Fun Friday Pasta

We are so excited to be able to use Molly's new thermos again.  The wheels in my head are turning with all of the new possibilities.  Molly requested a warm pasta entree for her lunch so we are trying something simple to start.

Have a great weekend! ☺

Our main entree is a simple version of macaroni and cheese.  We cooked mini shells, added a little bit of butter and then some parmigiana and cheddar cheeses.  This is accompanied by some white turkey pieces and a babybel cheese for extra protein.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  We used our favorite crinkle knife to make these more fun for Molly to eat.

Our fruit side is red globe grapes.  They are very crunchy and sweet.  Plus, they are super juicy.

Finally, our fun Friday treat is some Halloween candy.  We decided to mix it up a little bit and take care of tart and chocolate.  We have Sweet Tarts and Whoppers, the best of both worlds.

Pizza Wednesday

We can't have the end of school without an awesome pizza lunch.  So, even though it isn't our traditional Monday pizza, Wednesday is a good day for pizza.

Our main entrée is homemade pepperoni pizza.  We used our favorite Trader Joe's flatbread for our crust.  We added pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella and turkey pepperoni, then baked it in the toaster oven for a few minutes.  YUM!

Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  If you look back at Molly's Lunch Box, this is the most popular vegetable side because it truly is Molly's favorite.

Our fruit side is mixed berries.  We found some extra delicious strawberries, raspberries and blackberries at Sam's Club today.  Molly is going to be so excited to have these in her lunch tomorrow.

Our dairy side is a Colby Jack cheese stick.  Molly is going through a major growth spurt so the extra protein will keep her satisfied much longer.

Finally, our dessert is a very special Rice Krispie Treat that was "borrowed" from a larger batch.  Mommy made these for Daddy's co-worker's baby shower tomorrow.  She is expecting her baby boy in just a few weeks so we added some fun blue sprinkles.

2 Weeks of School Left!

We hope that everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend.  A big THANK YOU to all of the men and women who have served or are currently serving.  Your sacrifice and selfless giving means so much to all of us.

Back to school tomorrow with only a few weeks of school left.  Molly has made such great progress this year and makes us so proud.  She's become more independent and very aware of the choices that she makes.  She isn't afraid to ask for the things that she would like.  Take tomorrow's lunch for instance.  She requested every single thing in it.

Our main entrée is a cheese sandwich.  Yep, a good old cheese sandwich on white bread.  Molly requested Pepper Jack cheese but we didn't have any so she said that Colby Jack would be fine.  We added a little bit of mustard, per her request, and cut it out with heart shaped cookies cutters.

Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  Molly really likes the cucumbers cut into sticks.  Sometimes we have these at home with some hummus as a nice snack.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  We had a lot of these over the weekend.  Whether in fruit salad, strawberry rhubarb pie or just plain like this, they were so delicious.

Finally, we have a special request  treat.  Molly asked if she could have some salsa chips in her lunch and they are so yummy that we couldn't say no.

Good Grub

We are all excited for the Memorial Day weekend to arrive and the fun picnics that go with it.  Our family is having a get together with our neighbors and we can't wait.  We were all together this past weekend and talking about the dishes that we would contribute to the picnic.  Our mouths were watering just thinking about all of the yummy things that we'd be having.  Then, our minds were full of excitement with the prospect of summer being around the corner and impromptu picnics together on random days.

This got me thinking about things to make for Molly's lunch.  We're back into the time when cold salads and cool desserts are on the docket for just about every meal.

Our main entrée is cheese tortellini pasta salad.  We made this tortellini for Molly's brother and sister for lunch today and reserved some for Molly's lunch tomorrow.  We added some of Molly's "favorite sauce", light Italian dressing and just let the simplicity take over.

Our vegetable side is a repeat from today.  Cucumber sticks.  Molly requested theses because she said that she could dip them in any remaining dressing left in the tortellini dish.

Our fruit side is also a repeat from today.  Molly got the last of the blackberries and some strawberries.  She washed these herself and arranged them in the container.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is our favorite Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Molly requested this so that she can add some of the berries to it.  She also was the one who put it in the container.  She likes to help make her lunch. ☺

Back from some time off

We took last week off from Molly's Lunch Box and Molly bought her lunch all week.  What?  Well, on Monday, Mommy was too tired to make lunch because she was up at 4am on Sunday getting ready to run her leg of the Pittsburgh Marathon with the Moms on the Move relay team.  An absolute blast but very tiring.  On Tuesday, there was no school because of election day since they use the school as a voting place.  Then, the rest of the week, Daddy was in Las Vegas for business so Mommy was pretty busy keeping the house in order by herself.  Now, Daddy is back and Mommy is well rested so we're back at it.

Our main entrée is a real quesadilla.  We used two flour tortillas and filled them with shredded cheddar cheese.  We toasted this on the stove then cut it into triangles.  This is being served with a side of jalapeño salsa.  Yes, Molly likes spicy food.

Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  We haven't had these for a little while and Molly is asking for them so we are happy to oblige.

Our fruit side is strawberries and blackberries.  Molly picked out these blackberries at the store and hasn't had a chance to eat any yet so we're tossing the last few into her lunch so that she gets a taste.

Finally, our dessert is Smarties.  This is in homage to Molly's Uncle Greg who ran the full 26.2 miles of the Pittsburgh Marathon because he loves Smarties.  Way to go, Greg!

Steelers Super Bowl Lunch!

