Pumpkin Pocket Sandwiches

Looking for a quick and easy main dish for your kiddo's lunch box?  Try pumpkin pocket sandwiches!  Meat and cheese are sandwiched between ready made pie dough cut into the shape of pumpkins and then baked.  It’s the perfect dish for your Autumn themed lunch.

Step 1:  Thaw the refrigerated pie dough according to directions.  Cut out into pumpkin shapes.

Step 2:  Add meat and cheese on top of one pumpkin piece.  Lay the second pumpkin piece on top of the first one and seal the edges.  Cut slits for ventilation.

Step 3:  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

That’s it, now you have a delicious snack perfect for your lunch box!

Bento Lunches: A fun way to get your kids to eat healthier!

I recently discovered the craft of making Bento lunches for my kiddos.  Basically, a bento lunch could be described at a portioned lunch.  It’s often made to look like fun characters or themes.  The best part about Bento lunches for me personally is that it gets my kids to actually eat the healthy food I give them!  They now eat their fruits, veggies, rice,  eggs, and whatever else I put in there…as long as I make it look appetizing to them.  I’m amazed at the stuff they will eat now, just because I took a few extra minutes to make it look “cute”.  Bento lunches are a great idea if you have a picky eater like mine, and they don’t take as much time as you would think.  Give it a try and see what kinds of foods you can get your child to try!  Here are a few pics of Bento lunches that I have done in the past.

Back to School Party

It's been over a week now, and I'm still having trouble with the fact that my oldest is in Kindergarten now!  I can't believe how fast time really does fly.  To get ready for the upcoming school year we decided to have a back to school party with all of his friends.  Rather than do a long post, I thought I would just do a short recap and post the pictures. 

The food was pretty simple.  We had sandwiches, chips, applesauce, peanut butter and jelly cupcakes, apple cake pops, chocolate covered crayons, and milk.  I used a lot of decorations from the Dollar Spot at Target, including letters, numbers, and a pencil and crayon vase.  I glued letters and numbers to white tin pails to hold the apple pops.  I also made flashcard garland and poms to hang up around the house.  For activities we decorated backpack tags that I found off of Ebay.  We also listened to School House Rock and had balloon animals from a friend of mine.  For favors I had pencil boxes filled with crayons, stickers, pencils, bookmarks, etc.  I had glitter glue so each kid could write their name on their box.  I love how it turned out, and everyone had a wonderful time!

Cutie Pies

Ok, I admit it....I cannot get enough of these cute little pies in a jar!  There are lots of them out there, and I just *had* to take a stab at it for myself.  I am so happy with the outcome!  They make fantastic gifts for friends, neighbors, teachers, or just about anyone!  You can even freeze them and keep them on hand for a fresh baked pie anytime.  Here are some pics of my creations.  I've made apple, cherry, and nectarine/raspberry pies, yummm!

They are super simple to make.  Just use a pie dough recipe (or buy the premade dough in the refrigerated section with the biscuits.  If you use the premade dough, you'll get 4 pies from each box.  Use the little half pint jars (I found mine at Wal-Mart, they are the Better Homes and Gardens brand) and press the dough around the sides and bottom of the jar.  Fill with your favorite pie filling, just don't overfill or it will bubble out!  Using the lid, cut out a circle of dough to go on top.  Make sure to add a vent hole of some kind!  Use a fork to crimp the dough circle to the rest of the dough.  At this point you can either put them on a cookie sheet and bake them, or attach the lid and stick them in the freezer.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes if fresh, or for 1 hour if frozen.  Add a little ribbon, and viola- you have an easy, cute, and yummy gift for yourself or a friend!

Here they are all ready to go-

And in case you want it, here's the recipe I used for my nectarine raspberry pie.  It is SO tasty!

Nectarine Raspberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 c. sliced fresh nectarines (med. size)
1 1/2 c. fresh raspberries
1 tsp. lemon juice

Simply mix all the ingredients together (dry ingredients first) and spoon into pie crusts.  Easy Peasy!