7 Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas for Kids

It's 11:00 and we eat lunch at 11:30. I am starving...and the kiddos are getting cranky. I thought I would start my Simple 7 series in panic mode and share my last-minute lunch brainstorming session with you.

1. Egg Toast. Otherwise known as "bullseye sandwiches". My kids love these. You simply cut a hole into a piece of bread. Butter both sides and place into a pan. Crack an egg into the hole...flip, season and serve. (We also put shredded cheese on the top).

2. Bacon / Ranch Tortilla Roll-Up. These are super simple and tasty. Simply fry up some bacon (we use turkey bacon) and place into a warmed tortilla. Add some shredded cheese, ranch dressing...(and slip some veggies in if you can get away with it). Wa-la. Lunch is served!

3. Pizza Toast. Whenever my kids are hungry...and bored, we make Pizza bread. Simply take a piece of bread (French Bread is the best) and top with prepared pizza sauce. Grab whatever toppings you have leftover in your fridge and have the kids create their own pizza. The other day, we made BBQ chicken pizza bread with black beans, cheddar cheese, leftover chicken and BBQ sauce. It was DE-LISH! )
Once your pizzas are assembled place in the oven until the cheese turns brown.

4. Boiled BBQ Chicken. This is a simple meal kids love. Place some frozen chicken breasts in boiling water. The chicken is done when you can pull it apart with a fork. Shred the chicken, add BBQ sauce and serve on buns, tortillas or toast.

5. Banana Peanut Butter Sandwiches. From the Dole Kids Cookbook

6. Apple Tuna Sandwich. From the Dole Kids Cookbook

7. ....and when all else fails, make a classic PB&J and let the kids PAINT IT!





Technorati Tags: kids meals, lunches, kids lunches, lunch ideas, quick and easy, lunches, dinners, meals for kids, sandwiches, recipes, picky eaters, quick lunches, simple

Super Simple Meal Planning

I am all about meal planning. In fact, I created a website, blog and e-book dedicated to Once a Month Cooking. That being said, it has been a rough month. I've barely had the time to take a shower much less spend an entire day in the kitchen cooking. (I'm bummed because OAMC is a huge time saver when I take the time to do it.)

Anyway, I thought I would show you my next best meal planning trip. It goes like this.

First, I scan my pantry to see what we need. Mac and Cheese, Chicken Nuggets, Hot Dogs...(the staples). :)

Then, I send my husband to Costco where he buys tools, junk food and a bottle of wine (to get away with the tools and junk food).

After that, I scan my pantry again. What can I make with a box of noodles, a pound of hamburger, some cheese, chicken breasts and other random stuff......

With chalk in hand, I create a menu plan on a huge chalkboard I put in my kitchen with all of my leftovers.

While it isn't the most productive form of meal planning, it works in a pinch...and it's cute to boot! =)

Don't Throw Out The Pickle Juice

Before you throw out the pickle juice after your next BBQ...take a look at this site. It offers dozens of cool uses for pickle juice including giving mac and cheese a "kick" and "pickling" a beer. (Which sounds oddly yummy right now.)

Here's just one of the tips...you can read the rest here...

Add cut-up raw carrots, celery sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florets, and red and green pepper strips directly to the jar of any type of leftover pickle juice. Make sure to keep these tangy tidbits refrigerated. The marinated veggies are great for snacking on straight from the jar or become an innovative addition to a crudité platter.

Have you ever streeeeeeeetched a chicken?

....and I am not talking about the rubber type.

Chicken stretching simply means turning a whole chicken, into a variety of recipes. It is a great way to use leftovers...and save money.

Here's how at cheapcooking.com...

The Perfect Pantry

Check out this article from Allrecipes.com and prepare your pantry for last-minute and easy home-cooked meals.

As if *TOAST* wasn't simple enough....

Now there is a "butter cutter".



Frankly, buttering stuff was really the least of my cooking concerns...but now that I am raising two toddlers who LOVE to stick their fingers in the butter dish and lick them (just like mom)....I am thinking I may have to get myself one.

Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments section!

Mom: Keep those Financial New Year’s Resolutions

Each and every year, after the holiday credit card bill shows up, we make
resolutions with the best of intentions. And, within a month or maybe less
… we’ve given up completely. Why is that?

Vague Goals
The goals we oftentimes set are unrealistic or are too vague to be
trackable. Here are some examples of resolutions

Bad Resolution: “Pay off credit card debt.”
Better Resolution: “Pay an extra $20 each month towards credit card debt
until it’s paid off.”

Do you see the difference? One is vague. You can’t possibly hold yourself
accountable. The other is much more trackable.

Here’s another example.

Bad Resolution: “Spend less money eating at restaurants.”
Better Resolution: “Use a menu planning service to ensure that we have
groceries in the house at all times. Eat at restaurants or fast food only
twice per week or less.”

Difficult Goals
It’s wonderful to make resolutions, but, they do no good if you don’t have
a plan in place to help you reach them. Let’s go back to that “Pay an extra
$20 each month towards credit card debt.” Where is that $20/month going to
come from? Is it magically going to appear just because you set a goal?
Will the “New Year’s Fairy” deliver a wad of cash to you each month? Of
course not. You have to have a plan in place to make the extra money
available to you.

