didn't give her any guidance or suggestions like I normally would. I just let her go and gave her free reign of the kitchen to see what she came up with. She even picked which lunchbox she'd use. I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of her!

Spinach salad with chicken, Salad dressing and Babybel cheese, Strawberries on sugar free Hershey's syrup with Cool Whip.

One for Easter

And I mean it...ONE. I feel so guilty about feeding the big chic lunch this week, but we've had a bad week. First, I got sick, then the little chic got sick. It's been one big sickly mess of a week. I bought big chic a Central Market kid's lunch for Monday, she took a pb&j on Tuesday for a field trip and she bought lunch today. There's no school on Friday, so tomorrow is my one and only chance for an Easter lunch. And although I was SOOOOO tempted to tell her to just buy hot lunch again tomorrow, my mom guilt got the best of me and I made a lunch.
.
Mashed potatoes with meatloaf bunny (carrot whiskers and ears, cucumber nose and teeth, potato eyes with caraway seeds), Strawberry slices with cheesecake dip, Babybel cheese.

Hopefully I'll be a better mom next week! ;)

Banana Hot Dog

I still haven't been to the grocery store and as I was complaining about our lack of food, the hubs opens the freezer and says, "do you even know what's in here?" I swear that I do, but I have to admit that between our three freezers, we have a lot of food. He swears that I come up with our best meals when I go into it without a plan, but I think he just wants me to clean out the freezers. Whatever the case, I agree to "be creative" and use the food we already have. Of course, this includes the chic's lunches. She is one tough customer, but I do love a challenge!

Little chic's banana hot dog

I know I'm probably not the first person to ever turn a banana into a hot dog, but I thought it was a pretty neat idea. I tested it on the little chic and she loved it! I left the banana whole so that it doesn't get brown and gross before tomorrow. The big chic can add it to the bun when she gets ready to eat.

Peanut butter and honey on a hot dog bun, Babybel cheese and green beans, Granola bar, Banana

Now...what can I make for dinner with frozen green beans, an Amish bread starter, and chipotle chilis...hmmm...this could be an interesting week!

The Colorado Lunch

Spring break is next week! We are going to Colorado for Spring Break this year and the girls are brimming with excitement. The chic has woken up every day this week and asked me how many more days till we leave. She's buying lunch on Friday so tomorrow is her last homemade lunch before the break. I thought it would be fun to do a lunch based on our trip.

Van - quesadilla with whole wheat and blueberry tires and blueberry headlight (We're driving)

Girl's face - Monterrey jack cheese, carrot hair and nori eyes and mouth

Snow capped mountains - strawberries with a bit of honey on the end and rolled in unsweetened coconut

S'more - crackers with marshmallows and chocolate chips with a little peanut butter to hold it all together (Making s'mores is one of their favorite Colorado activities)

Edamame (Nothing to do with Colorado, but she had to have some green in her lunch! :) )

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Spring Break!

Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese, Stawberries and blueberries, Dark chocolate cookies, Cucumber and carrots with ranch dip

We enjoy the occasional "blue box" of macaroni and cheese. I've tried the organic, whole wheat, healthy varieties, but none come close to the comfort food satisfaction of the original blue box mac and cheese. We probably have it once every couple months and everyone is always very excited when they see the box. When I was at the store the other day, I saw a new variety of the blue box that was half whole grain. We gave it a try, and really, there was very little difference in that and the original, and the half whole grain variety has 5 grams of fiber per serving. That's better than some granola bars. Yea, sodium is still pretty high, but I'm pretty vigilant about sodium in other things, so one box of mac and cheese probably isn't going to send any of my kids to the cardiologist.