Back to School. Back to Routine.

How do you get ready for back to school? This is a question I asked myself repeatedly, in August. How do you ready yourself? Ready your kids? Welcome routine back into your life? I welcomed school somewhat reluctantly this year. I had an amazing Summer Holiday.  We travelled, we played on the beach, we visited wineries, we stayed up late, we slept in, we basically did everything that we never get to do on a regular basis. I enjoyed time with friends, family and lots of quiet evenings with my husband. It was a dream. 

How do you start back to school after a Summer like that? You throw yourself into it! Routine is good for the soul. A little bit of order never hurt anyone. Book the appointments you've been avoiding, get your kids cool "first day of school outfits" and if you're like me, you start cooking! 

I'm not sure why I feel like preparedness is directly related to how many delicious meals I have prepped in my freezer, but I do. My mom always made wonderfully, delicious food for myself and my siblings while I was growing up. I like to do the same for my kids. 

If you think this blog is going to be about school lunches, you're absolutely right! I hate making lunches!!! I secretly think all moms do.

I tend to batch cook and force my kids to pack their own lunches.  I'm not a fan of sandwich meat but my kids love sandwiches. My solution...cooked chicken breasts. I season with salt, pepper, oregano and roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350 F. 

After they cool, I slice them and pack into small sandwich bags. I store the prepared chicken in the freezer and thaw for sandwiches, as needed. 

As my kids pack their own lunches, I find providing them with lots of healthy options and allowing them the ability to choose makes for fewer fights. It also teaches them about healthy living and good choices. On that note, my kids love treats in their lunches because they are human.  They love to snack on muffins, which I encourage as opposed to over the counter "lunchbox treats." Their favourite muffins are banana, I've added a link to my recipe below. 

http://melsbigideas.blogspot.ca/search/label/Muffins?m=0

A close second favourite would be blueberry muffins. I had hoped to find time to throw together blueberry muffins before school started. Especially, after I found organic blueberries on sale...I didn't find the time, so I washed them, dried them...

and packed them into 1 cup servings, which I placed in the freezer. 

I'll bake muffins at another point. It's totally worth it to purchase fruits and veggies at the height of their season and freeze. These fruits and veggies are going to be as nutritionally rich as possible and typically more affordable, than in the winter. Freezing them allows you to access the wonderful benefits of this fruit, at a later date. 

Finally, my kids love tiny casseroles in their lunches and they couldn't be easier to produce!  I always double or triple batch my pasta sauce. Leftover bolognese never goes astray in my household. One of the absolute favourite lunch casseroles in my house is lazy lasagne!!

I let the kids choose their favourite noodle, grate some mozzarella and parmesan and mix with leftover sauce. These casseroles are baked in mammoth muffin tins, and smothered in melty cheese. They are baked at 350F for 15-20 minutes. 

Once they are removed from the oven, you allow them to completely cool and then freeze in the muffin tins. Once frozen they are easily removed from the pan. 

I store them in a ziplock bag, in the freezer until we're ready to pack lunches. 

It couldn't be easier to defrost in the fridge overnight and quickly re-heat in the morning, before school. My kids pack these yummy lunches into a thermos in the morning and gobble them up at lunch! Imagine, all of that was accomplished on a Sunday afternoon. Then school started and it took almost until October to post!!!  Ahhh...back to school! Hope you're all surviving! 

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or concerns, or you just liked this Big Idea, feel free to comment below! 

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

 

I have good kids. Really good kids. During their las holiday from school, I assigned them the task of prepping a meal that could be frozen and thawed for their lunch boxes. I was in the midst of making a homemade chicken broth and had cooked chicken and mini tart shells on hand so chicken pot pies it was!!  

 

Find my chicken broth recipe here:

http://melsbigideas.blogspot.ca/2017/02/waste-not-want-not-making-beautiful.html?m=0 

At first my son was upset about the idea of chicken pot pie. He absolutely despises peas and doesn't enjoy carrots with gravy. My daughter, on the other hand was thrilled. We opted to make a simple thick gravy, I then gave them free reign with flavours. They were in charge. This was their cooking experience. 

We started with a roux, which is simply a mixture of melted butter and flour.  In a frying pan we melted down 1/3 of a cup of butter (I added a finely chopped shallot to the butter) and then added 1/4 of a cup of flour. When these ingredients were well blended, we added 2 cups of chicken broth to the mix, 1/2 tsp of sea salt and 1/2 tsp of poultry seasoning. We whisked the ingredients together over medium heat. My son liked the gravy at this point, so we transferred half of the gravy into another pot. My daughter opted to add 1/2 tsp of Herbs de Provence and a sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper. 

My son added 2-3 chunked chicken thighs to his gravy. My daughter added the same amount of chicken plus 1/4 cup of frozen peas and 1/4 cup of cooked carrots. 

We had thawed our tart shells on the counter, while we cooked the chicken pot pie filling.  For each chicken pot pie, we required 2 shells. My daughter made 8 pies and my son, 7. We filled the bottom shell with 2-3 tablespoons of pie filling and then laid a thawed pie shell over the filled bottom shell. The kids then pinched and fork printed the edges of the pie shells. 

We preheated our oven to 425 F. While the oven was heating, I cut slits into the tops of the pies. As a pie needs a way for steam to escape, while it bakes. My kids had made two different flavoured pot pies; this seemed like the perfect opportunity to label their lunchtime snacks. My son's pies were labeled with a "D" and my daughter's, with an "M". We then baked the pies in our preheated oven for 30 minutes. 

 

After the pies cooked and the kids gobbled a few up for lunch, they were packed for the freezer. 

 

When packing lunches, the kids thaw a pie or two over night in the fridge. We warm them in the morning and place them into a thermos, if they opt to not complete this morning task, they happily eat them at room temperature at lunchtime. 

This kitchen project has worked out extremely well for my family!!  My kids are pleased that they created something wonderful in the kitchen and I'm satisfied that they are filling their bellies with a healthy and satiating lunch. 

 

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or concerns, or you just liked this Big Idea, feel free to comment below. 

Lunch Box Mac N' Cheese

 

I'm making lunch snacks for the kiddos today! These are quick, easy and generally, a crowd pleaser. They freeze amazingly well and your kids can eat them at any temperature. 

LUNCHBOX MAC N' CHEESE

 

You can add any amount of cheese to these mini casseroles.  The more cubed cheese, the cheesier!  I always use a strong cheese for a bolder flavour but honestly, use whatever you prefer. You'll be baking inside mammoth muffin tins, which I find, make a perfect size tiny casserole. They fit wonderfully inside a lunchbox. 

Preheat the oven to 325 F. 

 

Grease the mammoth muffin tins and begin adding uncooked noodles and cubes of cheese to the tins, in layers.  To increase the ease of clean up, you could always try making these inside muffin cups. 

 

Fill the tins, leaving about a centimetre of head space. 

 

Top each tin off with milk. Fill until most of the noodles are covered. 

 

Add salt and pepper to the tops of the casseroles. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 325 F. If you're like me and enjoy the top of your casserole browned; turn the oven on broil for 1 minute.  I always salt one last time after I remove from the oven. 

 

Allow the casseroles a few minutes to cool in the pan.  Use a knife to loosen the Mac N' Cheese and remove with a small spatula. 

 

Freeze, once the casseroles are cooled. Thaw the night before, in the fridge to place in a lunchbox. My kids are happy to eat these at room temperature. However, if they prefer them heated, place boiling water in a thermos with a lid; allow to sit for 10 minutes. Empty the thermos and dry. Heat one casserole in the microwave for 50 seconds and place in the warmed thermos. 

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions or concerns, or you just liked this big idea!!  Thanks for reading!

Lunchbox Snacks: Faux Bocconcini Salads

 

Quick thought for today!!!  I was buying some groceries for my kid's lunches. They totally love these bocconcini hors d'oeuvres and what a simple protein based snack to energize and fill them up!!  Ideal for a lunch box!

They found the bocconcini to be a tiny bit "plain." That's my daughter's word for..."it needs salt."  Next time I'll have to add some Serrano Ham.  For today, I gave in and salt and peppered. They didn't love them with basil but were pleased with spinach. 

Pat on the back...this mom is pleased to send a new option in the lunchbox!!

Thanks for reading!!  Comment below if you have any questions, or you just liked this big idea!!