For instance, the two goals could be combined. The second goal is
reachable. Instead of just saying to eat fast food once per week, it adds
on a way to do just that – by signing up for a menu planning service.

The best Resolution could be a combination of both goals:
“Use menu planning service to ensure that we have groceries in the house
at all times. Eat at restaurants or fast food only twice per week or
less. Take the money we save and apply at least $20 each month towards credit
card debt until it’s paid off.

It’s a new year, which means that it’s a new chance to actually make New
Year’s Resolutions and KEEP THEM. We hope these examples will help you to
set achievable new year’s goals and put systems into place so you can
achieve them.

Christine Steendahl created a menu planner for busy moms. For a free one
week trial of this family friendly meal planning service which includes a
weekly grocery shopping list, visit www.dinewithoutwhine.com

Make Your Own Baby Food

I became a stay-at-home mom when my first child was born and quite honestly I was a bit frightened when she started eating solid foods and I started calculating the cost of those tiny little baby food jars.

I have to admit, I didn't necessarily think about the health benefits of homemade foods initially because I was simply trying to save money.

I have a wonderful relative who sent me numerous "recipes" for baby foods. I am not much of a cook so I was happy to find out that the process isn't too extensive. Cook, mash, freeze, thaw, serve. Even with my limited kitchen skills I could manage that.

One of the best tips I learned from the process was to use ice-cube trays as a portioning tube. In a standard tray, each section is approximately two ounces. You simply pop the trays into the freezer and store the food cubes in freezer bags. Then, you thaw the cubes and serve.

Here is a great site to help get you started.

Technorati Tags: baby food, homemade, infant, toddler, child, newborn, feeding, recipes

Mac & Cheese Anonymous.

Yes, I am guilty. I serve mac and cheese WAY TOO OFTEN....and cereal.... & chicken nuggets....and hotdogs.

Ick, I know...but the kids love it, and I hate meal planning.

I am pretty excited about the new site developed by the creator of "Dine Without Whine". See sidebar link.

This is awesome. She actually creates a menu for our kids AND a shopping list. I am so excited about a no-brainer plan for breakfasts and lunches. I have a lot of "meal-guilt" and this certainly beats my mac-and-cheese anonymous meetings.

Enjoy.

Speaking of Crock Pots...

Since I am on this big crock pot cooking kick lately I thought I would share some of my favorite recipe links and books.

You may want to bookmark this post I go back to these sites weekly and know you will too!

• Crockpot Cooking (simple site with a lot of great recipes).

• Cooking Cache (a motherload of user-submitted recipes)

• AllRecipes (my personal favorite...includes reviews)

• Recipezaar (great site with user submitted recipes. Some include photos)

• CD Kitchen (easy to search & navigate and tons of recipes)

• Ladies Home Journal (site includes a top-ten crockpot recipe list)
  

What's for dinner? Just point and click!

This is a fantastic site I found this week that will pick out recipes for you...based upon what you have. You simply click on a list of the things you have in your pantry and fridge, and "wa-la" - the site returns a list of recipes for you.

Here's mine....

Fried Egg

Steak

& a Cup of Coffee

Looks like it is time to get groceries again! (Click on the logo to visit the site)

Meal Planning...a brilliant concept!

I didn't plan to blog tonight but I was compelled to tell all of you about this great new site "Dine Without Whine" I found.

I am desperate. I have four chicken nuggets, a bag of prepared rice, two pieces of cheese, 5 pieces of bread...and a few random "helpers".

(You know you are in trouble when you don't even have the ingredients to make a boxed "helper"). Sheesh.

I started digging through some recipe books and decided to Google "meal planning" instead...

This is one of the first sites I found...

For $4.95 per month (including a free trial week) Dine Without Whine has e-mailed me a detailed grocery list (printable...and organized by store location), meal ideas & recipes for a month, and suggested desserts...(I signed up on the spot).

So, rather than trying to figure out what to make with a chicken nugget, piece of bread, some rice and a few slices cheese...my family will be eating

Oregano Chicken, Alfredo Potatoes, Swedish Meatballs, San Fransisco Chops, White Chili, Beef Stir Fry, Ham Potato Scallop, Fruit Skewers, and more.....

Sure beats meatless "helpers"....

Hoo-Ray...for Rachael Ray!

My husband and I love Rachael Ray. She is cute, she is bubbily...and she makes *REAL* meals...quickly! Lately the "buzz" has been about Rachael Ray's new daytime talk show. If you haven't checked it out yet, it is awesome!

Beyond her being "bubble-ishous" and charming...she is SIMPLE & PRACTICAL! Sorry, Emeril...love the "BAM" but I don't have the time to make any fancy-fare...

Like many of you I am getting really tired of eating Mac & Cheese, Hotdogs, Pizza, Chicken Nuggets and the usual kid staples...

Rachael's kid cookbook features foods such as...
Homemade Chicken & Stars Soup, Broccoli & Bow Ties, Sesame Noodles, Cashew Chicken, and Supreme Pizza Pasta Salad

Oh...and if your husband is the picky eater...she also created a book called, "Guy Food".