Finding Me
Happy Friday! I thought I’d live on the edge and add in a quick blog post. So, here I am againnnnnnnn.
For my boys’ lunches today, I made a pumpkin shaped ham and cheese sandwich. I used food-safe markers to add some pumpkin-y details. I also packed some Trader Joe’s pumpkin crackers, yogurt covered raisins, green grapes, and a little TJ’s pumpkin pie.
So happy it’s Friday! Have a great weekend!
Kristin
Tomorrow marks the first day back to school from Spring Break (cue crying/sniffling/and-also-joyful-whoops). We had a great break – we visited family several hours away, my oldest BFF came up from Miami for an awesome visit, our playgroup went on a train ride and took our kids to a fancy breakfast which was a disaster (but my cheese grits and fried green tomatoes were worth it), we went to a concert in the park, we ate overpriced froyo, and we got sick. All of us. My boys had fevers and one had a horrible ear infection. I lost my voice (happiest day of their little lives). But we survived. And to simultaneously celebrate the first day back in school and mourn the loss of Spring Break, I made a fun donut lunch.
I made a donut (doughnut, also being a perfectly acceptable way of spelling it) shaped PB & berry cream cheese sandwich. I cut the large circle shape using a mug and the little hole using a medicine cup (which I had readily available). I used a teeny bit of red spray, and then a teeny bit of pink sparkly icing to keep the confetti sprinkles from falling off. I also packed gold raisins (as my Biggie calls them), a date, grapes, pineapple, goldfish crackers, and a teeny homemade donut for dessert.
I made the donuts last week.
These little suckers are SO good. I have made them many times before and they are always a hit.
Here is the recipe:
http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2012/04/mini-devils-food-donuts/
And for the icing:
2 C powdered sugar
2 T milk (I used cashew milk)
1 t vanilla (optional)
1 t almond extract (optional)
food coloring, if desired
sprinkles, if desired (and why wouldn’t they be)
Mix the first five ingredients together. Frost the cooled donuts and decorate with sprinkles.
Get it girl. Or boy.
Kristin
It’s in your head now. Right? You’re welcome. R.E.M. rocks! Do people say “rocks” anymore? Do young people say “rocks” anymore? I wouldn’t know.
So, the end of the week is here (yay). It’s been such a crazy week. I haven’t even had a second. But now I do. So, I’m taking my second to show you food.
Bigs’ Wednesday lunch was a breakfast theme! I packed a pancake “sandwich”, made with two gluten and dairy free pancakes, peanut butter, and honey. I also packed one slice of turkey bacon, cut up, some assorted raisins (Trader Joe’s big bag of assorted raisins ROCKS [#cantstopwontstop #imold]), a colby jack cheese slice, an orange, and granola (Trader Joe’s again).
Bigs’ Thursday lunch was another turkey lunch (this time with ham and cheese!). I used my Food Writers and a turkey cookie cutter to make him so cute (if I can say so myself). His hay bale is crusts. I also packed grapes and applesauce. Bigs told me he was “staaaaarving” after eating this, so I made sure to pack more tonight for Friday’s lunch.
So. For Bigs’ lunch tomorrow (Friday), I was sure to pack more food. I went with a Fallish squirrel theme. I made a ham and cheese sandwich, shaped like a squirrel. I used my Food Writers for his eye detail and cut out a little piece of fruit leather in the shape of an acorn. I also packed pretzels, seasoned corn, grapes and pineapple, an organic yogurt squeezy thing, and Trader Joe’s ginger cookies for dessert.
He’s going to go nuts! Get it? I love a pun.
And for my Smalls’ lunch today, I packed a Mickey Mouse(ish) lunch. And to prove it, here’s a blurry picture:
Three baby Mickey Mouse shaped PB&J’s, some organic Trader Joe’s PB crackers, grapes, and TJ’s school house letter cookies. He ate all the grapes this time!
I also made Thanksgiving this week! I don’t think you can have it enough. I made a meal for a friend and doubled so my family could enjoy it too!
I can’t wait for the REAL Thanksgiving! It’s going to be the bomb! (Do they say “bomb” anymore? Or is that done-zo?) For us, I made gluten free Turkey and Sage Meatballs.
Turkey and Sage Meatballs
1 lb (ish) ground turkey
1/2 C gluten free breadcrumbs
1 egg
S&P
1 1/2 t of ground sage or poultry seasoning
Mix together, roll into balls, place on greased pan, bake for 30 – 45 minutes (depending on size of meatballs) at 350F.
