Mini-corn dogs

Over Spring Break, our family was so off schedule, we couldn't even find it any more!

Sleeping in until past 8:00, having breakfast at 10, lunch at 2 and dinner around 7:00. Then staying up late and doing it all over again.

For the most part, it was enjoyable to be so relaxed. But as we all know, kids who have no schedule do not thrive. And neither do Moms!!!

Sunday evening I decided to make a snack for the kids that could also be used for their lunches during the week.

While they jumped on the trampoline, I made a recipe that I had seen floating around the blogosphere. Mini corn dogs!

I am not sure if you can call this a "recipe" per say but...

2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix (ingredients needed to prepare)
Hot dogs (amount depends, I'll explain in a second!)

Follow the directions on the package, to make muffins. I added a bit more water, because I wanted it a little runnier.

Line muffin tins.

Add a small spoonful of batter to the bottom of each cup.

Chop hot dogs into desired size and place at least one in each cup.

Add another spoonful of mix on to the top of the hot dogs.

Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes or golden brown on top.

The boys loved and devoured these corn dogs.
Harmony felt that there was too much bread and not enough dog. She said 2 pieces in each would have been better.

All in all, it was a total hit...and way cheaper than buying a box of corndogs! These travel well in lunch bags AND freeze well for later.

I can see myself making alot of these this summer!

Reinventing the wheel

It is only the middle of November and I am already soooo tired of making lunches.

Every morning, I pull out the kids lunch containers and try to fill them with items I think the kids will eat. Or, I am so unprepared with what I want to make, that I stop and get some "help-ables"...you know what I am talking about right? Uncrustables and Lunchables.

You don't have to be an expert in math to realize that those items are not cheap. Helpful? Check. Convenient? Check. Crazy expensive for what they are? Check.

The lunch menu

The other day my son brought home the lunch menu for his school and as I was looking at it, I realized something. They only offer a few different items, and just rotate them.

a side view of the breakfast menu

So why on earth, have I been trying to do something new and different every.single.day? Also known as trying to reinvent the wheel.

I racked my brain and came up with 5 things that my kids normally will eat. They are:

** Quesadillas
** bagel pizzas
** pb & honey
** chicken nuggets
** cresant dogs

I decided to follow the cafeteria and just rotate these same items. I have also decided to this with breakfasts.

I am going to do it this way...

Mondays--->
 B:pancakes (made over the weekend of course!)
L: quesadillas

Tuesdays--->
B: cereal and toast
L:bagel pizzas (make ahead over the weekend and freeze)

Wednesdays--->
B: yogurt & muffins
L: sandwich (either pb & honey or ham and cheese)

Thursdays--->
B: cereal & toast
L: chicken nuggets

Fridays--->
B: yogurt & muffins
L: cresant dogs

Over the weekend, for breakfasts, I am going to make batches of muffins & pancakes etc. so that I have them for the busy week.

Of course, if this doesn't work, I can always change it up again. I am just happy I came up with this idea now instead of May or June...
 

Halloween lunch

At the start of the school year, I am sorely lacking in creativity when it comes to do something fun in my kiddos lunches.

The only "theme" I can really think of is back to school, abc's & 123's, apples...I know kind of lame right. But holidays give me so much more to work with.

Although, there are a lot of ready made Halloween treats,such as fruit snacks or pretzels but  there are also some easy and inexpenisve alternatives.

For me, one of the easiest things to do, to make lunches a little more fun, are to use foods that are that holidays' colors. Halloween screams orange and black right? But I can also see a bit of dark purples and lime green. So here are a few things you can add to any lunch that will help make them a little more themed.

You can add these items..

Black: olives, oreos, chocolate teddy grahams (or similar), chocolate pudding

Orange: cheese cubes/slices, carrots, peaches, oranges, mandarin oranges, cantaloupe, mango, cheese crackers, orange juice, jello

Purple: grapes, egg plant, grape juice, cabbage ( I would be hard pressed to get my kids to eat egg plant or cabbage but you get the idea!)jello

Green: grapes, apples, pistachios, pistachio pudding, jello

Don't forget to add a fun napkin (either a plain color or a themed one), fun picks or other "scary" elements. You can also add orange/black plastic utensils!

At the end of the season, I go through all the holiday clearance and look for anything that I can use for the next year. Like cupcake picks, cocktail straws, napkins, plates, cups, cookie cutters...Then I store them away with my Halloween stuff and I have them for the next year!

Do you do anything fun for lunch?

'Twas the week before...

"Twas the week before school starts and all through the house, Mom is scurrying around like a crazed mouse....

With my recent decision to no longer homeschool, I am now looking at a pretty long list of to do's. It was my choice I know. But this is what I am looking at:

***new tennis shoes for all my school going kids
***one new backpack (the other 3 look pretty good!)
***getting lunchbags & waterbottles out and labeled
***taking a quick inventory of what clothes need to be tossed/replaced
***school supplies that I haven't already purchased
*** making a "lunch making center" that holds my containers, bento picks, lunchbox notes, fun napkins etc

*** organizing calenders, schedules, carpools and everything else that our family is up too

hanging out during a very hot middle school orientation!

The reason why my blog is called Martha WANNABE is because I wanna be organized, not because I am. This is going to be my year. I can just feel it (: What are you doing to get ready/have done to get ready for the upcoming school year?

ABC's of lunch bags!

(St. Patty's day lunch from last year)

(lunch box from last year)


***I originally posted this almost 2  Years ago. But I know that right now, if your kids aren't back to school yet, they soon will be. So enjoy this list of ideas for your kiddo's lunch bags!***  If you have any other ideas, that you don't see listed, please let me know!

In a week, my kids head off to school! I couldn't be more excited. Don't worry, they are as excited as I am!

But this does also mark the daily occurence of packing lunch bags. This year, I get to do it times 4. But I thought I would share my Lunchbag ABC's and hopefully it will inspire & help you. If you think of anything good that I don't have listed, please leave a comment and let us all know what it is!

A: apples/ applesauce, apricots (dried or fresh), avacados, animal cookies, apple crisp, ants on a log

B: bananas, breads (all different kinds), hamBurgers, biscuits, bagels w/cream cheese & lunch meat, bagel pizzas, brownies, blueberries, burrito

C: crackers & cheese, crackers, cookies, candy, corn, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, cherry tomatoes, chex mix, celery sticks w/ pb, cream cheese, cherries, chips, chocolate milk

D: deviled eggs, devils food cake, dried fruit, dips- caramel for apples, ranch for vegi's...

E: eggs (hard boiled), egg rolls, enchiladas, edamame

F: fig newtons, fruit snacks, fried rice, french bread, fettuchini alfredo, fruit,fruit salad

G: grapes, granola & yogurt, granola bars, graham crackers, Goldfish, gum-if your school allows kids to chew it, suprise them every once in a while!

H: hamburgers, hot dogs, hot pockets (cook in the morning, wrap in tin foil and it will stay warm until lunch), ham & cheese on crackers, hoagies,

I: ice packs. You can get these for pretty cheap. Helps keep things cool. Also, freezing water bottles or juice boxes can also help keep things cool.

J:jerky, jam, juice, juice boxes, jokes-my kids love getting a quick little note that has a joke on it. If there is a holiday, look out for holiday related jokes.

K: kabobs (make sure your kids are allowed to have kabob skewers. These might be considered a weapon.) kisses -since we can't go to school to give them a kiss, let 'em know you are thinking about them with a Hershey's one!

L: lemon bars, lettuce wraps, lasagna, lunchables (homemade or bought with sale and coupon!), leftovers from dinner, Love notes from Mom

M: mac & cheese, muffins, milk, mango's (fresh or dried),

N: Nutter butters, napkins with their favorite character-grab a pkg from the birthday section at the store, nacho's, nilla wafers, nuts

O: oranges (cut up for them or you are guaranteed to get it back!)orange juice, oreo's

P: pizza, pepperoni's (my son Connor loves having mini pepporoni's to munch on)pb on crackers,pasta, pasta salads, pudding, pears, peaches, potato salad and of course...pb &j!

Q: quesadillas

R: rice, mini rice cakes, ravioli, ramen, raisins (yogurt covered or regular)

S: strawberries, soup, salad, spaghetti, smores goldfish, string cheese, snap peas, sandwiches, salsa & chips, stickers (fav. characters or holiday themed!) sweets to share ( I like to put 2 treats in with a note that says one for you, one for your best friend), shapes- turn fruit, sandwiches etc into different shapes using cookie cutters or a knife for fun! Silverware:make sure to send some in every day! Maybe have a set that is for lunch bags only. Or stock up on plastic ones.

T: tacos, tuna fish, tomatoes, trail mix, themes-try making a lunch using foods with your child's initial ( all L foods for example) or holidays, numbers, colors etc., thermos, for keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold!

U: uncrustables. Do not buy them!! They are so expensive for what you get! Using coupons and sales, get pb & jam (or make your own jam!). Head to the day old bread store and get 2 or 3 loaves of bread. Spend a few minutes turning them all into sandwiches. Place them bag in the bread bag and label. I use a cutter from Pampered Chef, to take the crusts off!

V: vanilla flavored...well anything! (:

W: water bottles, watermelon-cut up into pieces, wraps

X: uhm...

Y: yogurt

Z: zuccini bread, zoo animal crackers,

What's for Lunch?

Oh how I wish I were more creative. I love looking at Bento's but then get a little down on myself about what I have done. But what are you gonna do, right?


grapes, Christmas shaped pretzels, a Babybel, fruit snack, and a chocolate muffin



I try never to use baggies, but I didn't want to just put them in.



How I fit everything in (:

For more fun & fabulous lunch ideas, head on over to What's for Lunch?



$$ store bEnTo finds

ham sandwiches, carrots w/ ranch (in the yellow container) grapes cut in half

This year I have not been doing as well when it comes to creating fun lunches. ): I don't know why. Just lame I guess. lol Or maybe it is that my mornings are so crazy rushed? Yeah lets go with that one!!

My attempts have been kind of sad but I have tried to do something fun when a holiday comes up. Basically when an idea works itself out and I don't have to think about it.

One of my favorite parts of bento is all the cute little extras that go in. Picks, condiment containers etc.

not sure why this photo wouldn't turn

Since I am cheap, I like to look for fun things in the dollar section, or at the dollar store. While I was perusing the .99 store for Thanksgiving items, I was excited to find some fun little things for Christmas.

I grabbed 4 of these little containers. Because their sandwiches were on rolls, they fit in really well.

In the toy section, of The Dollar Tree, they had a little tic tac toe type of game, which had gingerbread and Santa (looking) picks to use. So instead of using them for the game...they were used as picks.

I also found a star sandwich cutter at the Dollar Tree. My kiddos love these (:

So have you found any fun bento items lately? Or things that can be used in lunches? I would love to know (:

What's for lunch?

My 9 year old is a sweet, quiet boy. He doesn't cause problems at school. And yet, he seems to be the one that always gets picked on!! Why is that?!

He came home from school one day and said, "Mom, people keep stealing things out of my lunch!" Apparently every time he looks away, he finds things missing.

But the final straw came the other day when he came home and told me, "Mom, someone took my lunch container, and kept shak ing it and putting it upside down!" I was so upset. Imagine if I was actually good at making Bento lunches. I would be pretty ticked off that all my hard work had been ruined by some little juvenile deliquent...I mean some young child at school who doesn't know better. He then added, "You know what else? They were GIRLS!" So I imagine that it was more to get his attention then anything. My husband's response to all this? "Quit making him such cool lunches."

My lunches are nowhere near as cool as the ones you can see over at What's For Lunch and I could only find one current picture...and it is from Halloween! Oh well, I will have to better this week (:

Even though Halloween is over, this is the lunch I made for them

What's for lunch?

image from http://www.bentolunch.com/

strawberries, cookies, ham sandwich on a bagel thin, applesauce, fruit snacks

strawberries, cookies, cheese and leftover chicken & fried rice



ham sandwich on bagel w/cream cheese, cheese cubes, crackers, strawberries and cookies

 With the end of September coming up fast...I have realized something.

My kids lunches have been less than stellar. Seriously! I mean I still describe my lunches as "bento-ish" because I lack any skill but, I have at least been doing better.

Not this month though!

Hopefully October will help inspire me a bit...pumpkins, leaves, Halloween...

Here is a look at some of the lunches I have made this past month.

For some AmAzInG ideas, go to What's for Lunch! Her site is seriously amazing. She is talented and so are her readers!

lunch bag tips pt.1

(crackers, cheese cubes, strawberries, cookies, bagel sandwich w/ ham& cream cheese) 

(wipe & a napkin on top, plus an extra snack!)

(All our lunch bags lay flat instead of stand tall)

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times...

I make a LOT of packed lunches.

I am not going to sugar coat and say that I just love making lunches. But I do have a few ideas that will make it a bit easier.

First things first...the bag.

**I use containers instead of plastic bags. (Good for the environment & good for the budget.) I prefer to use the divided Ziploc brand containers. So I need to have a bag that lays down. This way items fit in so much better!

** I swear that every parent at my boys school shops at Target. Why? Because most kids have the exact same lunch bag. So label, label, label! I label the inside of the bag, and containers. In a later post, I will show you my kids bag tags that go on the OUTSIDE of the bag.

**Juice boxes are convenient but the cost can add up. Most have 10 juices in a box. So that means 1 box would last 2 days..if nobody sneaks one. So I only buy them on sale and with coupon. But I also... only give them water M-Thursday. Water is healthier, keeps them hydrated better than juice and it's free! This also goes in a reusable bottle!

**One of the reasons that I like bags that lay down, is so that I can put things on top. Not everything fits into the container.

**A few years ago, I attatched a bottle of hand sanitizer to my kiddo's lunch bags. 2 days later, they were empty. Because of course they shared it with their friends. And of course they (my kids & their friends) didn't use one squirt but 10 or so! Instead I give them a wipe! Hands still get clean and I don't have to replace the bottle every other day!

Happy St. Patricks Day

Top O' the Mornin' to you!

Apparently we can't have a picture without bunnyrs

 ea



OK, so this post is not actually coupon related (: but whatever!

My kids started out the day with a bowl of LUCKY CHARMS. My 6 yr old knew that they had worked when he found a dime shortly after eating them!

I then put together a "Lucky Leprachan" lunch of green items...a green fruit roll, green jello w/pineapple, green juice box, sour cream & onion chips (kind of a stretch but they did have some green flecks)a shamrock shaped sandwich, green grapes, green apples w/caramel. I also put a green shamrock napkin and a green bag of "gold" inside.

Dinner is still up in the air because I have no idea what I am going to do! (: I have never made corned beef and cabbage so...I am going to have to just stick with the color green.

What about you? Any fun Irish traditions around your house?













What's for Lunch?

So with my kids being out of school for the past two weeks, I really haven't been making any bento's. But with school back in session, lunch bags are on the menu once again! (:

I have been a little out of practice and so this was pretty sad but it is what it is...

A mini bagel w/cream cheese and ham, cubed cheese, apple chunks and m&m's

I also added a yogurt, drink and carrots w/ dip

I found these containers at Target in the $1 section! There were 4 pink and 4 red in a pkg! I think they are perfect for little treats/dipping sauces!

The lid does come all the way off, no hinge. But I think it was a good deal! Head to Target and pick some up for yourself!

What's for Lunch?

Here are a few of the lunches that I have made this week and last.

Top picture:crackers, animal cookies, ham & cheese kabobs, carrots, oranges and a fruit roll up

2nd picture is basically the same as the top, it just has pistachios. My daughter loves pistachios and my boys refuse to eat any type of nut!

3rd picture:goldfish, apple chunks, cucumbers, ham sandwich on a deli thin

last picture: this was just the "side items"...apple chunks, goldfish, pistachios (there are actually 2 containers of pistachios because I only had mini muffin tins left over), cucumbers, fruit snacks