Cupcake Lasagna

I decided to try something new today. I decided to pack lunch for everyone at the same time. Normally I pack The Elder's at night and the minions' during the day. I get Clark on the bus and have one hour to feed Tyke, Pork, and Colonel Sanders and then walk Tyke to school. Clark eats a family style lunch at school as part of the program he is in. So I get Clark on the bus, find something to amuse the minions (craft, drawing, toys, or tv) and then make lunch and feed them.

 Today I decided to be brave and give the minions more than one food pick. I pray they do not get to distracted at lunch.

We will start with the front today. I have a cupcake lasagna with a tomato flower. Above that we have 2 slices of rolled nitrate free turkey and squares of cheddar cheese.

To the left I have homemade cherry yogurt (Yes, in a cut dixie cup) and a pickle boat with a piece of turkey and 2 passengers.
 This is The Elder's lunch. He too has cupcake lasagna. It consists of wonton wrappers, ricotta cheese, ground beef, tomato puree, spinach, spices, and mozzarella and cheddar cheese.

To the left is a sugar free whole wheat banana muffin with a packet of frosting. Yes, I know frosting kinda defeats the sugar free purpose, but it's The Elder. He thinks he needs it. Therefore, he gets his sugar. Below that is frozen mixed veggies.

Want to see the minions?

Colonel Sanders is like her brother Clark. She feels sleep is for the weak. So she is sitting on the floor below me playing with Pork Chop's dinosaur.

Pork Chop fell asleep on the couch. Poor little man is still ill. He sounds like a frog and wakes up every so often to cry because he is coughing so much. I have done all I can for him, so I let him sleep on the couch to give him a little comfort. Once I go to bed I  take him with me.







I know, it is rare to see Clark. Clark is the healthiest of the bunch. I am not quite sure what happened to his pillow case.

Sorry, there is no picture of Tyke. The poor camera decided that it needed the battery charged.






Countdown: 4

Chicken noodle soup and The Elder's lunch

Mmm... Nothing like a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup, especially when everyone is ill.

Homemade? Yes! The noodles take a little time but the rest is easy. First you need some dark meat chicken on the bone. You can use boneless or breasts, but I do not feel they work as well. They do work though! Be cure to add a little salt. Cook chicken until it is falling off the bone. Separate the chicken and liquid. Set the chicken aside to cook and add your veggies to your broth. When the chicken has cooled, pick the meat off the bone and

 add it back to the stock. You can cook your noodles in the soup or in another pot and then add them to the soup. I chose to the the second. My homemade noodles tend to be covered in flour to keep them from sticking to each other while I cut them all up. So the water tends to get a little odd if I cook them in broth.

As you can see, I do not add broth to the the bowls for the minions. I have learned that it is just to much of a mess. I normally put it in a cup (cool it down) and let them drink it that way.

Why are the noodles green? Because I wanted them to be. I added a little bit of spinach puree to my pasta dough to turn it green. Not only did it not effect the flavor, but it added some yummy spinach goodness to the noodles without the minions knowing.

Colonel Sanders was not very happy and chose not to eat. All she did was glare at us. She even made my camera have a "memory card error". Yep, the little stinker jinxed my camera. Or maybe the camera is just old... Naw, I like the first story better.
 The Elder's lunch. Yum! I was not feeling to well (sick plus migraine) and my brain was shot. I had some ground beef thawed. We had a lot of the typical ground beef items last week, meatloaf, burgers, and spaghetti and meatballs. So I decided I would make wontons. I added spinach, onion, 5 spice powder, and some soy sauce to the ground beef for my filling. Then I friend them in a little bit of olive oil and butter. Yes, I said butter. Real butter.

Anyway, the wontons are sitting on a bed of brown rice. I also gave him carrots with dip and cheese for a side.

Countdown: 5

Pumpkin and wonton

I wanted wontons for lunch. Sadly, the minions do not enjoy wontons as much as I do. So I came up with this compromise. I have 2 homemade wontons, a biscoff sandwich pumpkin sitting on a bed of carrot sticks, with little mozzarella headstones, and a sword with 2 grapes.

Tyke wanted nothing to do with his wontons. Pork and Colonel Sanders gladly gobbled theirs up.

Countdown: 10

First Bento. Salmon lettuce wraps and curried eggs

I was given this box for Christmas. It is a nice small 2 tier box. As you can see, I managed to pack it pretty full. I am on a Weight Watchers diet and I try to keep all my lunches under 8 points.

Wrapped in the lettuce is salmon salad. It consists of canned salmon, shredded carrots, celery, some dill relish, a little low fat mayo, and some hot sauce. I then rolled some of it up in the lettuce and made a lettuce cup with some in it too.

The gyoza are veggie filled. I discovered if I use mushrooms in the mixture, it fools my brain into thinking there is meat. Therefore I feel fuller. I am assuming it is due to the texture. Anyway, in the gyoza is spinach, mushrooms, garlic, carrot, and zucchini. I sprayed a little bit of cooking spray in a hot pan and pan fried them.

The eggs on celery were an interesting discovery. They are called curried eggs. I was surprised how good they were. It is just mashed up egg, a small touch of low fat mayo and a bit of curry powder. All I have to say is Yummy! The celery provided a nice crunch.