Cold Pizza Monday

After a long and tiresome week, we are going to rely on a standard Monday lunch, cold pizza.  Why not?  The kids at school are having pizza too and we have some leftover from the weekend.

Our main entree is leftover cold cheese pizza from this weekend.  We cut it into "pizza sticks" to make them easier for the girls to eat.

Our vegetable side is a green salad with a small dressing on the side.

Our fruit side is red grapes.

Our dairy/dessert is strawberry yogurt.

Don't forget to enter our MOMables giveaway.

If you are wondering what MOMables is all about, look at our lunches from last week or check this out.

Want to try a free week?  Click here and click on Get access to a Free week, just below the

 MOMables icon.  

Make Your Own Pizza "Lunchables"

The "lunchable" lunches were so popular with the girls that I decided to take it a step further with a cue from my good friend, Chef Corey, over at Family Fresh Meals.  The kids don't always ask for the crackers, cheese and lunch meat.  They ask for the pizza version a lot so I figured, why not?

 Molly's Lunch

Bean's Lunch

Our main entree is a make your own pepperoni pizza.  We used Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flat Bread as the crust, some pizza sauce (in the small containers with the rainbows on them), pizza cheese blend and turkey pepperoni.

Our vegetable side is a green salad with Ranch dressing on the side.  When I was in school, salad was ALWAYS served with pizza.  Luckily for my girls, their salad is completely separate so it won't get the pizza soggy.  That was one of my biggest pet peeves about the pizza at school. 

Our fruit side is red grapes.  The local grocery store had these on sale for 99¢ a pound.  WIN!

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk.  This will round out the meal with a boost of protein and probiotics.

ps - Bean is bringing her own snack to Kindergarten starting this week and since tomorrow is red day, this is what we came up with.  Apple chunks.  Yum!

Leap Year Lunch

Today was National Pancake Day and tomorrow is Leap Day, put them both together and we have a super fun, yummy and filling treat for Molly's lunch.  We love it when things work out so nicely and we can play with a theme.  Speaking of themes, keep an eye out for Friday's lunch.  Molly's school is celebrating Dr. Seuss Day and we have a few ideas brewing. ☺

Our main entree is chocolate chip pancakes.  Molly and her siblings always ask for seconds and sometimes thirds when we make these.  Luckily, we usually make a double batch so that we have leftovers for lunch the next day.  All of the kids will eat them cold for lunch. (Who would've thought?)  We added a little frog pick to the pancakes to represent Leap Year.  Super fun!

Our protein side is a hard boiled egg.  Molly's Daddy and I usually have eggs with our "brinner" (breakfast for dinner) and the kids ask for them sometimes.  When we offered hard boiled eggs tonight, we had some very happy kids.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  They are very firm and juicy.  These served as our dessert after dinner tonight.  Molly's little brother decided to dump his out of his bowl and create a Mickey Mouse with several of them.  Oh, the imagination of a 2 year old.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions orange vanilla Greek yogurt.  We added a small container of mini chocolate chips in our main container so that Molly can mix them into the yogurt.  This is one of her favorite things ever.

Our First Giveaway!!!

Just over a week ago, I was contacted by the awesome Emily from Chobani Champions because I featured one of their new flavors in Molly's Lunch Box.  The wonderful people at Chobani Champions sent me a fantastic box full of goodies, (the Blogger Box!!) including samples of the new Vanilla Chocolate Chunk and Orange Vanilla flavors for our whole family to enjoy.  It was like Christmas!

     

They also sent me some great magnets that show off all of the Chobani Champions flavors!

They also sent me a LUNCH BOX!!!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it right, a LUNCH BOX!

Now, I'd like to share the new Chobani Champions experience with YOU, yes YOU!!  All that you have to do is comment on this blog post to be entered into our little contest.  We'll have Molly pick two lucky readers to receive samples from Chobani Champions!  (US residents only, please)

If you are on Facebook, Like Chobani Champions!  They have great contests and ideas for different ways to enjoy Chobani Champions.

 http://facebook.com/chobanichampions

THANK YOU CHOBANI CHAMPIONS!!!!

Now on to Molly's Lunch!

Our main entree is a yummy pasta salad.  We cooked a whole box of whole wheat rotini as part of our dinner last night but we saved some for leftovers.  To our whole wheat pasta, we added mini turkey pepperoni, black olives, a little bit of cheese and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is a plain spinach salad.  Molly enjoyed her salad today so much that she requested another for her lunch tomorrow.  We have her recent favorite, French dressing on the side, but just a little bit.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  We had these for our dessert tonight and immediately Molly asked if there was enough left to put some in her lunch tomorrow. 

