Laptop Lunch Salad Set - Sale

Laptop Lunch salad sets, the lunch-packer's favorite, are priced at a steal this week! Fill the colorful containers with a balanced meal and pack them inside the exterior insulated sleeve to keep salads and sides fresh. This sleek design fits easily into your briefcase or backpack!! No need for an expensive salad bar. Save cash and eat well too!

Regularly: $31.18
Currently a steal at: $14.99 + a donation to local schools with coupon code "earleyfam"  (A portion of the proceeds will also be given to local schools with this particular code.)

I'm ordering mine today!  I've been eating more salads for lunch lately anyway, so this is PERFECT!

Updated Fall Mantle

I finally found 2 vases for the sticks and leaves!  JoAnn Fabric had these rafia-wrapped glass vases on sale for 50% off, and I had a coupon for an additional 25% off. They're perfect.

Metal Letters & Numbers

Maybe you've seen the metal numbers and letters that I've been coo'ing over for a couple of years?  At first, I wasn't sure what letters I would want or even where I would put them....At $20 each, I knew that I didn't want to have to order too many.

My doll of a husband brought home some individual boxes (wine-crate-like) of candele lunghe Italian pasta, and it finally hit me.  In that really awkward small space above our extra tall upper kitchen cabinets, I could put pasta "crates" and the letters "E-A-T".  Really, $60 + taxes + shipping for three little letters???  Not so much. 

I had to find a way to do it for less...and I *did*!

Paper mache letters from Hobby Lobby or JoAnn Fabric + a couple of metalic paints from Home Depot or Lowe's?  Yes, please!

The pasta crates.  (The candele lunghe noodles are each as long as the box!)

Even though they aren't lower case letters, I absolutely love them.  I've already started thinking of ways that I can incorporate them into seasonal decor and possibly do some on the other side of the kitchen as well.  All said and done, each letter (depending on how much paint from each can I actually used) cost me about $3.50-$5.00 to make.  Even if I had emptied out both cans on the 3 letters, they would have been less than $9 each. I made a set out of thinner chip board letters as well for my sister.  If you can snag the letters when they are on sale for 40-50% off then, you could make them for about $2.50-$3.00 each!  If you're a big fan of the numbers that are found on everything right now, this would be an inexpensive way to add one to any part of your home!

Italian Flag Chicken

If you know me, then you know that I cannot *stand* to watch or hear Rachael Ray.  I'm not a fan of her cookbooks, either.  I'm not a food snob; although I certainly love food and appreciate really great food. 

I have a confession: Her magazine is starting to grow on me.  I don't know where the subscription came from; honestly, I thought it was a joke from a friend at first.  It keeps coming.  I pick it up. I flip through it.  I even *gasp* tried a recipe.

I saw a recipe for "Italian Flag Chicken" in her November magazine, and I altered it some.  I will say that I was happy with the results.  It was healthy and tasty.  Even our little people enjoyed it.

Italian Flag Chicken

adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion diced & sauteed
• 8 packed cups stemmed, thinly sliced kale
• 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 3 oz. shredded fontina cheese
• 1-2 T minced garlic
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 t thyme
• 6 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 3 lbs.)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 T EVOO
• 2 cans cannellini beans

Directions:

1. Cook kale in pot of boiling, salted water for 5 minutes; drain and run under cold water. Squeeze dry or spin in a salad spinner and transfer to bowl; stir in tomatoes, garlic, thyme, oregano, sauteed onions, and cheese.
2. Cut a deep pocket in center of each breast; stuff with kale mixture and season.
3. Heat EVOO in skillet over medium heat; add chicken and cook about 10 minutes.
4. Add the beans and any remaining kale mixture to the pan. 
5. Cook until chicken registers 160 in the thickest part of uncut chicken breast. (Not the stuffing)

Bento: Fall

Food Markers....I've seen some amazing things done with food markers on cheese, and so I finally broke down and ordered some Wilton Food Writers on Amazon.  I think this cheese had too high of a moisture content, because I struggled.  Regardless, I'm here to share my triumphs and what I am LEARNING as I sew, bake, cut, and create.  I'm going to try on Provolone next time and see how that works.

In the Laptop Lunch system:

• Sandwich with fruit leather cut out and negative
• Crackers with Cheese leaf cut outs (colored with Food Writers)
• Yogurt covered pretzels
• Dried pineapple
• Mini rice crackers - my son prefers the apple cinnamon ones even over the caramel!

Bento: Pumpkins

Quick bento!  I've been without motivation lately.  This is still fun according to my 6 year old, but it only took an additional 30 seconds from packing a "standard" lunch without any "fun" elements.  Fruit leather cut outs and their "negatives" are used in every container.

• Fresh peaches, silicone "grass" baran divider, carrots, Ranch dip
• Mini rice cakes
• Sandwich cut out in pumpkin shape, dried pineapple
• Rice Crispy treat



Granola Popcorn Balls

A few years ago, I started experimenting with my popcorn ball recipe.  I found some pumpkin spice granola at our local grocery store in the health food "bulk" section.  It made to-die-for popcorn balls.  This year, we can't seem to find the pumpkin spice granola....So, reinvention of a "fall" recipe began.

Granola Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 quarts popped popcorn
• 1 quart granola (pick your favorite flavor, or use plain and add seasonings)
• 1 C light Karo 
• 1/2 C molasses
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 t Cinnamon
• 1/8 t Ginger
• 1/8 t Allspice
• 1/8 t Cloves
• 1/4 t Nutmeg
• 2 T Vanilla

Instructions:

Grease a large 5-quart bowl. Mix popcorn with the granola. In a 2-quart saucepan (or larger), combine karo, molasses and sugar. Add seasonings as desired.  Boil over medium heat until temperature registers 260°, or to hard ball stage. Pour syrup evenly over popcorn mixture, and toss with a greased spoon to coat all popcorn and granola. Let mixture cool to the point you can handle it. Butter hands (or use Saran Wrap sprayed with cooking spray) and shape warm mixture into balls about the size of a tennis ball. Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve.
Makes about 18 granola popcorn balls.

 

Enjoy!

Bento: You make my world go 'ROUND!

Our kids have been asking for "cheeseballs" for months.  Our middle child is a self-professed "cheeseball", and it's a bit of a joke in our house.  A few months back, the kids saw a huge tub of cheeseballs at the store, and as always, I passed them by.  It's not something that we buy or feed our kids....until today.  It's not a new habit, but I did pick up a container when the kids saw them on our last trip to the store.  I decided to incorporate them into this lunch.  (Funny enough, although all 3 kids loved them and asked for more, once they were out of sight, none of them have mentioned them since!)  This is in the Laptop Lunch box.

• Rice cake "peanut butter sandwiches"
• Vanilla yogurt and raspberry jam with large black grapes
• Tomatoes and homemade Ranch dressing
• The infamous cheeseballs
• I didn't have time to do anything cutesy for the theme, so I just wrote a note on his napkin to tie the theme together.

Bento-ish: You are Top Banana & Apple of My Eye

Today's lunch didn't actually go INTO a bento box of any sort.  I used some of the bento containers to hold everything and then put them in a lunch bag....

I don't remember where I found the tags.  I printed out a ton at the beginning of the school year, and I can't seem to locate the original source.  If you want them, send a message to me, and I'm happy to send you the file that I had downloaded for free.

Clockwise from the top left:

• Aussie apple (see below for cutting "diagram" and instructions)
• Peanut butter, honey, and a dab of Nutella for apple and rice cake dipping
• Apple Cinnamon mini rice cakes
• Kale chips (made the night before)
• PB&J
• Banana - written on with pressure only

 Aussie apples are incredibly easy, easy to transport, prevent browning, and don't even dirty a container!  Make 4 slices:
The first one is the longest and goes across the apple near the core. (Horizontal long slice at the top in the picture.)
For the 2nd cut, you can place the apple on it's now "flat side", and cut just to the side of the core. (Vertical long slice on the left side in the picture.)
For the 3rd cut, flip the apple to the newest "flat side", and cut just to the side of the core. (Horizontal short slice on the bottom right of the picture.)
Finally, flip the apple to the newest "flat side", and cut the only remaining piece away from the core. (Vertical short slice on the right.)
Reassemble the apple and place a rubberband around it.

Surprisingly, all 3 of our kids love kale chips.  I was shocked.  I love them, but my husband could take them or leave them.  You peel all of the "veins" from a fresh bunch of kale.  (I make 2 bunches at a time.)  Rinse and thoroughly dry the kale.  Drizzle with olive oil and work through with your hands.  Yes, it's a little messy, but it will make your kale crispy without burning it.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake for 20-35 minutes at 350. 

Bento: Something's Fishy

Today, I filled our 6 year old's Laptop Lunch lunchbox with fish.  Lots and lots of fish.

So, maybe they aren't exactly FISH, but they are fish-shaped.  I wrapped the apple box in plastic wrap and used the fish band (that we have for a different set of tiered bento boxes) around the apple container.

• The peanut butter and spun honey sandwich on honey wheat bread is cut into fish shapes using a LunchPunch.  Some fruit leather fish surround the sandwiches; although, they're hard to see in this picture.
• The boiled egg was made into a fish using a mold from AllThingsForSale.com
• The apples were cut and then the fish shape was "punched" with a small cutter from a marine-themed package from AllThingsForSale.com
• The pretzel and cheddar goldfish fill the last compartment in the Laptop Lunch system. (Get 10% off if you use the discount code: Earleyfam)
• The additional container (from the dollar store) has vanilla yogurt mixed with strawberry jam and is covered with a piece of fruit leather and its cutouts. *same ones used for the apples.

Disclaimer: I am not paid for this blog post and I do not receive a portion of proceeds from AllThingsForSale.com or Dollar Store.  I do receive a portion of proceeds if you choose to purchase a LaptopLunch system with our coupon code "Earleyfam", and we donate 5% of those proceeds to local schools.