Weekday Lunches: Day 1

I make the kids lunches every week day.  Chris usually takes care of Saturday and our Sunday lunch is our main meal.  That means I make 30 lunches during the week, not including my own (Chris usually only eats an apple for lunch.).  Most of the time the kids have sandwiches for lunch, but that uses at least 10 slices of bread each day (Not to mention cheese, I should make my own!).  So my challenge this week is to make something other than sandwiches each day for lunch, preferably using leftovers or something from the freezer.  Today's lunch is a combo of both:

 Half a loaf of garlic bread left from last week, meatballs in spaghetti sauce left from last week, and leftover cauliflower.  

Verdict:

2 out of 3 liked it (the youngest 3 had sandwiches)

My girl

Here are some pics of my girl from the last few months! 

I'm super sad that she's outgrown the pick cowboy boots!

Loves her some spaghetti.

She's smart.  She knows she's not supposed to get out so she just hangs out on the top railing.

She loves her some icecream too.

And chocolate.  Definitely my daughter.

Yup, my daughter.  Hates celery.

She is a crazy child in the water.  So different than the boys.  She sits on the top step of the pool and plops in and then swims to the edge.  

Luke goes to the dentist

 Luke had his first dentist appointment today!  He did really great.  His hygenist was very nice and explained everything to him.  

 What a champ!  He picked bubble gum flavor but thought he got to eat it.

 Super clean teeth!  No plaque was found, but unfortunately I brought him in because he has a couple huge cavities right between his front two teeth.  We'll see how the filling appointment goes.  

All worth it to get a new toothbrush and a toy.  :-)

All my kids love going to the dentist.  Noah asked why he didn't get to go.

Take note, Luke is child #5 and he is the only child that got pictures taken at his first dentist appointment! 

Some recipes~Island Pork and Pesto Stuffed Shells

So here's a couple things from the back of the stove this week:

Island Pork  (I've made this twice and its pretty yummy.  I'm going to try it on the grill.)

For spice rub:

• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 pork tenderloins (2 ¼ - 2 ½ lbs total) trimmed
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For Glaze:

• ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp Tabasco

Stir the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl and rub all over the pork.  Heat oil in ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Brown pork, turning occasionally, about 4-5 minutes total.  Remove from heat, but leave pork in skillet.

Stir together brown sugar, garlic and Tabasco in a small bowl.  Pat the mixture on top of the pork.  Place skillet in the oven at 350.  Roast until thermometer inserted diagonally into the center of each tenderloin registers 140 degrees, about 20 minutes.  Let pork stand in skillet, loosely covered with foil for 10 minutes.  

 

Pesto Stuffed Shells (These are the bomb.  I think its the pesto but they're awesome and a perfect company meal.) 

• About 1/2 Crock-Pot Bolognese recipe 
  (I just use my own spaghetti sauce.  I usually have some in the freezer I can pull out.)
• 12 pasta shells, cooked
•  
• For the Filling:
• 2 cups low fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup prepared pesto (I use the red pepper pesto from Aldi.  It's about $2 and I can use it in the recipe twice.)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Extra cheeses for the top, if desired
• parsley flakes, for garnish {optional}

Directions:

1. Make Crockpot Bolognese Sauce according to directions.
2. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of sauce into the bottom of your crockpot to serve as a base and a no-crunchy-or-burned-noodle-barrier. Set aside.
3. For the filling, stir all ingredients together until combined. Spoon filling into cooked shells, stuffing evenly. Place into bottom of crockpot, onto that sauce.
4. Spoon more sauce over the top of each shell and sprinkle with extra cheese if you feel so inclined. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours on high or 3 hours on low OR until hot all the way through. Sprinkle with parsley flakes and serve.
5. **Non-crockpot directions: Place shells into 9x13 baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot.