Patriotic Blog Hop Lunches

The ladies are at it again with a Patriotic Blog hop just in time to get some inspiration for some fabulous lunches and snacks for the 4th of July! While I had high hopes on my own inspired lunch, it didn't quite come together. However, the kiddo loved every bite and I still think they turned out nice. Hopefully I can get another one together with the unused ideas for the actual 4th of July! Be sure and check out other holiday inspired lunches that we've done here too! And, of course, follow the hop by clicking at the link here or at the hop graphic at the bottom of the page. You'll be heading to more fantastic ideas from We Aren't Scared of Sugar! Enjoy!

Blueberries, mini marshmallows, star shaped cheese crackers, red bell pepper and mozzarella 'stripes', star turkey, mustard, and salami sandwich. 

Starfruit, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, fluffernutter sandwich 'firework rocket' with berry fruit leather stripes, partially topped with strawberry cream cheese and sprinkle stars!

In these lunches...

Stars

I'm still working out what fabulous lunch to make for the kiddo to join in on the upcoming patriotic blog hop, but in the meantime here is another fun seasonal idea that I put together. This one was actually for the 'big' kid in the house.. aka the hubby!

Cucumber, red bell pepper, babybel cheese, blueberries, white chocolate strawberry, baby romaine lettuce, smoked turkey and cheese star sandwiches on wheat bread.

In this lunch...

Red, White & Blue

So, these aren't lunches, but there has been so many cute 4th of July ideas circulating out there that we had to start early and try some out!

Watermelon, apple, and blueberries!

The other thing we tackled were the red, white, and blue strawberries. We saw these first in a magazine at the library, but when I saw them again on Family Fresh Meals, I knew we had to make some too. These are so quick and easy to do, and every step of the way, nearly any age child can help out!

4th of July White Chocolate Strawberries
Ingredients - 1 package of clean, dry, ripe strawberries, a bag of white chocolate chips, and some blue sugar.
Heat a little more than half the chocolate and dip the strawberries, laying them on wax paper to harden.

Heat up the rest of the chocolate and dip the lower third of the strawberry, then dip in the colored sugar. Let harden and serve room temp or chilled. We decided to re-purpose our deviled egg tray for them and it worked great.. except we had to keep refilling! Yum!

'Sub' Sandwich

I really need someone to tell me where I saw this so I can credit them, but either way, this is my take on what I sketched on a piece of paper some time back. I was all poised to create a fabulous 'lion' lunch for the kiddo when at the last moment, she insisted that I promised a submarine the day before. Alas, she was right.. so this was pulled together quickly.. still turned out well I think. My only complaint is that originally the windows of the sub were just pressed so they were indented, but in the pictures it never showed up that way for me, so I stuck some cheese on to get the photo! She LOVED it!

TJ roasted seaweed, watermelon 'seastars', cucumber 'sand dollars', goldfish crackers, salami on wheat thin bread, and swiss cheese bubbles.

Recipe Review - Nectarine Custard Pie

Nectarines are in abundance right now, and while I just love munching on them, I wanted to try something new with them too. I'll admit custard and nectarines didn't necessarily jump out at me as a perfect combination, but indeed, they are! While, I'm sure this recipe is just divine with juicy, ripe nectarines, all the ones I had on my cupboard will still quite hard. I crossed my fingers and used them anyways, and I must say, I'm really pleased with the result. With a ripe nectarine, they break down to juicy, soft deliciousness, but when they are not ripe to begin with, they not only sweeten up perfectly with backing, but they maintain some 'bite' to them. With the custard around them, it's lovely! Oh, and this is such a quick and simple recipe too. You can't beat that!

Nectarine Custard Pie 

Ingredients - 1 refrigerated pie crust, 4 cups chopped nectarines, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, and 2 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and put your pie crust in a 9" pie plate. Actually, I have a 9-1/2" and it was just fine. Spread your nectarines inside the crust. Whisk together everything else until smooth. You can definitely just do this by hand as it really just takes a few flicks of the wrist and you're done. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the nectarines.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the custard is just set. Cover the edges of your crust if they seem to be browning too quickly. Cool completely to serve. I served mine with some whipped cream (not the frozen stuff) and it was fantastic! 

Crisp and Cool

I just did something super simple today with the bright summer sun in mind, and keeping cool in it of course. Lots of cold and crispy foods, and so delicious!

Brown Cow maple yogurt, watermelon with toasted coconut, Colby cheese and onion quesadilla, yellow bell peppers, and salsa.

In this lunch...
 

Summer Solstice & Blog Hop

Summer has arrived.. it's official! I tried to think of what summer means to us to make this lunch, but there are so many things, they can't possibly fit in one little box. For sure, though, summer means ripe raspberries growing in our yard. I am determined to use every one I can and not let so many fall to the ground this year, so we started picking today! Yum!

Summer is spending time up north at the cabin on the lake, of which our first trip was last weekend. Summer is taking leisurely walks and bike rides, catching lightning bugs, visiting the farmer's market, gardening, eating ice cold watermelon, running through sprinklers or swimming, making smores, grilling, ice cream, picnics, beaches, and, of course, beautiful sunshine. I decided I can do it all, just not all at once. So, this is our celebration of  Summer Solstice and what is yet to come! Now see some more summer inspiration by following the blog hop via the graphic link at the bottom of the page, which will take you to Rachel's Random Ramblings next! Enjoy!

Watermelon, raspberries (fresh picked from our yard), Brown Cow vanilla yogurt and a swiss cheese 'cabin on the lake', American cheese sun on local bakery bread, and tucked beneath are red bell peppers from the farmer's market, and some sliced organic turkey hot dog.

In this lunch...

Father's Day

We did a couple Father's Day crafts this year for something fun to share! Hope you enjoy!

This one was so simple. You could use any size jar, but we recycled a mayonnaise jar. If you are talented and/or have a Cricut, feel free to get fancy, but we use printed on regular white paper and glued to some scraps of colored card stock. If you use a regular jar, you could even use fabric on the lid. Our lid says "Hugs & Kisses for Papa. Happy Father's Day 2012". The poem on the jar we edited from a version we found about being away at school.. it says "Whether we are close or even for apart, I know you think of me and you are in my heart. Here are some hugs and kisses for when I am away, to remember that I love you, each and every day!"

We also found a great idea at Biting the Hand That Feeds You and did this one for dad! The little one got to scoop and fill the jars (one for home and one for work), sample a bit, and decorate the backs of the labels with stickers! This was a lot of fun!

The poem on this jar says...

Here's a treat for you because I think you are neat and need something yummy to eat!

Father's Day Trail Mix

Marshmallows because you are a "big softy"

Nuts because I'm "nuts" about you

Raisins because you're "raisin" me right

Butterscotch chips because I'm a "chip" off the old block

M&Ms because you "Mean" so "Much"

Mix and Match

It is unbelievably quick and easy to do a fun sandwich like this. I stack and slice the two pieces of bread at the same time and piece it together with the meat and cheese. To keep up loosely with a theme, I alternated colors with the grapes and used contrasting colors in the rest of the lunch too. Super simple and delicious too!

Spinach, orange bell pepper, ranch in container, white and rye sandwich with turkey and swiss cheese, green and red grapes, mango, and kiwi.

In this lunch...