Pizza pasta in a Thermos....

Hi Friends! Is it feeling a bit fallish where you live? It sure is here in the M-town. And I LOVE it!! When the weather starts cooling off, my little guy likes to have a hot lunch from time-to-time. I'm happy to oblige because that means more dinner leftovers for lunch, and leftovers are easy. Yay for leftovers! Yay for easy!!

 A Thermos is an awesome supply to have in your lunch packing arsenal for hot foods. There are several brands of thermoses on the market, but the one that I like best is the Thermos Funtainer. I used a Thermos Funtainer for my oldest when he was taking a packed lunch to school, and I have used one for Z since second grade. These thermoses are great, and they really do keep food warm for several hours. I pack Z's Thermos at 7:45 in the morning, and he eats lunch at 11:50. He says that the food is still warm at lunchtime. So, I highly recommend the Funtainer.

While I prefer to pack hot foods, the Thermos Funtainer is great at keeping foods cold, as well. I like that the Thermos Funtainer is stainless steel, BPA free, has an easy open lid, and is made in the U.S.A.

Here are a few things that I have packed in Z's Thermos:
Pizza pasta
Spaghetti
Oatmeal
Mac & cheese
Meatballs
Chicken noodle soup

How to pack the Thermos:
Fill the Thermos with boiling water- and I mean BOILING water.
Close the lid, and let the Thermos sit for 10-15 minutes.
Heat the food to go in the Thermos where it's VERY hot.....scald your mouth hot.
Pour the hot water out of the Thermos, and IMMEDIATELY fill the Thermos with the hot food.
Replace the lid, and pack it in your kiddo's lunchbox.
Done...easy, peasy, lemon squeezy as Z would say.


This lunch is packed in the Thermos Funtainer and a Take-A-Dip snack container.

• Pizza pasta- you can find the recipe for the pizza pasta bake HERE. I loosely follow this recipe when I make the pizza pasta. I often will use whatever pasta shape I have in my pantry. I prefer to use ground mild sausage instead of the links, and I prefer pepperoni chunks in mine instead of the sliced. I also prefer to use fresh mushrooms that I cook in with the peppers and onions, and I combine the Glen Muir pizza sauce with spaghetti sauce because my family likes a really saucy pasta. And, of course, I use twice as much fresh mozzarella cheese as this recipe because WE LOVE CHEESE!
• Goldfish pizza flavored crackers
• red seedless grapes
• baby carrots with Lakeview Farms spinach/artichoke dip
• Hershey's mini chocolate
• Gogurt

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Four fun snowman lunches

Hi friends, winter is in full swing here, and winter just screams 'snowman' to me. So, I thought I would do a fun roundup of some of the snowman lunches that I've made. Click on the links below to see each lunch individually.

                                         Ritz cracker snowman

                                        Mini-pancake snowman                     

                                          Uncrustables snowman

   

                                            Snowman surprise

Some things, or similar things, that I used to make these lunches:

Ritz cracker snowman...

My kids love the prepackaged Ramen noodles. And they really love having it in their lunches, especially when it's cold outside. Ramen noodles are not a usual choice in the lunch box because they are, let's face it, not very healthy (which is probably why they taste so good). I try very hard to pack healthy lunches for my kidlets, but, every now and then, you just gotta step outside the box and give them a lunch surprise. So, today I've decided to refrain from being the soup nazi (yes, I'm a Seinfeld fan), and pack some good 'ole belly warming Ramen noodles. Yummo!!

And nothing goes better with Ramen noodles than Ritz crackers. So, in keeping with the winter themed lunches of late, I made a Ritz cracker snowman.

In this lunch:
*Ramen noodle soup packed in a Thermos
*Ritz cracker snowman with sprinkles for buttons- the head is a homemade pick that I made from a holiday decoration
*applesauce with a frozen applesauce snowman in the middle- I added a drop of blue food coloring and mixed it in before I froze it.
*mini carrots, cherry tomato, and black olives
*red grapes and blueberries
*There are a couple of pieces of baked chicken underneath the red cupcake liners to add some protein.

Some of the things, or similar things, that is used to make this lunch:

:

Mimi's spaghetti is the Bomb.....

Last night, we went to my mom and dad's for dinner....Mimi and Pa to my boys. There are 2 things you should know about Mimi: 1) she makes the most delicious spaghetti EVER, and 2) Mimi only knows how to cook for 50 people. I definitely benefit from both of these things as my kids devour her spaghetti as if they haven't eaten in a week, and I get to bring home copious amounts of spaghetti leftovers. YAY for leftovers!!!! YAY for Mimi!!!!

So, of course, lunch today for both boys is spaghetti. A few posts ago,  I sent mac and cheese in a thermos for Z's lunch for the first time. He liked the thermos idea very much. A thermos is a great idea for sending hot foods for lunch. Paired with 3 of his other favorite foods- corn, strawberries, and yogurt- I expect this lunch box to come home completely empty.

I added a few homemade puppy picks for a bit of cuteness.

In this lunch:
*Mimi's amazing spaghetti served in a Thermos.
*sweet corn and red cherry tomatoes
*strawberries
*Yoplait Trix yogurt (We love the Trix  yogurt. It has no artificial colors or sweeteners and tastes great.)
*green olives and Applegate bologna rolls
*linked to: Becoming a Bentoholic/ Leftovers on Friday



Some of the things I used to make this lunch:
10oz Thermos
Baking Buddies silicone baking cups

Mac & cheese hearts....

I'm trying something new with Z today....macaroni and cheese in a thermos. He loves mac and cheese, but won't eat it in his lunch when it hasn't been heated. I pack a thermos with soup, spaghetti, and other foods in my oldest sons's lunch all the time, and he really enjoys having hot food at lunch time. I found this super cute heart macaroni and cheese at Whole Foods Market and thought it would be a great way to introduce Z to the thermos. Hopefully, he will love using the thermos, and I can then send soup and some of his other favorite foods for lunch. 

In this lunch:
*heart shaped macaroni and cheese
*carrot rounds with red pepper heart centers
*Yoplait Trix yogurt with heart sprinkles (the Trix yogurt has natural colorings and flavorings)
*strawberry heart kabob
*white cheddar cheese Nips
*baby dill pickles
*linked to:






Some of the things I used to make this lunch:
10oz. thermos food jar
Wilton silicone baking cup
Chip and dip snack container