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt!!!  This is one of our samples from the incredible peeps at Chobani!  Molly asked for the chocolate since she had the vanilla orange today.  THANK YOU CHOBANI CHAMPIONS!

*At CCD tonight, Molly received a small Nestles Crunch Chocolate Heart and asked to add it to her lunch even though it is not Fun Friday.  We were happy to add it for her. ☺

Loose Tooth

Molly finally, (at 7 years old) has her first loose tooth.  She got her first tooth about a week before her first birthday so the dentist said not to be surprised if she gets her grown up teeth a little later too.  I was talking to her about her day and as I was looking at her, I noticed that there seemed to be a small gap between her bottom teeth that hadn't been there before.  I asked her if her tooth was wiggly and she showed me, with her chest puffed out in pride, that indeed it was.

We made sure to give her some softer foods so that she has an easy time eating.  Our only issue was finding a vegetable that she would eat cold that wasn't too crunchy.  I offered edamame or peas but she wasn't interested.  At this point in time we're fine with no vegetables as long as she eats.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We used whole grain white bread, peanut butter and cherry preserves.  We then cut out small leaf patterns with mini leaf cookie cutters.  We're loving fall and the beautiful leaves so we are paying homage to them.

Our fruit side is unsweetened applesauce and grapes.  Molly requested both of these since they are nice and soft but still taste good.

Our dairy side is a twisted cheese stick.  Molly said that she missed this in her lunch today so we ran out and got some for her.

Our extra crunch is baby goldfish.  We figured that there was enough mushy food in here so a little crunch was a nice touch.

Finally, our dessert is low fat strawberry yogurt.  Molly said that she still likes vanilla but that strawberry would be a nice change.  She's so sweet when she asks for things kind of shyly.

Pizza Monday is BACK!

What a weekend!  Weekends like this make me wish that there were no Mondays so that we could keep having fun without having to go to school or work.  We had a fantastic time with great friends and family.  My brother, sister-in-law and niece (who will be one year old next month) came for a visit from New Jersey.  A bunch of us met at Soergel's Orchard for pumpkin picking and hayrides. We head to Soergel's every year as part of our fall routine and it is always a wonderful time.

Next, everyone headed back to our house for snacks and dinner so that we could all sit down and catch up while the kids played.  My husband and I really enjoy hosting gatherings and this was no exception.  Granted, we did have to clean like crazy people but the bonus is that our house is still clean.  It was so nice to learn new things about old friends and to watch my family interact with each other.  My niece is growing by leaps and bounds and it is so awesome to see the milestones that she is reaching.  She sure is a gorgeous little girl!  ♥ you, Em!

Today, we all met for brunch and said our good-byes.  It was sad but we know that we'll see them in just over a month.  We can't wait!

Now, back at it.  We are bring back pizza Mondays.  Our dinner was pizza when everyone came over and we had some left so there we have it.

Our main entree is Little Caesar's pepperoni pizza.  Cold pizza has to be one of the best lunches ever.  Molly's school always serves pizza on Mondays so we like keeping her similar with this choice.

Our vegetable side is a green salad with light ranch dressing.  Molly really likes the pizza and salad combo.  She also likes to dip her pizza in the ranch so it is a great catalyst for one of her other favorite combinations.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  These are very firm and juicy with a nice sweet taste.  Grapes are really delicious frozen for a snack if the weather happens to be on the warmer side.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We haven't gotten a chance to run to Sam's club over the past week or so and that means that we don't have anymore of Molly's new favorite yogurt, the Chobani Champions.  She likes regular old vanilla yogurt though, so she'll be fine until we can get to Sam's.

Sub Sandwich

We found a FANTASTIC two day sale at a local grocery store today.  It seems as if they will make no money on this sale since there are so many incredible deals.  We purchased so many staples (ie: bananas, pineapple, lunch meat, cheese, bread, eggs, etc) and paid less than half of the normal amount.  We even found deals on things that we don't normally buy but couldn't pass up.

Our main entree is a sub sandwich.  The store was selling loads of lunch meat for $2.98 a pound so we stocked up.  We also bought some soft fresh rolls.  I'm usually a whole grain type of Momma but these looked so delicious.  We split the roll, added salami, corned beef and pepper jack cheese for one yummy sub.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  We figured that with the soft bread and fillings, the crisp, refreshing and juicy cucumbers would  be a great compliment.

Our fruit side is grapes.  Molly's Grammy purchased these for us at the same store yesterday when they were on sale for 88¢ a pound.  They are nice and meaty grapes that are super sweet.

Our fun Friday treat is a red velvet roll.  The store had these on sale for $1.44 for four of them.  It is red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, all rolled up like a HoHo.

Have a great weekend!

Pizza Again

It was a very busy day at our house today.  Mommy was a baking fool, the kids had lots of things going on and Daddy had his last meeting at church for the RCIA program with Uncle Greg.  (Congrats again, Greg!)  Mommy made Rice Krispie Treats for Daddy's meeting and cupcakes for Molly's little sister's preschool snack.  Molly's little brother had his 2 year check up today and he's a very healthy little boy.  Tomorrow is Molly's little sister's un-Birthday at school. Molly is big time into reading and now we know more about elephants and sharks that we ever did.  So, with all of the chaos, we decided to get some Little Caesar's Pizza for dinner.

ps - I'm also including a picture (see below) of the cupcakes for Beach Day at Molly's little sister's preschool tomorrow.  They were really fun!

Our main entrée is left over pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars.  Molly is going to be very excited to have pizza twice in one week.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  We found a very large bag of these at Sam's Club and they are so delicious.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  A re-play of some of the fruit from today's lunch.  They are very juicy and sweet.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Molly's favorite Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt.  But, we've added a spoonful of strawberry rhubarb compote.  We grow the rhubarb in our back yard and make this compote to go with anything from pancakes to yogurt.

As promised, here is a photo of the Beach Day cupcakes.  They are yellow cake with cream cheese frosting. The "sand" is crushed graham crackers.  The beach towels are Fruit By The Foot.  We did a little frosting accessorizing on some Teddy Grahams for some fun in the sun style.  Finally, we added a drink umbrella for extra SPF protection.

Something a Little Different

As I was sitting in a meeting tonight, I was pondering what to make for Molly's lunch.  I wanted to do something different since we all know that she'd eat a pimento cheese sandwich every day if possible.  I was thinking back to her Easter Lunch and what a hit the bunnies were.  So, I stopped at the store on the way home and picked up some refrigerated biscuits.  From there, the pepperoni pockets were born!

Our main entrée is pepperoni pockets.  We made these using refrigerated biscuit dough, added shredded cheddar and turkey pepperoni, sealed the top like a dumpling and baked.  A few of them unfolded but most of them stayed together.  This could be a go-to dinner for us in the future.

Our vegetable side is sliced multi-colored peppers.  They are small peppers so they look really neat when you cut them up.  Plus, the different colors add to the fun of it.

Our fruit side is strawberries and red grapes.  We found these grapes at Aldi during our grocery store run.  They have some great prices on very good produce.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is our good old Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt...BUT, we added a few white chocolate chips, just for fun. ☺

100th Day of School Lunch!

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school!!!  Molly is so excited because every year the teachers make a big deal about the 100th day.  We had our open house for school tonight and all of the talk was about what was going to happen for tomorrow and how they were going to mark the big day.  Molly wanted to make sure that she would wear something that represented the 100th day so we found the necklace that she made last year that has 100 beads on it.  She also asked for something in her lunch to follow the theme so, here we go!

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We do not have number cookie cutters so we freehanded the 100, which was pretty difficult on whole grain bread.  haha!

Our vegetable side is orange bell pepper slices.  These offer a color that is different from the normal green or red that we usually have for Molly's veggies.

Our fruit side is a clementine and some red grapes.  The grapes were a huge hit in today's lunch and she requested that they be part of tomorrows lunch.

Our dessert side is Trader Joe's Ginger Cat cookies.  Molly really likes these and hasn't had these in her lunch box for a while so we decided to add them.

Tomorrow isn't just the 100th day, it's FUN FRIDAY!  So, we added a few Hershey's Kisses as an extra bonus.  Molly has been working really hard and deserves this special little treat.

Hoagie Day

Isn't it funny how when someone you know is selling something, you often feel the need to buy it from them?  A friend was selling hoagies (sub sandwiches for anyone outside of the Pittsburgh area) and I felt almost obligated to buy some.  I do not regret this purchase because we will actually really enjoy these hoagies, the price was great and the proceeds helped a friend.  But, I just had to note the funny coincidence of buying things more often from people that you know, just because you know them.

Our main entrée is part of a turkey hoagie.  This sandwich has turkey, provolone cheese and a little bit of lettuce on it.  We also added some mustard because it's Molly's favorite condiment.

Our vegetable side is red bell pepper slices.  We figured that it would be a nice compliment to the sandwich.

Our fruit side is some red grapes.  These looked so delicious in the store and we couldn't pass them up.  They are extra small and very firm and sweet.

Finally, our dessert is Pepperidge Farm Cocoa Adventure Goldfish crackers.  These are chocolate graham crackers with mini marshmallows, just like those found in hot cocoa.