The 'D' Lunch

Who knew that finding 'd' foods would be such a pain. I really had to stretch my imagination to make this one work without giving the kiddo a lunch of doughnuts, danishes, daikon radish, and dandelion greens.

Duck shaped sandwich with deli meat, lettuce, and cheese, dill pickle, bell pepper, and cucumber (on dinosaur picks) with dill dip, 'D' vanilla cookies, and a Dove chocolate.

In this lunch...

March Bento

I wanted to try out a salad for the little one that she could mix the components up by herself. It worked great and she ate it all, so I think this will be a great way to incorporate new vegetables and get her out of her usual cucumber and bell pepper routine. Today I realized I need to get a shamrock cookie cutter pretty darn soon too.

In the bottom half is a salad of lettuce, cucumber, toasted sunflower seeds, Bacos, and ranch dressing. In the top half is Trader Joe's veggie straws, smoked turkey, mozzarella cheese, and in the container are a few M&M's.

I keep seeing these fantastic ideas at fellow bloggers sites, and recently have seen some blog hops. I think that is a fantastic idea to support each other and also make it easy to navigate when someone is looking for something in particular. So, I'm joining in this time to the St. Patrick's Day blog hop. Follow the link in the graphic below and hop around to get all sorts of wonderful ideas from some fabulous people!

In this lunch...

Something Simple

I find myself feeling very inspired by all those fantastic bloggers out there, but then there are days I just want to quickly pull a lunch together and hang out on the couch with my kiddo! Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting. What I will say is that this is the first time I've tried a sandwich thin, and for the first time I didn't have to roll or flatten bread. Bonus!

This lunch has Trader Joe's veggie straws, mozzarella cheese, applesauce, cucumbers, salami, and 1/4 soy BLT w/ mayo and mustard on a wheat bread sandwich thin.

In this lunch...
 

Recipe Review - Peanut Butter-cream Frosting

Maybe I've watched Cupcake Wars too many times or maybe I just wanted  to make something other than the ordinary, but the stars have aligned and I am making these cupcakes! This month, I'll be making not just one batch, but several as there are multiple events that seem to just call for cupcakes. Today will be the first batch. The excuse occasion is my girlfriend's birthday. I found a fabulous site called Brown Eyed Baker, and I am stalking her a bit now, especially for the buttercream. This recipe I tried out was for dark chocolate cupcakes, but it's the peanut butter frosting that has me sold!

Peanut Butter Frosting 

Ingredients - 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 5 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temp), 3/4 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Mix all the ingredients except the heavy cream on medium-low speed until creamy. Add the heavy cream and beat on high until the mixture is light and smooth. Pipe onto cupcakes and enjoy!

And the review? Well, let me just say that the peanut butter frosting is divine. I could eat that on just about anything, including a spoon! YUM! Dang near anything that has that frosting on it could become the perfect vessel!

Recipe Review - Quick Caprese Pizza

So, I went to a Pampered Chef party with a friend of mine and thanks to her, won a few great gifts, one of which was a small cookbook called Quick Vegetarian Main Dishes. I immediately gravitated towards a simple tomato, basil, garlic, oil, and mozzarella pizza. Really now, who could resist such a combination! It was so simple. More importantly, it was so delicious! I've actually made it twice in the last week and a half. My recipe is adapted a bit from the original, but no need too stray far from a no brainer like this. Yum!

Quick Caprese Pizza 

Ingredients for the crust - 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil, 1 pressed garlic clove, 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, 1 - 13.8oz refrigerated pizza crust

Ingredients for the toppings - 3 medium tomatoes, 1 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp fresh (or 1 tsp dried) chopped basil, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced, black pepper

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice tomatoes and lay on paper towel lined cutting board or tray. Sprinkle both sides with salt and let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush pan with 1 tsp oil. Unroll dough and cut into thirds or fourths. Mix 1 Tbsp oil with garlic and brush over all the dough. Sprinkle Parmesan over the dough. Bake the dough 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

Blot tomatoes with paper towels. Arrange tomato and cheese slices alternating and overlapping on the crusts. Mix basil with 1 Tbsp olive oil and brush over pizza toppings. Return to oven and bake another 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with black pepper and enjoy!

Lunch - Able

Nothing is easier than a 'lunchable' style lunch. Simple and fast for mom, and yummy for kiddo. Bonus!

This lunch is turkey bologna, American cheese, cucumber, watermelon, Kit Kat, and crackers w/ butter.

In this lunch...

ABC Lunch

Since I missed letter A and B to do specific letter lunches, I figured I just wrap up with an ABC lunch today. Enjoy.

Apple, avocado, bananas with a bow pick, blueberry bagel with butter, cucumber, cheese, and chicken!

In this lunch...