I'm Hungry....Perhaps Blogging About Food Will Help

     I'm in time out.  Well, more of a self-imposed exile, actually.  You see, tonight my loving husband decided he would save me the trouble of cooking by preparing dinner without any help from me.  He and Monkey have been in the kitchen since 4:30, and I've been sitting here waiting on my food.  I'm starting to think I may have to eat the dog if it isn't ready soon.  At least J bought chips and salsa for the meantime.

     I was passing the time on Pinterest, pinning all kinds of yummy foods, but that didn't help my situation (go figure, huh?).  Then it dawned on me that I haven't blogged since the beginning of the month.  So that's why I'm here.  And because I have no food.  You know, cause blogging about food when you're starving makes perfect sense.....yeah.....

     Let me start by sharing a few more fun lunches I've been making for Monkey.  Over the Christmas break she told me she wanted to start eating cafeteria food.  I told her that was fine with me, but J piped up that she wouldn't get any say in what they feed her at school.  She quickly decided she preferred Mommy's lunches.  That didn't last long at all!

Monday: DIY Tacos
We've done DIY Lunchables and DIY Pizzas, so we kicked it up a notch for this lunch.

    Using a circle cookie-cutter, I cut circles out of 2 burrito-sized flour torillas.  I brushed the front and back of each tortilla with oil and sprinkle a little bit of salt over each.  Next I fitted the tortilla rounds into a mini-muffin tin and baked them in the oven at 350 for about 8 minutes.

     I chopped up some leftover chicken into tiny cubes.  I then added a bit of shredded cheese.  You can throw in some shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes too, but I just added a bit of leftover salad from the night before.

 Tuesday: Hello Kitty Sandwich

    
     I know I've mentioned these cute sandwich cutters before, and I know I've even used the kitty one before and shared it, but that just goes to show how versatile this one set of lunch gadgets can be.  I cut the bread and meat out with the cutter, and then I indented the top piece of bread with the kitty face stamp.  I used my food markers to color in the indentions.  I added some grape tomatoes, a bunch of grapes, and a cheese stick with a little message written in permanent marker on the wrapper.

     One of the things I love about packing Monkey's lunch is that I can slip little notes into the lunch box.  It's even more fun when it's on her food :-)

Wednesday: Ham, Cheese and Spinach Pinwheels

     As you can tell, tortillas are a staple in this house.  They last a while, so when we've devoured all the bread, there's usually still some tortillas on the shelf, so they make for a quick lunch.  For this one, I rolled a couple of sliced of ham, some cheddar cheese, and a bit of spinach into a log, and then I sliced the roll into pinwheels.  I also used a fun butterfly cutter to cut the cucumbers.  I added those, some grapes, and a granola bar (not pictured) to Monkey's lunchbox.

Thursday: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons Lunch
     As most of y'all know from Facebook, Monkey entered her school Reading Fair with a project on the book, "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons".  She got 1st place at the school fair, and then again at the district fair.  To celebrate, I packed this extra special lunch just for her.

     Using a round cookie cutter, I cut four circles from a burrito-sized tortilla.  I colored each one with food markers to look like four buttons of varying colors.  I then thinly sliced some turkey pepperoni (you could also used diced chicken like the mini tacos), diced a bit of tomato, shredded some lettuce, and added a bit of cheese.  The idea was she could make her own little soft tacos with the "button" tortillas.  I added some fruit and veggie sides, and sent her on her way.  She loved this one!

 Friday: BLT Wrap---Bacon, Love, Tomato

      For this wrap, I layered a slice of ham, a couple of slices of cooked turkey bacon, a sliced tomato, shredded lettuce, and a bit of Ranch onto a tortilla and rolled it up.  I added a special message with my food markers.  Then I threw in some colorful Goldfish, a bunch of grapes, and a bit of broccoli and called it a day.

Update:  My husband finally fed me, and it was delicious!  Well worth the wait.  I would post his recipe, but I was too hungry to take pictures.  I should have though, because he says that was so much work he's not sure he'll be doing it again any time soon :-/  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

     Since I don't have pictures of tonight's feast, let me share a recipe that doesn't take 2 1/2 hours to cook.

Taco Soup
1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
3 cans sliced olives
1 package taco seasoning or 2 TBS homemade (recipe below)
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
Shredded cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional) *We substitute plain Greek yogurt.  It tastes the same and is bester for you.

Brown ground turkey (or beef).  Add taco seasoning and the amount of water listed on package (if using homemade add 1/2 cup water).  Cook until 1/3 of water is left.  Dump in all the canned foods.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Top with shredded cheese and/or sour cream, if desired.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

This doesn't make a ton, so I typically double or triple it when I make a batch.  Then when I see I'm getting low I'll add some more.

Enjoy :-)