Well, this is it, the last school day before the Super Bowl!!  Our whole family is really big into football and has been for generations on end.  Being from Pittsburgh makes us bleed black and gold for our Steelers.  Tomorrow is Steelers Day at Molly's school and her lunch will going right along with the theme.  HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread.  We used a football shaped cookie cutter for the main sandwich and a hypocycloid (yeah, I had to look that one up) micro cookie cutter to make the Steelers logo.  Please notice that there are *7* total hypocycloid sandwiches, for the Steelers 7th Super Bowl Win!


Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  A nice and refreshing side with a great crunch.


Our fruit side is fresh strawberries.  Molly really likes strawberries and their sweet and slightly tart flavor are a great compliment to her lunch.


Finally, IT'S FUN FRIDAY!!  Not just any Fun Friday...Steelers Fun Friday!  Molly's special dessert is 2 cookies that are Steelers themed.  The Terrible Towel is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers tradition so we had to make a cookie to represent the Steelers staple.  The other cookie is a chocolate football with three strategically colored and placed mini M&Ms that represent the hypocycloids on the Steelers logo.  


Happy Super Bowl Weekend!  GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!

Breakfast Request

As I said in yesterday's post, I usually sit down with Molly and we discuss what she might want for lunch.  Today was no exception.  As we finished our dinner, Molly chimed in with, "Mom, I know what I want for lunch tomorrow."  I was thrilled.  I didn't have to think of anything to make.  Sometimes she'll say, "anything but peanut butter and jelly."  Sometimes she'll only say that she wants apples as her side.  But today, she told me everything that she wanted and a few extra things just in case we didn't have something.  Most days I kind of guide some of her decisions so that we can include all of the food groups and I had to remind her to include a vegetable today.  Other than that, this is all Molly.

Our main entrée is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two whole grain waffles; a little more than usual so that they don't get soggy.  To that, we spread whipped cream cheese, that we flavored with maple syrup, on both of the waffles. We then added very thinly sliced apples and sandwiched it all together.

Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  Molly agrees that cucumbers don't have an overpowering flavor and that they will go well with our breakfast for lunch.  Plus, cucumbers are crunchy so they add a great texture to our lunch.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt.  Molly really likes this yogurt at just about any meal.  We added some fresh raspberries at Molly's request.  They are so flavorful and the crunchy seeds add a different texture to the creamy yogurt.

Fruit for Thought

Right now, Molly is on a big fruit kick.  We are trying all kinds of new fruits and some old ones too.  She is asking for fruit with every meal and instead of dessert.  Molly has always been open to trying different types of foods and the more strange, the better.  (That is, if Mom or Dad eat it first.)  So now we are on the look out for new and exotic fruits for her to try.  I'm thinking about persimmons and pomegranates.  Maybe kumquats?  Keep an eye out for whatever I can find around here.

Our main entrée is a sandwich made from Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread and whipped cream cheese.  This boxed pumpkin bread mix is so flavorful.  We substituted apple sauce for the oil in the recipe to bring down the fat content.  When we baked it, the whole house smelled incredible.  We then sliced a few pieces and spread some whipped cream cheese on them.  

Our vegetable side is a cucumber that has been cut into sticks.  For some reason these particular cucumbers have a very strong cucumber flavor and it's really delicious.

Our fruit side is kiwi, raspberries and star fruit.  Molly requested this combination.  It's funny that even though we are in the beginnings of winter here in Western PA, there is an abundance of amazing fruit that is available to us.  This combination of fruits is the perfect mix of sweet and tart.

Our diary side is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  A sweet and creamy side that boosts the protein and calcium in this meal.  Molly also requested this because she, along with the rest of our family, loves yogurt.

Finally, we put in two Hershey's Kisses as an added treat to get her through Wednesday.  This week seems to be dragging on a bit so why not add a goody to give a little push for the rest of the day.  

Back at it!

After two days off, we are headed back to school tomorrow.  Molly can't wait to get back into the swing of things.  She is one of those kids who really likes school.  We didn't have school Monday or Tuesday because of parent/teacher conferences.  I went in today and I was so pleased with what I heard.  Molly has been struggling a little bit with reading but she really is giving it her all and it has been recognized by her teacher.  The teacher gave us some great tips on helping Molly at home and included web-sites and games to try.  We are so blessed that Molly has such an incredible First Grade teacher who really cares about her students.  Teachers don't usually get the recognition that they deserve so I just want to put it out there; thank you to all current, former and future teachers, you are so important to the future of our world and we very much appreciate you.

Our main entrée is not the average pb&j.  We've decided to mix it up a little and use Trader Joe's Cranberry Apple Butter instead of jelly.  This tart and sweet condiment is definitely a favorite at our house.  We use it on sandwiches with cream cheese, we use it on turkey and now on peanut butter.  Trader Joe's only sells it for a short time so if you have the opportunity, give it a try.  We used a cat shaped cookie cutter for the large sandwich and the heart micro cookie cutters for the little sandwiches.  Molly loves cats!

Our vegetable side is seedless cucumbers.  We peeled and cut the cucumbers into sticks.  Most cucumbers are cut in circles but the sticks seem to go over a little better with Molly.  We also figured that the cucumbers would be a good palate cleanser since we are serving peanut butter.

Our fruit side is strawberries.  We keep finding these little gems and they honestly taste great.  Molly says that strawberries are like dessert because they are so sweet and juicy, just like ice cream.  Plus, they remind us of summer.  Since it was in the 30's here in Pittsburgh this morning, we need all the reminding we can get. ☺

Finally, for dessert, we have Peanut M&M's fresh from the Trick or Treat bag.  We usually don't do candy unless it's Fun Friday but we've made an exception because of the plethora of candy at our house.  Plus, Molly has been very good and exceptionally helpful over this small break from school so she deserves a little reward.