Wonderful Sack Lunches

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are a few shots from our shopping trip yesterday at The Summit. I took a photo of a Mexican restaurant we visited called Chuy's. Can I just say... "Go there!" It was colorful, clean and fun. They even make their flour tortillas in the middle of the restaurant so if you have small kids (or ME), they will be entertained waiting for their food. Oh, and they have the best chips I've ever had. VERY light and crispy. They also have eight different sauces you can use for dipping the chips or with your meal. Can you tell I liked it?

RANDOMNESS - We have our second-day-of-school outfit ready. We have our fourth-day-of-school outfit ready. However, WE DO NOT... I repeat... WE DO NOT have our first-day-of-school outfit ready to go.

I know you think I've waited until the last minute. Not so! We have been to every mall and/or boutique in our area more than once. Every single one. It has now become a major source of stress and duress as you can imagine. The first-day-of-school outfit can set the tone for the WHOLE YEAR (which explains why some of my school years were less "wonderful" than I had hoped)!

Mikie doesn't get it. He doesn't understand how difficult it is to find the perfect shirt to go with the perfect pants to go with the perfect earrings (which, by the way, we have in our possession).

So when he said, "Why don't I take Roxie to the Galleria after volleyball practice and she can pick something out there?" part of me wanted to scream "Hallelujah," and the other part wanted to scream, "IT'S NOT THAT EASY! WE'VE BEEN THERE 22 TIMES ALREADY!"

But Roxie grinned and agreed.

What will rub me the wrong way will be the sight (forever burned into my brain) of Roxie and Mikie walking in with two perfect shirts (one for the first day and one for the fourth day) at 9:00 p.m. tonight. I am sure they will be sipping vanilla milkshakes, perfectly relaxed and content. Yeah! That's not going to be easy to accept.

On the other hand, if it is a bonding experience for the two of them, who am I to stand in their way!

Wonderful Sack Lunches

I found several websites with great sack lunch ideas. (Just Google "Fun Sack Lunch Ideas.") Here are three of my favorites!

Cracker/Stacker Lunch - This lunch is modeled from the popular snack packs you buy at your grocery store. Make sure all the foods are totally prepared. All your child has to do is assemble and eat. Cut the cheese and lunch meat into shapes the same size as the crackers, but pack them separately. The crackers will become soggy unless separated.

Ritz Crackers
Cheese Rounds
Lunch Meat
Baby Carrots
Ranch Dip
Vanilla Peach Pudding Cup (Make your own by mixing any fruit and any flavor of pudding in this simple recipe.)

Mini Bagel Sandwiches Lunch - This is one of my favorite sandwiches. You can get these at Momma Goldberg's Deli in Homewood. No matter what kind of sandwich you eat (even tuna), the bagel doesn't fall apart or get soggy.

Mini Bagel Sandwiches (Use little bagels to make any kind of sandwich you like. A favorite of mine is flavored cream cheese combined with sliced chicken breast and sliced tomatoes. )
Mandarin Orange Gelatin Salad (Before the gelatin sets, add the fruit and spoon the mixture into small resealable containers for easy packing into lunchboxes.)
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wrap Sandwiches Lunch

Wrap Sandwiches (Bake chicken fingers. Add a chicken finger, mayo or ranch dressing, tomato and cheese, and wrap in a tortilla. For variety, look for flavored tortillas, including spinach and red pepper.)
Bottled orange juice
Super Easy Cupcakes (See recipe below.)

1 package any flavor cake mix
2 cups mascarpone cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup any flavor fruit preserves
1/2 cup nuts, coconut, or chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line muffin cups with paper liners and set aside.

3. In large bowl, mix all ingredients except preserves and nuts or chocolate chips. Stir well by hand until batter forms. Fill lined muffins cups 1/2 full with batter.

4. Place 1/2 teaspoon preserves in center of batter, then cover with remaining batter.

5. Sprinkle with nuts, coconut or chocolate chips.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until cupcakes spring back when touched in center.

7. Store cupcakes in refrigerator.

Add a fun napkin (complete with a special note) and you have a great back-to-school lunch for your guy or gal.

Have a cool Tuesday (if that is possible). On Wednesday, I'll be sharing the norm... Wisdom, Traditions, Randomness, etc., etc.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda