On the days that I really need the kids to actually eat their food, it is always handy to have on hand a bunch of recipes that have been a hit in the past.  I am really bad at remembering which ones are a hit with them and which were less of a hit.  So I will try and mark the posts of the recipes which worked well with the kids and note when then they worked less well for my kids.

This recipe turned out to be a big hit with the kids.  Ladybug ate 3 servings, and Rosie ate all of her serving which for her means that she really like it and Little Man ate it messily with only a little modification to the recipe.  I just changed the type of pasta he ate since I thought spaghetti might be a bit difficult for the one-tooth eater.

Bolognese

Recipe by KT

1 lb Ground Beef

1 tbsp Oil

1/2 large Onion, finely diced (if I had a regular onion I would have used a whole one)

5 cloves Garlic (mine were small, so use less if you want.  Or more if you swing that way)

1/2 Green Pepper, finely diced

2-3 cups Zucchini, shredded and extra water squeezed out

1 jar Marinara Sauce (I used Newman's Own, but you can use what you have on hand)

1 cup peas, fresh or frozen

Pasta of you choice (I used spaghetti for those with teeth and a tiny pearl pasta for those with fewer chompers.

~In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the meat, breaking it us as it cooks.  

~Once the meat has browned, you can add the onions, peppers and zucchini.  Once the veggies have softened it is time to add the jar of Marinara.  Drop the heat down and let it simmer for 5 or 10 minutes.  If you find the sauce a bit too thick you can add a bit of chicken or beef stock to thin it out a bit. 

~Just before serving, add the frozen peas.  If using fresh peas, add it a bit earlier.  

~Serve over some sort of pasta.

 This is Little Man's lunch today.

School Lunches Planning

Ladybug is starting full time school in a little while so I have been thinking of what to do for her lunches.  She isn't really into food out but it is still important to get her to eat so she doesn't turn into a meltdown kid.  This has led me to do a bunch of testing with possible lunch time entrees.   I have noticed in the kids a proclivity for things on skewers, so I am attempting to put things on skewers to see if they eat it.  Here I have placed canned mandarins on a skewer since I know that neither of the kids like mandarins.  They ate them up :)

Cheese Pizza with fruit skewers and flower shaped carrots.  I see many bentos in my future.

Looks like something the kids might eat, right?

I have put some thought into what would be some good lunch options for Ladybug's school lunches, so far my list included:

-Shepard's pie with mashed sweet potato

-Butter chicken with rice

-Meat balls

-Pasta with salad dressing

-Stir-frys

-Veggies, noodles and protein

-Roll up (Tortilla, cream cheese, salami or lunch meat)

-Pea Butter and Jam Sandwich

On the side:

-fruit skewers

-yogurt

-smoothie

-veggies chips (either raw or baked veggies)

-crackers

After this I am at a loss.  I haven't packed a lunch for a very long time and since we don't usually have any leftovers I figure that I will make a batch and freeze it in appropriate portions so that I can reheat in the morning and put it in her thermos.