Star Student of the Week!

So, the 1st grade class has a fun little thing where each week a different child is honored as the "Star Student". During that week, they get to be line leader, teacher's helper, and on Friday, they get to bring some things in and tell the class some things they want to share about themselves! How fun is that? In addition, they get to bring home the 'class pet' for the week... a koala named Waffles! Along with the stuffed toy, they also get a journal to write and draw pictures about all the fun things they did while Waffles stayed with them! I love this time they can celebrate being 'special' as an individual in the class.

So, naturally, I had to celebrate my 'Star Student' too! Monday's lunch was 'star' heavy for the occasion.

Lunch - Cheese quesadilla 'stars', cucumber 'stars', strawberries (stars cut out of center), chocolate coin, and some sour cream/salsa for dipping! Snack (below) - Red pears, carrot coins (with star cut outs), and peanut butter.

For Tuesday, I went a little more subtle. I thought that this was also a time to celebrate some of the things that make my little 'star' so special! One of her absolute favorite things is owls... ALL things owls! So, let's do an owl lunch, right?

Lunch - Peanut butter & Trader Joe's cookie butter on a toasted bagel, Swiss cheese accents, and in the bottom tier, frozen yogurt owls, spinach, and strawberry hearts. Snack - Veggie straws, and CLIF Kids fruit twist (and a little Lunchbox Love).

I know inquiring minds want to see this fella, Waffles, too, so here is a picture from the journal on his first night with us!

In these lunches...

K Is For Kitty

As part of our projects at home and alphabet lunches, we featured the letter K today. I even bought kumquats, but do you think I could get anyone to eat them? Um, no. But, now I know that they are fantastic cut up in a pitcher of water or a tall glass of iced green tea.
We also took this opportunity to make kale chips. We have been picking up a beautiful bunch of it every week at the farmer's market, so I figured we should give them a go. They turned out great, so we are sharing our method.

Kale Chips
Ingredients - 1 large bunch of kale, ribs trimmed and chopped roughly, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
Toss the kale with all the ingredients. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking time, at 375 degrees.
The pros? An easy, delicious, healthy, crunchy snack. The cons? Where the heck did all my kale go? I had a big beautiful pile of it. Now I have a couple of handfuls of dried bits. Hmpf.

Kiwi with a 'kiss' pick, homemade kale chips, a koala pick in Kalamata olives, provolone and mustard kitty sandwich, and a mini Kit-Kat.

And, our worksheets for the day? Here are just a few of them.

In this lunch...

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Muffin Tin Monday

We had a great weekend! I hope everyone else did, as well. Now, I have to get myself into baking mode and try and whip up some yummy treats for Valentine's Day. While it was far from baking, we did finally make some homemade "Jello gummies" like I saw at Skip To My Lou a while back. They were so simple, but I will be giving them a try with real fruit juice next time. For ours, we used this recipe:
Homemade Gummies
Ingredients - 1 small package of cherry Jello, 2 packets of unflavored gelatin, 1/3 cup water
Combine all the ingredients in a pot and let sit for about 8 minutes. Then, you heat the whole thing over medium heat, and stir until dissolved, about 3 minutes. We poured them into a chocolate heart mold. There was no need to coat the mold. They peeled right out after 15 minutes or so. Yum! Next time I make them, I have to remember to take a picture! I'm thinking lime flavored for St. Patrick's Day, but with some real key lime juice?!

Turkey pepperoni, guacamole, homemade heart croutons, pears, cucumbers, Babybel cheese, and Brown Cow Greek cream-top maple yogurt with a homemade cherry gummy and sprinkles on top.

Just in case you missed the big announcement and wanted to follow along, or share your own creations, Muffin Tin Monday has moved. It's new home is with Another Lunch. I pulled this heart shaped silicone one out just in time! We also linked up to Wendolonia, where you can find fantastic ideas all the time, but in this particular case, Valentine ones!

Ooh, and remember that tomorrow, February 12th, is Darwin Day. Be sure and stop back by. I will be hosting a linky for the occasion!

In this lunch...

PB Crave & Granola Bars

Congrats to winner of our PB Crave giveaway! I hope you enjoy your winnings! Yum!

Celery with PB Crave Choco Choco, sharp cheddar cheese, homemade granola bar, PB Crave Coco Bananas sandwiches w/ sour cherry preserves, and grapes.

Now for those granola bars, which are simple and delicious, of course. In this packed lunch, we did a peanut butter version with the Choco Choco flavor of PB Crave, and we only sprinkled a wee bit of mini chips on top. When using peanut butter, we also reduced the butter in the original recipe to 2 Tbsp. The origin of the recipe is from Rachael Ray, but we've made some changes based on what we had on hand and like in a granola bar. I'm sure these would be easy to adapt for mix-ins of your own family's favorites too.

No Bake Granola Bars
Ingredients - 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1/4 c honey, 1/3 c packed brown sugar, 2 c quick cooking oats, 1 c rice crispies, 2 Tbsp toasted wheat germ, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 3-4 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
Melt butter, honey and brown sugar in a small pot over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and let cook for 2 minutes to completely dissolve. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Pour the mixture over the cereal, oats, and wheat germ. Mix well. Stir in 2 Tbsp of the chocolate chips.
Pour the mixture into a lightly greased pan and press firmly. I like mine thick, so I use a jelly roll pan and pack them almost up to the rim. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on the top and press into the bars. Let cool, and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container or wrap individual bars. Enjoy!

 In this lunch...