Ice cream for breakfast!

Anyone know what happens when you accidentally leave an empty ice cream container on the counter overnight? Your 2 year old zeros in on it in the morning and inevitably yells, "Mommy! I want THAT for breakfast!!". Not the fight I have time for a half hour before school. So we made a compromise, I told her there wasn't anymore real ice cream (and showed her the empty container) but I would try to make her breakfast look like ice cream. Surprisingly, she didn't fight me, and agreed!

For the ice cream cone, I cut a piece of toast into an ice cream cone shape and spread cream cheese on the whole thing. Then I covered the "cone" part with crusts, trimmed to fit. And then added a skittle on top for a cherry and few sprinkles to decorate! I paired it with a cup of banana yogurt (the sprinkles were added when my back was turned, but they do pull it all together!).

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The Great Pumpkin!

I know I'm late with our Halloween lunch, but it was so crazy yesterday!  I hope everyone had a great Halloween (and all the parents survived!).  My daughter had a blast trick or treating for the first time to a few of the neighbors.  It was freezing but none of the kids seemed to care!  We did a Halloween themed lunch and as always, had a big pot of chili cooking away all day for a warm, hearty meal before spending the night outside.

Here's our easy pumpkin lunch

The pumpkin is a whole wheat pita with melted cheddar cheese on top, with a piece of pita for the stem and some green fruit roll ups for vines.  The bats are almonds with Oreo crisps cut in half and the moon is cheese.

Halloween Party!

Today we had our playgroup over for a Halloween party.  I had lots of fun making some festive food!  I couldn't wait to share it with all of you!  I only had a minute to snap some pictures before everyone dug in, if you want any further explanation of anything, feel free to ask!

Here's the table:

The decor was pretty simple, some pumpkin arrangements from the craft store that I had lying around, and a vase full of curly branches and sparkly sticks.  I made the banner using a pack of scrap Halloween paper.  I also used the scrap paper to make tags for the food which really brought it all together!

For the kids, I put out mummy hot dogs and fruit salad in oranges.

For the adults, I make chicken salad sand"witches" and deviled eggs.  I got the idea for the adorable sandwiches from Lisa Storm's blog {here}.

We also had some "witches' brew." It was punch made with equal parts lemon lime soda and orange juice and then top with scoops of orange sherbet.  As the sherbet melts it gets creamy and delicious!  I also froze some orange juice in little pumpkin molds and used them as ice cubes.  Very easy and delicious, always a hit at parties!

For dessert, we had chocolate covered oreo pumpkin pops.  I got the idea from The Idea Room.  I think I need a little more practice with them, but they came out cute and the kids loved them!

We had such a fun day!  I'm starting to get really excited for Halloween and then the holiday season to begin!!

Halloween Fun!

I was going for a Halloween theme today and was thinking it would be fun to use my mini Halloween cookie cutters. So we decided to make some homemade cheese crackers! I've had the recipe forever, but never tried them. They were so easy and a good activity to do together! They are very rich, but at least they are not full of crazy ingredients. Let's compare...

Ingredients in Sunshine® Cheez-It® Original snack crackers:

ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS), CHEESE MADE WITH SKIM MILK (SKIM MILK, WHEY PROTEIN, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES, ANNATTO EXTRACT FOR COLOR), CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF SALT, PAPRIKA, YEAST, PAPRIKA OLEORESIN FOR COLOR, SOY LECITHIN.

Ingredients in my homemade cheese crackers:

Cheese, butter, and flour

Much better, right? So here's what you do:

Combine 1/2 Lb Sharp Cheddar Cheese (or 1 Cup, grated cheese), 5 Tbsp of butter, cut into cubes, and 1 cup of flour in a food processor and combine (dough may be a bit crumbly, but it will stick together).

2. Remove all the dough to a piece of parchment or waxed paper and shape into a thick flat circle. Cover with waxed paper and refrigerate for one hour or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. Open waxed paper and roll out dough on it into a 1/4 inch-thick piece.


5. Take small cookie cutters and cut out into shapes

6. Place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with a silpat or parchment paper) and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 2 minutes before removing.





7. Serve (or eat directly off the tray;) )


You need to make these just so you can smell them. Oh my, so cheesy and delicious.

With my extra dough I cut out some hearts and some twists.


If you make these, let me know how you like them!! I don't think they will last long around here:)

Here is Gianna's lunch from today. A pumpkin shaped sandwich (cream cheese and jelly), apricot pumpkins, and Halloween cheese crackers.



Have a fantastic weekend!!


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An apple a day

Finally we're getting back to it here! We were so busy for the past week or so. On Monday, I took the kids apple picking and I've been wanting to do an apple themed lunch ever since. The apple cup was so easy and was a big hit! I just scooped it out with a melon baller.




The apple tree is cinnamon raisin peanut butter and apple slices on wheat bread with a crust trunk and cherry tomato "apples." The grass is broccoli. In the hollowed out apple is apple yogurt.


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Quick lunch for two

We had a very early morning here and Gianna spent the morning playing with her friend. So, even before noon everyone was starting to fade! So I made a quick lunch of PB&J and fruit. With a few cookie cutters, it's easy to put a little fun into a fast and easy lunch!

PB&J sandwiches, fruit roll up, pears and oranges.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

In the clouds

Gianna has always loved airplanes, but has talked about them non stop since we went on one this past summer.  I've been wanting to surprise her with the airplane cookie cutter I found.  She was so excited!  Although she is now looking all over for planes that are pulling banners that say her name!

The plane and banner were cut out of a chicken and cheese sandwich. the clouds are apples, and the letters are alphabet pretzels