Easter's On It's Way

Well, I have finally worked out my part of Easter dinner...sort of. I typically am in charge of desserts, yet that is the only thing I am still torn on. I think because I love spring-y desserts, it's hard to decide what to make.. lemon tart, lemon poppyseed cake, something fruity, another regular favorite, or something new? Yes! Well, scratch that.. not only do I not want to make 12 different things, but there are only six of us seated at the holiday table this year, so it would be silly to do that. Decisions, decisions. In the meantime, I know I'm in charge of deviled eggs (yum) onion dip (a hot cheesy, delicious spread that at some point I will post), and bread. I'm thinking I had better work it out soon because I work on Saturday, so it leaves me only a little time for planning, shopping, and cooking. Rant over, and on to the lunches!

Brown Cow cream top Greek honey yogurt w/ sprinkles, strawberries, Trader Joe's honey roasted peanuts in the pink bunny container, turkey sausage, carrots, broccoli, grilled cheese bunny, and ranch in the orange container.

Hubby's little-too-cute-for-a-man lunch is strawberries, red and yellow bell peppers, Trader Joe's white bean hummus in the Mini Dipper, Graze's Summer Pudding in the egg, and a toasted cheddar, provolone, and Swiss with mustard sandwich.

In these lunches...
 

St. Patrick's Day

Other than a shamrock shaped pancake or sandwich, we don't really celebrate or do anything for St. Patrick's Day. But, that's good enough for me. We also found some fun themed projects at 3 Dinosaurs and did green pepper shamrocks again. Whatever you're up to, don't drink too much green beer, but have fun this weekend! For me, it's about rapidly shifting gears from birthdays and the color green to Easter, which seems to be right around the corner. How did that happen? Decorations are down and ideas are forming. I am so looking forward to Spring!

Brown Cow Greek Cream Top honey yogurt with sprinkles, cucumber coins with a gold chocolate coin hidden behind, kiwi, grilled Swiss, homemade gummy, and Graze's apple cinnamon flapjack.

For hubby's lunch - Whole Food's spinach empanada, green grapes and kiwi, green bell pepper, cucumber, Wholly Guacamole packet, Whole Food's sesame tofu and roasted Brussels sprouts, Angry Birds graham crackers with a hidden gold chocolate coin, cheddar mozzarella stick, and Trader Joe's dried coconut strips with a homemade gummy in the container.

And here are some of the projects we did from 3 Dinosaurs. In the first group, we used paints, Do-A-Dots (love those things), and crayons to complete them. The second group was taping, pasting, matching, tracing, and then we used the sheets intended for writing sentences to just write the words. First, we used stamps in upper and lower case letters, then kiddo wrote the words herself!

 

In these lunches...

Forty & For You

First thing's first. Let it be known that I am not nearly as old as my hubby. There. I've said it. Now, I can move on.

Of course, I had to make hubby a lunch today. Oh, and cupcakes, which he's supposed to be sharing at work, except for those few extras I hid saved for us at home. I have been so busy watching our daughter grow up, I forgot that means we are busy growing old .. well, at least he is. Did I mention I made cupcakes? They are Chocolate Kahlua cupcakes, at that. I found the recipe at Glorious Treats, and after only one tiny edit, I believe I may have found the chocolate cupcake recipe from this day forward (recipe below). Yum!

Whole Foods sesame tofu, strawberry Greek yogurt w/ strawberry pieces, blackberries, Trader Joe's dried coconut strips, Angry Birds graham crackers, cucumber, tomatoes, baby bell peppers, and Russian dressing in the container to accompany his salad, and a #40 sandwich with pepper jack cheese and TJ's whole grain dijon mustard.

The kiddo got a somewhat '40' inspired lunch today, too, which happened to be '4 U' rather than '4 Zero'. Hey, worked for me!

Cantaloupe, blackberry, oyster crackers, Graze's Marvelous Macaroon, cottage cheese w/ sprinkles and sharp cheddar, baby bell peppers, and provolone cheese on multi-grain bread.

Now for those cupcakes...
Chocolate Kahlua Cupcakes with Kahlua Frosting

Ingredients (cupcake) - 2 c sugar, 1 3/4 c flour, 3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 1 c whole milk, 1/2 c vegetable oil, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp instant espresso powder, 1 cup boiling water, Kahlua for basting.
Ingredients (frosting) - 12 Tbsp butter, 4oz cream cheese, 1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder, 4 c powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 1/2 Tbsp Kahlua, 1 Tbsp whole milk (or heavy cream)

For the cupcakes, line a muffin tin with paper liners and heat you oven to 350 degrees. In mixer bowl, blend the first 6 dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla, and beat on medium for one minute. Dissolve your espresso powder in the boiling water and stir this into the batter. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (mine took exactly 20 on each batch to be perfect) Let cool slightly, then prick each cupcake 7-8 times with a toothpick. Using a pastry brush, brush Kahlua onto each of the cupcakes. Let this set for a minute or two, then brush on some more. Don't be shy! Now, let them cool completely before you frost them.

For the frosting, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and blend to combine. Then, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until it is incorporated. Finally, add your wet ingredients, and blend thoroughly, scraping down as needed. Spread or pipe your frosting onto your cupcakes and enjoy. These were to die for still slightly warm, but I imagine room temp or chilled would be great too. Enjoy!

In these lunches...