30 days of lunchbox recipes: No Repeats!

courtesy of http://www.peanutblossom.com/blog/2013/08/lunchbox-recipes.html/

Materials you need, links to sources included:

• Cute and easy lunch bag: Buy here
  UPDATED: The bag featured in my images is currently sold out but they do have 2 other cute styles available.
  You can find them both here and here.
• Plastic bento-style container: Buy here
  UPDATED: I’m told my original container suggestion is sold out. Though I have not tried them personally, a great friend recommended these as another alternative. You can buy them here.
• Ice pack
• Small cookie cutters: Buy here
• Toothpicks or skewers

Methods: I have 4 presentation methods I rotate depending on the ingredients and food.

1. Roll-ups: The Peanut’s favorite. Take the meat and/or cheese, lay it flat. Roll it up like a burrito. Slice it into chunks, hold in place with toothpicks.

2. Stackers: I call this the “make your own lunchables” method. Meat, cheese, crackers, and assorted toppings are presented for the kids to mix and match their own bites.

3. Nibble Plates: Also known as “What on earth do I have in the fridge?!” day! Random bits and pieces that have some seemingly cohesive theme are presented in their own containers to nibble on. Bits of leftover chicken, fruits, veggies, etc.

4. Cut-outs: There are a precious few sandwiches on this list. When they hit rotation, I use a larger cookie cutter to remove the crusts. My favorite is a scalloped heart shape that uses almost every ounce of food with little wasted edges.

30 Days of No Repeats!

1. Deli turkey + cheddar slices in roll-ups, pretzels, apple wedges

2. Turkey pepperoni + swiss cheese + butter crackers in stacks, red grapes, carrots

3. Deli ham + grilled corn guacamole + American cheese, rolled up in a tortilla and sliced into pinwheels, strawberries, carrots

4. Whole wheat pita wedges + cream cheese spread + raisins + ham roll-ups

5. Graham crackers + cookie butter sandwiches, strawberries, yogurt

6. Tortillas + cream cheese spiced with taco seasoning + rotisserie chicken rolled up and cut into pinwheels, cherry tomatoes

7. Pasta tossed with olive oil or salad dressing + pea pods + rotisserie chicken + grapes

8. Deli roast beef + cheddar in roll-ups, carrots, apple wedges

9. Jelly sandwich cut-out, cheese stick, banana

10. Nut-free homemade granola (that recipe has nuts but you can easily leave them out), yogurt, strawberries, Nilla wafers

11. Shredded cheese + rotisserie chicken microwaved into a tortilla quesadilla, salsa + tortilla chips

12. Deli ham + havarti + pear + rye toasts served as nibble plate

13. Bacon + tomato + shredded lettuce + cream cheese rolled into a tortilla pinwheel, berries

14. Asian marinated chicken bits leftover from dinner + pea pods + pasta noodles + grapes served as nibble platter

15. Breadsticks + marinara dip + mozzarella cheese stick cut into cubes + pepperoni slices served as a nibble platter

16. “Deconstructed chicken pot pie”: Rotisserie chicken + peas + carrots + butter crackers served as nibble platter, applesauce

17. Noodles tossed with pesto, parmesan cheese chunks, tomatoes

18. “The Toddler”: Goldfish crackers, raisins, cheese stick, apple cut into chunks

19. Honey soy chicken leftover from dinner, plain noodles (avoid the peanut butter that comes with the original recipe), carrots

20. Deli ham + cantaloupe + mozzarella cheese + tomatoes served as a nibble platter

21. Biscuit, split in half + pulled pork leftover from dinner + shredded cheddar cheese for a mini sandwich, watermelon chunks

22. English muffin + marinara sauce + shredded mozzarella for homemade pizza bites, grapes

23. Pumpkin bread + whipped cream cheese spread + raisins + plain ham rollups

24. Chicken pieces leftover from dinner + pita wedges + cherry tomatoes + tzatziki sauce served as dipping platter

25. Pancakes cut into strips + yogurt + berries + bacon served as dipping platter

26. Shrimp + cocktail sauce + pineapple chunks + bagel chips served as nibble plate

27. Banana zucchini bread + yogurt + raisins

28. Hawaiian bun + ham + american cheese for miniature sandwiches, apple slices, carrots

29. THINLY sliced cucumbers + cream cheese + white bread + sprinkle of dill for uncrusted cocktail sandwiches, grapes,

30. Leftover salmon chunks from dinner + blueberries + tomatoes + pita bread wedges served as nibble platter

How to bake the perfect cookie (learn what to tweak)

There is a science to cookie baking. Follow the recipe exactly and every once in awhile the perfect cookies will emerge from the oven. But I want to know how to get those excellent treats every time!

For example, if you want a crispy cookie with a soft center, use 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Want it more cakey? Use more baking soda to puff the cookies up.

Ooey-gooey: Add 2 cups flour (instead of 2 1/4).

A nice tan: Set the oven higher than 350 degrees (maybe 360). Caramelization, which gives cookies their nice brown tops, occurs above 356 degrees, says the Ted video.

Crispy with a soft center: Use 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

Chewy: Substitute bread flour for all-purpose flour.

Just like store-bought: Trade the butter for shortening. Arias notes that this ups the texture but reduces some flavor; her suggestion is to use half butter and half shortening.

Thick (and less crispy): Freeze the batter for 30 to 60 minutes before baking. This solidifies the butter, which will spread less while baking.

Cakey: Use more baking soda because, according to Nyberg, it “releases carbon dioxide when heated, which makes cookies puff up.”

Butterscotch flavored: Use 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (instead of the same amount of combined granulated sugar and light brown sugar).

Uniformity: If looks count, add one ounce corn syrup and one ounce granulated sugar.

More. Just, more: Chilling the dough for at least 24 hours before baking deepens all the flavors, Arias found.

The best trick to have moist, fluffy cookies is to add a box of instant vanilla pudding to the flour mixture.

 the 3 rules for baking good cookies are:
1. UNDERBAKE2. UNDERBAKE3. UNDERBAKE

Note the longer you keep the cookie on the cookie tray once you take it out of the oven it will continue to brown and harden. Put cookies on cooling racks to cool down right away.

Bonus Tip: Use your nose, instructs the Ted Talk. That delicious cookie smell signifies cookie doneness as effectively as a timer.


In addition to under-baking, add a slice of bread to the container you store the cookies in. They will absorb the moisture from the bread and stay soft for days!  (That is largely based on how much brown sugar you've used. Brown sugar has properties that allow it to absorb moisture from the environment. An all white-sugar cookie will never soften from outside moisture.)