CutezCute Puppy Love

One of my favorite tools for making sandwiches look super cute, super fast is the CuteZCute cutter. I love that it is so versatile, even beyond its original cut out options. You can see lots of ideas on how to use the cutter on Pinterest, as well as the product website, of course. I realized today that the cutter makes an adorable dog, and there are multiple ways you can do it.

Using the stamp option, you can press your design into the bread, and then toast, or in this case, grill for a grilled cheese. In the lunchbox below, I used the cutter for the shape of the head, but then cut additional pieces to lay on top in a contrasting color cheese (and fruit leather for the tongue).

Cucumber 'bones' and grapes in our Easylunchboxes Mini Dippers, homemade no-bake granola bars, and grilled cheese with Swiss and American.

So, what pieces did I use to make this CuteZCute puppy? I used the outline main cutter, of course. For the eyes, I used the cat eye (sideways), and a panda eye for the eye patch. For the mouth, I sued the panda's mouth/nose and the cat's nose for the tongue. I used the side and then, rounded edge, of the main cutter to create the ears. Simple, cute, and yummy!

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...

Look Whooo's Four

Well, we survived the 4th birthday party over the weekend. I'm grateful for my fantastic friends and family, not just for all the help and generosity, but also just for them in general. I think our daughter is surrounded by some pretty fabulous people.. just saying!

I had really high hopes for making the birthday cake, but in the end my ideas surpassed my skills, so I passed the buck (literally.. bucks) to The Patisserie. They made a delicious white cake with lemon curd filling and white chocolate buttercream. But the real piece de resistance was the decorations on the cake. Not only is the kiddo obsessed with owls as of late, but she is obsessed with one particular owl most (see above). That was her request. The cake needed to look identical to her favorite owl. I think they did pretty good, and most importantly, so did the kiddo!

I did, however, tackle owl cake pops. Which, in hind sight, I'm thinking I'd have rather made the cake! I won't beat myself up too much, because they did taste delicious and turned out cute, but I have to tattle on myself a bit too. I completely forgot to add the chocolate chip horns on the owls, and after only sticking three sets of wings on, I decided to hell with them they looked just as cute without. I'm almost embarrassed to show you where I found the owl cake pops, but since I want you to see their full potential, I will. One thing I will say is that I made more than the original poster, so there. I made 38 of the little buggers. I shall never make them again. Their little eyes really do seem to follow you and will haunt my soul for a little while, I think.

I used devil's food cake mix and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips mixed with Ghirardelli white chips for dipping. The eyes are M&M's with pupils drawn on with a food safe marker. Noses (and wings) are chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Feet are flower shaped sprinkles.

Lunch post party was owl inspired, too! Look whooo's four!

Rye bread, sharp cheddar and Swiss cheeses, leftover chicken pasta salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, peaches with whipped cream.

I should say that the party did have a couple other owl goodies. Like those in the lunchbox, in our relish tray, we had rows of owl shaped cheese. We also did deviled 'owl' eggs. I thought they were pretty clever!

 

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My Little Lovebug

I know, I know... it isn't Valentine's Day just yet. Still, seemed close enough to start shoving heart picks in every lunch I can. Awe..
So, this weekend is the birthday party, and we are going for the owl theme (kiddo has a disturbing slight obsession with owls). If I pull it off, I'll have some fun photos coming up with deviled owl eggs, owl cake pops, and more. Should be a hoot!

Pecans, green grapes, mozzarella/cheddar cheese stick, Wheat Thins, mini 3 Musketeers bar, orange bell pepper, ranch dressing in container, and toasted bagel thin sandwich with cream cheese and PB Crave Razzle Dazzle peanut butter.

In this lunch...