I covered our meatballs with a homemade cranberry orange sauce.
Cranberry Orange Sauce
1 C fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 C frozen orange concentrate
1/3 C water
1 T sugar
1 packet of plain (unflavored) gelatin
Place all ingredients, except for gelatin, in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Whisk in the gelatin and simmer until thick.
Roasted turkey breast for my friend. I seasoned it with S&P, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning, and olive oil. I roasted it according to directions.
I made green bean casserole, all of which I could have eaten by myself. I love it.
I made sweet potato casserole. I didn’t have marshmallows, but I DID have marshmallow fluff. And being the resourceful woman that I am, I swirled that ooey gooey fluffy goodness around in the sweet potatoes and it came out just fine.
I made cheesy corn and cornbread casserole.
http://jareskepinterestrecipes.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/corn-casserole/
I made my first ever pumpkin pie (weird that it’s my first!). I used a basic recipe. And I overdid it. But I love my friend, she didn’t even care.
And lastly, I made an old fashioned Cranberry Fluff Salad. I took a picture, but it looked awful. Like bad awful. But it was good. SO good. I am on the molded and gelatin based salad train. Doesn’t that sound like a gross train to be on? It’s not. It’s amazing. If you like that sort of stuff. Which I do. I DID have to change the recipe, due to my lack of marshmallows. Again, I used the fluff. I thought it might work since that IS one of the names in the recipe. And it DID work, maybe not as successfully as marshmallows would have, but it was still really good!
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/cranberry-fluff/
Do it. That could be your Thanksgiving, right there.
Have a BLESSED end to your week! We are ending our week right with our church/school’s Fall Festival tomorrow night! It’s going to rock!!
Blessings,
Kristin
I can’t wait for Thanksgiving. To me, it is equal with the joy and excitement of Christmas. I love the food, the fellowship, and the thankfulness of it all. I have been so nostalgic about my Thanksgivings growing up. I wrote a post about it last year and it captured my memories exactly. Also in that post, I shared some of my most favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
http://sprinklesinmylunchbox.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/thanksgiving-food-roundup/
Tomorrow starts the school Thanksgiving countdown for my Bigs (and Smalls). For the next two weeks, these sweet children will learn about the first Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving as a whole, and giving thanks. I love it. I can’t wait to hear what they have learned. To start the countdown, I made a turkey lunch for my big boy.
Not THAT kind of turkey. That would be sort of sad and weird – a turkey-shaped turkey sandwich. Sort of rubbing it in that poor turkey’s face that he’s being eaten.
You know?
No?
Just me?
Oh well.
I made a PB&J and used my turkey-shaped cutter. I used my Food Writers to add details. I love that every time I make these (here and here and a few other times), they come out differently. Like real turkeys (or snowflakes if you want to get technical), they are all different. I kept the crusts and used them as sort of a hay bale (I might be the only one “getting” that). I packed seasoned corn, an orange, three little Trader Joe’s ginger cookies, and a few dried cranberries.
Have a BLESSED Tuesday!
Kristin
My Bigs is closing out his farm-themed two weeks with a bang. I’ve packed him a pig lunch! Then they’ll begin Thanksgiving and then Christmas (already!!). Time if flying by!
I made a peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwich. I used a piggy cookie cutter, food safe spray, and Food Writers to make piggy details (pink color [from red spray], eyes, nose, tail, and gold spray on the crusts to look like hay). I packed a granola mix from Trader Joe’s (Greek yogurt chips, almonds, granola balls, dried cranberries), seasoned corn (pigs eat corn, you know), and an organic yogurt squeeze.
Oink.
Have a blessed end to your week!!
Kristin
For Bigs’ lunch today, I packed [yes, another] Mummy Hot Dog, seasoned corn, popcorn, cantaloupe and pineapple, an organic yogurt squeezy thing, and some spooky teeth for dessert. These were so easy and will (I hope) make a cute impression. I cut apples to look like lips (they will need some kind of citrus juice on them so they don’t brown), spread peanut butter, and place marshmallow “teeth” on them. Easy peasy. These would be a cute Halloween snack, too!
For my Smalls, I packed a PB&J, pretzels, dried fruit, and a banana.
The boys are ready for Halloween tomorrow and cannot wait to go trick or treating.
Have a blessed Thursday!
Kristin