100th Day of School!

Today's the 100th day of school for my sproutlets! It's a little later in the year than originally planned due to a week of snow days :)

Pickle began his day reading the book 100th Day Worries while eating his breakfast - then it went into his backpack to share with his 2nd grade class. 

In the book, a little girl is worried that she won't be able to find 100 things to bring to school for her 100th day. The book was from one of Bella's first Scholastic book orders in kindergarten, and inspired her lunch today :)

I was so pleased with myself for puzzling 10 little cups into her EasyLunchbox!

Bella has exactly 100 bites of lunch! 10 each of grape tomatoes, black grapes, mozzarella, cheddar, ham, turkey, golden globe tomatoes, "Mystic" grapes, cheddar Cheez-Its, and white cheddar Cheez-Its. I cut the ham & turkey using my FunBites Luv it! cutter, because it's quick & easy - and makes exactly 10 pieces :) For snack, I gave her one of those 100 calorie packs of yogurt covered pretzels, relabeled 100th day of school pack :

Beanstalk has 100 bites in his Lock & Lock bento box too - they just aren't in multiples of 10. He has 10 cheddar Cheez-Its, 10 white cheddar Cheez-Its, 18 graham squares, 5 "Mystic" grapes, 5 black grapes, 5 ham rolls, 5 apple slices, and 42 yogurt raisins.  There were 45 in the box so I ate 3 :)

Pickle has 100 love bites :) I strung 100 bits of Quaker Whole Hearts heart-shaped oat cereal on a red cord - his favourite colour. It frames his usual peanut butter sandwich, with 100 DAYS cut out and stamped into it:

I also gave him a package of 100 calorie Oreo snacks - a real treat! At the beginning of the year a note was sent home asking me not to send him Oreo cookies because he makes too much mess with them :( He doesn't mean to, he just really enjoys them, and turns them into a sensory experience. Unfortunately the school does not have time for a mess like that, so Oreos have been a home snack for my Pickle ever since...  then this week I noticed these Oreo wafers at the store - hopefully the eats them neatly!

 

Pickle usually gets a small Snapware container of yogurt, but I ran out so he got one of his Dad's individual yogurt cups. He loves peeling the foil cap :) And Beanstalk got a 100 calorie snack pack just like Bella's.

Each one got a Lunchbox Love too. Bella says one of the lunchroom ladies likes all the trivia on the flip side of the sentiments :)

Happy 100th Day of School to my sproutlets!

Stuff I used today:

Crock-Pot Cheesy Pierogi Lasagne

Okay, this is not really lunch - but it could be - it makes yummy leftovers!  :)

So good to come home to! This savoury casserole's layers of pasta, potatoes & cheese are reminiscent of pierogies, mmm. It goes great with polish sausage - or with breakfast sausage - you can make it the night before to wake up to :)

Ingredients:
	6-12 potatoes, peeled & quartered Pasta - I like farfalle because it has the wiggly edges like lasagne noodles 1 lb shredded cheese(s) of choice 1 cup milk (or cream) 1 lb butter, divided 1-2 onions, chopped
Suggested potato add-ins:	more shredded cheese, minced garlic, grated parmesan, bacon bits, sour cream, herbs of choice, salt & pepper

Directions: 

1 - Boil potatoes & pasta. 

2 - While they cook, sautée onions in ½ lb butter, until golden, and set aside.

3 - Drain & rinse pasta, set aside. 

4 - Drain potatoes, mash with milk (or cream) and remaining ½ lb butter. 

5 - If desired, add other potato add-ins of choice. I add minced garlic, salt & pepper, grated parmesan and a handful of shredded sharp cheddar.

6 - Beginning with pasta, layer ingredients in crock-pot. You can also layer more potato add-ins if desired - I threw in some Tastefully Simple soy bacon bits atop each layer of potatoes.

7 - Finish with a layer of cheese. A sprinkling of grated parmesan is good too :)

8 - Top with the sautéed onions & butter.

9 - Cover and cook on low all day or on high if you tend to start late, like me :)

10 - Done when the cheese & onion topping is hot & bubbly!

Bon Apétit!

Oven Option  

Layer ingredients in deep dish lasagne pan or casserole dish, lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until top is as browned as you like  :) - OR - Refrigerate until ready to bake. Cover with foil. (To prevent sticking, spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.)  Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 15-30 minutes.

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Mardi Gras Mélange

Sailor Boy & I lived in New Orleans some years back, until shortly after we had our first sproutlet ... wow, I guess that would be 10 years back then! Doesn't seem that long ago... The people we met, the experiences we had, and that colourful city itself - it's all still quite vivid in my mind - and Mardi Gras there is unforgettable! Beanstalk was born in the Crescent City, the only one of the 5 sproutlets not born here in Washington State. He's proud of that difference, and considers Mardi Gras a sort of personal special day, so he was pleased to see King Cake on the breakfast table this morning. I didn't take a picture before they each had a piece, but here's what's left :)

It wasn't a real King Cake - I know I've mentioned before how baking challenged I am - I cheated with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls from the can, a little extra frosting, and coloured sugar crystals :) So much easier!

The sproutlets have a mélange of Mardi Gras colours in their lunches:

My NOLA baby boy was thrilled to see his bento full of purple, green & gold. He has white cheddar popcorn - Smartpop, his favourite, a treat to have in his lunchbox - as well as some Mardi Gras yogurt pretzels - 2 treats today, lucky boy! Purple, green (and red) grapes, and a mandarin orange (orange is sort of gold) which he'll hopefully eat before the sweets - riiiiight :)

The pretzels were an easy treat - I heated several on a plate in the microwave for 20 second increments until the coating began to look shiny (melty), quickly sprinkled on the coloured sugar, then popped them in the fridge for 5 minutes before packing them in the lunches. I bought a rainbow assortment sugar shaker yesterday - I could do this for every holiday!

Bella 's EasyLunchbox is also filled with purple, green & gold goodness. She has cucumber "doubloons", cheddar crowns, a little salad (including a new like, spinach leaves!), golden globe tomatoes, purple grapes, and green grapes - a little reminiscent of Mardi Gras beads? - and sugared yogurt pretzels.

It's Tuesday, breakfast for lunch day at school. Pickle loves having the pancake hot lunch on Tuesdays, and today was no different, but he also wanted a Mardi Gras lunch, so he asked me to make him a "home lunch" as well. I made him a "King" sandwich and packed it in a gold sandwich box :)

The pancake hot lunch includes sausage and fruit, which he never eats, but he does eat the Yami yogurt cup that also comes with it (he loves those little individual cups with the peel-off lids) so with the addition of the PB sandwich, he'll have a pretty full tummy today!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

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Stuff I used for today's lunches :