This Week's Wrapup

I feel somewhat accomplished today. I managed to get all my holiday cards addressed and signed. I found a cute little number for kiddo, and made the appointment for Christmas pictures. And, I started wrapping. Make no mistake.. I am far from done with shopping, which I secretly loathe, but I love wrapping presents, so the sooner I can get them out of the closets and under the tree, the better! Some of this meant some serious shortcuts on lunch this week. But, I think they turned out pretty fun and yummy anyways. That little Sassy box still gets a lot of use around here!

Dried mango, Naturebox country ranch peas, cucumber, cheddar/mozzarella stick, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and pretzels.

This week also brought some of the first real snow we've seen.. a sign of things to come. I am personally not a fan, but living in Michigan makes it inevitable. Bundle up out there. Stay warm, and stay healthy!

Cucumber, carrots, apple, salami, smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, multigrain Club crackers, and peppermint mini marshmallows.

In these lunches...

Froggy Lunch

We're still in post one holiday/pre another one mode, so simple is the go to plan for the week. This one is packed in our Lunchbots Trio, and uses our CutezCute cutter. Quick, cute, and delicious!

Red bell peppers, celery, ranch w/ fake bacon bits, grapes, smoked turkey, cheddar/mozzarella quesadillas on spinach tortilla, and mixed nuts underneath.

We also did a fun frog craft. In a zipper bag, I poured some yellow and blue paints in opposite corners, added some frog 'eyes' and 'arms' with green construction paper, and reenforced the zipper on the bag with tape. Smoosh away and you get green, of course! Fun! Then, we used our newly made green to paint some pictures of frogs that I printed out. I will definitely try this again when creating other secondary colors.

In this lunch...

Happy Birthday, Kevin Henkes

One of our favorite authors is Kevin Henkes. Today is his birthday! I have to say that reading his books really began because of our love of all things rodents, and his little mice, especially Lilly, are hard not to fall in love with. While we have many of his books, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is one of those that we read the most, so it seemed a likely choice to create a lunch in honor of the author and his books.
If you aren't familiar with the book, Lilly is the main character and she has new glittery sunglasses and a fabulous new purple plastic purse that makes music when she opens it. She is so excited to share her new treasures with her friends at school, but she gets into a wee bit of trouble, too. Throughout Henkes' books, Lilly is a fun, sassy little mouse, complete with red cowboy boots, a red bow on her tail, and a confident way about her that I just adore.
I tried my best to make a lunch that incorporated ideas from this fantastic book! I made a Lilly cheese silhouette, with her special sunglasses, and even a little red bow on her tail. Details! We used picks for a mouse, music notes, a cowboy boot, and that very, very special purple, plastic purse, of course! Happy birthday, Kevin Henkes!

Red and orange bell peppers, peas, Swiss cheese, blueberries, pear, salami, chex mix (homemade, of course), and a toasted bagel thin.

In this lunch...

Recipe Review - Fresh Broccoli Cream Soup

Post holidays, I'm looking for something simple, fresh, warm, and delicious. This creamy, vegetarian soup one hits the spot for me. Hope it does for you too!

Fresh Broccoli Cream Soup 
Ingredients - 4 c chopped fresh broccoli florets, 1 c chopped celery, 1 c chopped carrots, 1/2 onion, chopped, 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, 6 Tbsp all purpose flour, 3 c vegetable broth, 2 c whole milk, 1 tsp dry parsley (or 1 Tbsp fresh), 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Boil 2 cups of water. Add the broccoli, celery, and carrots. Boil for 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In the same pot, saute the onion in butter until tender. Whisk in the flour to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the milk and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring for 1 minute.
Add the vegetables, and the remaining ingredients, to the pot. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Serve with shredded cheese on top.

Rainy Day Lunch

Today was just a bleary day. Overcast, cold, wet .. yuck. I decided to make a simple, colorful, and 'happy' lunch to brighten the day. It's hard to get back in the groove after a holiday weekend, but we're getting there. We got our Christmas tree up and decorated, which is unheard of for me. I'm usually scrambling at the last minute. Not this year! I'm making my own list and staying organized. What do you do to prepare for the holidays?

 Smoked turkey, cheddar mozzarella cheese stick, ranch veggie dip, whole grain Club crackers, blueberries, red and orange bell pepper, and cucumbers.

In this lunch...

Little Turkey

Hope you all are surviving the holiday, and having a great time with whatever your traditions are! We are busy, busy, busy here, but I had a few moments, so wanted to post this little turkey snack.

Muenster and Swiss cheese.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For everyone that is celebrating Thanksgiving, have a wonderful holiday. Stay safe if traveling (or deep frying a turkey), enjoy time with family and friends, and embrace the things you are thankful for. Right now, I'm thankful that all my cooking is done. I'm the 'baker', so pies, bread, cookies, etc are my job. Everything can be done the night before, which definitely has its benefits come the day of. We also made caramel apple salad this year.. yum! If I think to get pictures amid the holiday chaos, I'll be sure to share the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!

Brown Cow maple yogurt, blueberries, orange and red bell peppers, ranch veggie dip, teriyaki tofu, Muenster cheese, and sugar shaped Mayflower and roast turkey.

In this lunch...