Hoppy Halloween 2014!

Yes, the title rhymes! I'm that special! Speaking of 'special', know what the kiddo chose for her costume this year? WyldStyle from The Lego Movie! That meant mama was making a costume again this year (instructions will be up tomorrow). So, you'd think a fun lunch with the character as the theme, right? You'd be wrong. I'll leave that one to the professionals (in this case, Lunchbox Dad). Instead, I went with a dinosaur for today. Yup, you heard me right. A dinosaur.. the kiddo's favorite I'll have you know. And now that this year's costume is finally done, all she cares to prance around in is last year's dino I made for her. So, I thought along with lots of other Halloween themed lunches, today's would be dedicated to the dino, but not just any dino. This one's a witch. May she now peacefully become extinct!

Oh, and did I mention the Bento Bloggers & Friends are hopping again? Be sure to check out all the other amazing creations, the next of which is from Loving Lunches, by clicking here or on the graphic below. Happy Halloween!

Cheese quesadilla, romaine lettuce, celery 'broom', cauldron with candy corn and cashews, salsa and sour cream, oranges, and gummy eyeball.

PM Snack - Carrot shavings and cheddar owl crackers.

Dinosaurs not your idea of the traditional Halloween fare? How about something a little more traditional? Here's another fun Halloween lunch that is super simple, quick, and delicious!

Peanut butter, jelly, and pumpkin butter sandwich, cheddar owl crackers, candy corn, and strawberry Greek yogurt.

PM snack - pretzels and carrots with chive cream cheese. After school program snack - Swiss cheese, turkey pepperoni, and yogurt raisins in the container.

In this lunch...

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Recipe Review - Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies

I am totally one of those people that keeps a long list of pumpkin recipes all year long, and for some reason, it only feels appropriate to make them in the 2 month window of October and November. Since I buy my pumpkin in a can, it really is a silly thing, especially since I struggle every year between the family favorites and the new things to try. This recipe is a little bit of both, having adapted it from another fall favorite. I hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients - 1 c unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 c sugar, 1 egg, 1 c canned pure pumpkin, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 c flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1-12oz bag white chocolate chips* (~2 c)

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then, add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla, beating to combine. Then, add the remaining dry ingredients, except white chocolate chips. When thoroughly mixed, stir in the chips.
Drop these by the spoonful on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, rotating the whole cookie sheet half way or 10 minutes through the baking time. Cool before storing. *I think these would be excellent with butterscotch chips, or a combination of butterscotch and white chips, as well. You can't go wrong with either I imagine.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I seem to have started a lot of projects as of late, which, unfortunately does not translate into getting lots of projects done. Instead, it just means that I have several things going at once, and while sounding busy and being a multitasker sounds good in theory, it really comes done to nothing actually getting completed. It's just a whole lot of frustrating 'works in progress'. I have sworn that by the weekend, something will be completed and major progress will be made somewhere else. I'm cracking the whip, starting with this post on the blog while I catch up on The Walking Dead.. you know, because I'm certain those are the two most important things on my list... right?!

Also on the agenda? The Halloween costume. Stay tuned for that! And, we are in process of redoing our half bathroom (mainly because I'm putting off doing the main one). And by redoing, I me reDIYing. Yuck. Wish us luck. We have all the materials and the room is prepped, so on to the next step with that. Oh, and another project? Cutting down trees. You know.. without a gas chainsaw and without a truck to haul all the brush and branches and without a stump grinder to take care of those major trip hazards in the yard. Yup. It's going fantastic.. insert sarcasm! Oh yeah, on to lunches.. here are a three from this week. Enjoy.

 Watermelon, turkey pepperoni, provolone and cheddar cheese, cucumber.

Afternoon & after school Spanish class snack boxes - Chobani Greek yogurt, celery with Trader Joe's cookie butter, pretzels, and carrots with ranch dip.

Pancake, cheddar cheese, strawberries, celery with peanut butter, and syrup. PM snack box has Babybel cheese and mix of crackers and nuts.

We tried out a hot lunch this day, so only packed a snack box - Peanut butter sandwich squares (made with Funbites) and yogurt raisins in container.

In these lunches...

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Apple Picking & A Patch

We were very fortunate to have a beautiful warmish day on Sunday, so we took full advantage and headed to Leaman's Green Apple Barn for one last trip this fall. We lucked out that we went when we did because it was the last weekend for apple picking. Let me tell you, my kiddo played hard with her friends, and helped this mama pick a peck of apples, too. So, not only did she have a blast, but she earned her first fun patch for her Daisy uniform. Now, if only they had a patch for baking apple pies, we'd be set! I figured I'd tie in lunch today with our fun yesterday, and remind her how proud I am of her.

Peanut butter & apple butter sandwich, candy corn, frozen strawberry Chobani yogurt, James apple (fresh picked), and celery.

PM Snack - Swiss and cheddar cheese, mini pretzel crisps, and candy corn.

In this lunch...

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