Silly Kid Lunches: Fall Roundup

I slacked off with the fun lunch today, so I decided to do a little review of our fall Friday lunches from last year. 

You can go to the original posts for instructions and also to see the version I packed for The Kid to take to school.

Here ya go:

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Source: rindymae.blogspot.com via Mindy on Pinterest

And just a reminder, you can find all our Silly Kid Lunches on my Pinterest board here.

L Is For Lion: A Kid Lunch

This day isn't exactly going the way I had planned.  You know when you have a ton of things you want to get done and then your children completely rearrange their "schedule"?  I swear it's like they do it on purpose.  Baby takes a nap EVERY morning.  Always.  Today, she didn't go down until 12:30.  What the heck?  So much for a productive morning.  Oh well, there's always tomorrow, right?

I still got one fun lunch accomplished.  I told The Kid I'd make him a Fun Food Friday snack after school instead, since I blew it again for him this week.

For The Girl, I made a peanut butter and honey sammie and cut it into a circle for the lion's face.  His mane is carrots, ears are nectarine, nose is nectarine and a dried cranberry.  Candy eyes.  Nectarine L's and animal crackers around the rim.

Here's lunch on her plate:

He kinda looks more like a bear with a sunburst behind his head than a lion.

Ah well, she liked him.

Tomorrow night is my sister's annual Fall Party, which means food, food, and more food. 

Whatever shall I do?

Oh, I know, eat myself sick.

I'll be trying out a new recipe I found on Pinterest and she'll be making a couple new things off my It's Fall Ya'll Pinterest board as well.

I shall report back with photos.

Enjoy the weekend!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cups

You're welcome.  Trust me, you'll be thanking me later.

This is another Pinterest find.  I've had the recipe printed and sitting in my kitchen, just waiting for an excuse to make them.  Last Friday, we had dinner at my sister's.  Excuse found.

The original recipe uses graham crackers in the crust.  I almost cried when I realized I didn't have any.  But, you know me, where there's a will, there's a way.  I used ground up Oreos instead.  The color contrast isn't as pretty as it is in the originals, but that certainly didn't stop us from eating them.  I put graham crackers on my grocery list for round two.  :o)

Also, I almost always read the comments in a recipe post and this time I'm glad I did.  It was mentioned several times that the chocolate wasn't setting up for people, so they cut the amount of milk in half.  I followed the suggestion and mine set up perfectly.

I made them in my mini muffin tins and got 18 out of the recipe, rather than 8 large ones.

Here's heaven on the plate:

Unwrapped and ready for consumption.

Hello, glistening sea salt.

I know, people, I know.

Fresh Fruit Cake + The Latest Menu

Have you seen the 3-ingredient Fresh Apple Cake on Pinterest?  We had my parents over for dinner last week and when I realized I needed a quick dessert, I remembered seeing that one.  I didn't have apples, but popped over to the site to see if it would lend itself to another fruit.  Lucky me, it stated right up front that any fruit would work.  Sold.

You guys, this is the easiest dessert in history.  Easier than rice krispie treats.  And you don't have to scrub cemented marshmallows out of a pan.

I had some amazingly delicious peaches from the farmer's market, so I sliced those up and scattered them in the bottom of a square baking dish.  

I also had some frozen raspberries from my aunt's house, so I threw a few handfuls of those on top.

Next, I sprinkled on half a box of yellow cake mix.

The original recipe uses a bigger pan, so that's why I only used half.

This next part is where I went off the whole 3-ingredient thing.

I had seen in the comments that someone had added oatmeal when they made it.

Uh, yum!

So I added some oatmeal and cinnamon to the top.

Now, you dump an entire stick of melted butter over the top.

Well, actually, I probably should have only used half a stick, since I cut the other ingredients in half.

Oh well, what's a little extra butter in your life?

Now, you just stick it in a 350 degree oven and bake it for about 40 minutes.

Easy right?

Sorry, I didn't take any "on my plate" pics, but we had it with vanilla ice cream and it didn't suck at all.

Let me know if you try it with any other fruits.

Here's the latest meal plan at our house:

• Spicy Veggie Peanut Wraps & Steamed Rice
• Country-Style Ribs, Baked Potatoes & Steamed Broccoli
• Garlic-Avocado Sammies & Chips
• Peanut Crusted Chicken with Pineapple Salsa, Brown Rice & Avocado Salad
• BLT Steak, Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Bread
• Chicken Frito Pie & Green Salad
• Aglio Olio, Roasted Beet Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette & Bread
• Pork Skewers, Chickpea Salad, Feta Dip & Pita Bread
• Orecchiette with Ricotta and Chard & Bread

Random Ramblings + This Week's Meal Plan

I've been feeling super antsy the last couple weeks.  Like, I need some sort of project.  It just doesn't feel right unless I have something torn up or some sort of something that has the house a complete disaster.  I asked The Dad yesterday if he wanted to start ripping up the floor in the kitchen.  He just rolled his eyes.  Instead, I sat on the floor in the living room with my folder of kitchen inspiration photos.  Drooling.  And dreaming.  And demoing in my head.  Someday.

I suppose I could finish painting the board and batten in our master bedroom.  

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Boring.  

Or do something with the computer cubby that I'm hating more and more every day.  

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Or paint the dining room.  

I love all the greige colors that are so popular right now.

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Or, I'd really like a new light for in there.  

 I'm kinda diggin' these drum shades at the moment.

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Or take a sledgehammer to the wall that divides the dining room from the kitchen.  

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Sigh.

Then move the fridge to the other wall and make it look built in.

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Or paint the bare wood on the front screen door that The Dad fixed months ago.  

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Or refinish the dresser I bought for $10 at the neighbor's garage sale, that's now crammed into the garage. 

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Or clean the garage.  

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Or, or, or.

Instead, I will finish the 40 loads of laundry, clean the disgusting master bathroom that I never even use, commit to something for dinner in case I have anything to prep, and probably head out for a walk when Baby wakes up.  The projects will have to wait.

Here's the latest menu at our house:

• 5 Ingredient Coconut Curry
• Burgers with Horseradish sauce, Oven Fries and Baked Beans
• Herb and Garlic Grilled Trout with Red Potatoes and Grilled Tomatoes
• Garlic Baked Chicken, Risotto and Chard
• Barley & Kale Soup and Bread (had this last night and it was yummy)
• Chicken Tagine Stew
• Mexican Black Bean & Rice Bowls (had this already - one of my favorite meals)
• Grilled Eggplant, Tomato & Feta Naan Pizzas and Salad

There's a couple new breakfast and dessert recipes thrown in as well.  I'll post any worth sharin'.