First Day of School

Oh, wow! How is it that time of year again already?! It seems to sneak up faster and faster every year. One minute it's June and you're saying good-bye to your school friends, and the next minute it's September and time again for the rush to find school supplies and get everything organized for the new year.

This year I have all five of my kids in school! Five kids in four different schools is taking a lot more organization than I expected, but I suspect we'll get the hang of things over the next few months.

Brick (who hates having his picture taken and ran as soon as he saw the camera come out) is in tenth grade now. G-man is in eighth, his last year of middle school. Bean is in sixth grade, and Lulu is in third grade. Beaker just started kindergarten, but since he is in a completely different school program than his siblings, his first day was half a week later than theirs.

Of course they needed special lunches for the first day of school! Except for G, who was even more excited about the school pizza than he was about seeing his friends again. 

Bean has switched to a gluten-free diet like Beaker, to help clear up some health issues from last year. So far it has been helping, we think. For her lunch I packed a cute sandwich on gluten-free bread, with rolls of turkey scraps on the side. She also has a pair of Lucy's GF cookies, cucumber slices with carrot flowers, Glutino pretzel crisps (with a cheese 6), and fruit.

Grapes and oranges are some of the only fruits she can eat without allergy symptoms flaring up, so it's a good thing that they are so easy to pack for lunches!

For Lulu, a sweet little tiger sandwich on multigrain bread. Tucked in the top is a few mini golden Oreo cookies, with carrot coins and cucumber flowers on the bottom. She also has pretzels - with a cheesey 3 - and fruit, too.

Her little tiger and Bean's mouse were made with the new CuteZCute Cuddle Palz set from BentoUSA, and Lulu has a pair of triangle sandwiches cut from the scraps.

Bean and Lulu both have their lunches packed in our favorite Easy Lunchboxes.

Brick has a very similar lunch, packed in a Sistema Cube. I tucked a granola bar in for an energy boosting snack - high school tends to have some long days.

Brick took his lunch to school packed in this fun lunchbag I found over the summer. He said he got quite a few head turns and strange looks. Can't imagine why...

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Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

One of my favorite recipes! It's simple, delicious, makes plenty, and very versatile. The recipe came to me from my friend Sunnie, who generously gave permission for me to share it here.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

3 - 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 jar salsa or picante sauce (I use Pace Picante, medium)

1 packet taco seasoning

Place chicken breasts in a crock pot. Mix together salsa and taco seasoning, then pour over chicken breasts. Cover with crock pot lid and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 6 hours.

Shred with a fork and serve with your favorite taco toppings.

I like to serve these on flour or corn tortillas, with a delicious homemade pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole or avocado slices, and shredded cabbage or lettuce. A Southwestern style rice and refried beans or black beans are excellent sides to compliment the dish. Chicken taco bar is a favorite meal in our family. It's delicious and requires almost no effort to make.

Mild Pico de Gallo

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

juice of 1-2 limes

Mix ingredients together and add a generous pinch of pepper. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep ingredients well mixed. Add diced peppers and garlic if you want it spicy.

We LOVE this recipe for chicken tacos. It also works very well for beef (using a basic roast cut) and pork (with cheap carnitas or a loin roast).

My favorite part of this recipe is the versatility. Especially with the leftovers! The above recipe will make enough for 2-3 meals, and the shredded meat freezes very well. I've used the leftover shredded chicken to make enchilladas, quesadillas, taco salad, sandwiches, tortilla soup, and more. It's good on rolls or bread, tortillas, lettuce, pasta, even rice!

I used leftovers from our Chicken Taco Bar dinner to make lunches the next day.

For the Dude, I put together chicken taco salad. Lettuce forms the base, and is topped with the shredded chicken and pico de gallo, with black beans and a sprinkle of shredded colby-jack cheese, garnished with a few grape tomatoes. On the side he has a small container of guacamole and some crushed tortilla chips to mix in with his salad. He also has an orange slice and a few strawberries.

Brick's lunch was pretty close to the same, but with a few less toppings. 

He prefers his salads to be a little less fancy. His is just the lettuce and chicken with shredded cheese on top. He has pico de gallo and ranch dressing on the side, as well as the crushed tortilla chips to add a little crunch.

A couple of orange slices and strawberries add a little vitamin C to the lunch, as well as a bit of sweetness.

For Princess and Bean, I turned the leftover chicken into quesadillas.

Princess has a kitty cat chicken and black bean quesadilla with pico de gallo on the side for dipping and scooping. She also has grape tomatoes (her favorite) and an etched banana, with a small salad on the side.

I also put in a little bit of sweet strawberry yogurt topped with cranberry-raisin granola for a delicious dessert.

And what goes with a cat? Why, a squeaky little mouse, of course! Bean has pretty much the same lunch, with a little chicken and black bean quesadilla mouse.

Etching bananas is easy. I used a toothpick to scratch a message into the banana skin. By lunch time the message was nice and dark, very easy to read.