Merry Christmas!

 

 

Time for cute Christmas Lunches!  Kids had peanut butter Christmas trees, cheese stick slices, fruit and Jeffrey got an oreo cookie truffle for dessert!  These fun lunches are on our fun holiday placemats from Grandma Axtell - thanks!  The kids were so excited about these lunches, and ate everything up!  Happy Holidays!  

 

 

Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars

 

Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line a jelly roll pan (15x10x1) with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
3. In your mixer cream butter, cream cheese and sugar together. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
4. With mixer on low, add in your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Mix until just combined.
6. Press dough evenly into your prepared pan. (dough will be sticky)
7. Bake for 20 minutes until edges begin to golden.
8. Cool completely before frosting.

Recipe from  Cookies and Cups

Here's the frosting recipe I used:

Vanilla Buttercream Icing
 

3/4 cup butter (1 stick and 1/2 stick)

1/4 cup shortening
3-4 cups of confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-5 tablespoons half and half (or milk)

Using a mixer, beat butter until it is fluffy.  Add 3 cups of sugar -
one cup at a time - mixing until it's completely incorporated.  Add
vanilla and half and half along with last cup of sugar and mix, adding
more half and half until the icing is the desired consistency.

Packed Lunch Week 17

Monday 12.17.12

Tuesday 12.18.12

Wednesday 12.19.12

Thursday 12.20.12

Friday 12.21.12

Holiday Cookies - German Chocolate Toffee Cookies

This year I tried out some new cookie recipes.  I've found a lot of great ideas on Pinterest lately, and was very excited to try this new one out - German Chocolate Toffee Cookies.  Here's the recipe I adapted from 'Taste of Home':

German Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup shortening
• 2-1/2 cups Sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 ounces German sweet chocolate, melted
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1-1/2 cups Heath Toffee Bits
• 1-1/2 cups chopped Pecans

Directions 
In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in water and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in Heath toffee bits and pecans.

 Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 13 dozen.

 

Packed Lunch Week 16

Monday 12.10.12

Tuesday 12.11.12

Wednesday 12.12.12

Thursday 12.13.12

Friday 12.14.14

Packed Lunch Week 15

Monday 12.3.12

Tuesday 12.4.12

Wednesday 12.5.12

Thursday 12.6.12

Friday Funday - Papa Johns Pizza Day @ Corl Street!

Packed Lunch Week 14

Tuesday 11.27.12

Wednesday 11.28.12

Thursday 11.29.12

Friday Funday 11.30.12

Packed Lunch Week 13

Monday 11.19.12

Tuesday 11.20.12

November Picnic Lunch

We have had some lovely weather this fall, Sunday was sunny and clear so we went to Black Moshannan State Park and had a picnic and took a walk.  I packed up the kids lunches in their new 'Goodbyn Bynto' Boxes - they are really fun for kids and have a handle on the top.  I decorated them with dishwasher safe stickers that I thought the kids would really like too. We all had Apples, Pretzels, and Jeffrey had his usual Peanut Butter Sandwich, Meredith had Cream Cheese Sandwiches.  (I had a grilled chicken salad with pecans, apple and lemon dressing and Mike had a salami and cheese sandwich.)

Packed Lunches Week 12

Monday 11.12.12

Tuesday 11.13.12

Wednesday 11.14.12

Thursday 11.15.12

Friday Funday was Papa John's Pizza Day and I visited Jeffrey at school for lunch.  We had grapes, carrot sticks, Milk and Cheese Pizza.  All the kids talked to me about 'Spooky Haunted Houses'.  Jeffrey loved the pumpkin muffins we made this week.  I added a streusel topping and they were really good.  We like them warmed in the microwave.

Packed Lunches 11th Week

Monday 11.5.12

Tuesday 11.6.12

Wednesday 11.7.12

Thursday 11.8.12

Friday Funday!  11.9.12

Gwen's Friday Funday Lunch from Trader Joe's!  Today was their Grand Opening!

Halloween Lunch

The kids love ghosts this year - especially 'spooky ghosts' so I just had to make them a ghost lunch!  Meredith really enjoyed her ghost sandwich.

Cream cheese ghost and pumpkin sandwich, Colby-Jack Cheese stick sliced.

Packed Lunches 10th Week

Wednesday 10.31.12

Thursday 11.1.12

This week school was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday because of Hurricane Sandy.  We did not experience any power outages or severe weather, which we were thankful for.  On Friday Jeffrey was also home from school for an inservice day.

This Halloween I chose not to do too much for Jeffrey's Lunch because he was having a Halloween Party at school and I wanted him to have a really healthy good for his tummy lunch before he had cupcakes at school and candy in the evening! He had many yummy sugary treats which were not pictured here!

Packed Lunches 9th Week

Monday 10.22.12

Tuesday 10.23.12

Wednesday 10.24.12

Thursday 10.25.12

Friday Funday - Jeffrey and I ate school lunch for the first time!  It was Papa John's Pizza day, we had slices of cheese pizza, orange slices, apple slices, grapes and tiny cartons of milk.  Jeffrey also had orange juice.  It was fun going to Jeffrey's school and seeing him with all his classmates, and 'best, best, best, best' friends.  Jeffrey was so excited to have me there that I am planning on coming in twice a month to eat with him.  It was fun!

Packed Lunches 8th Week

Monday 10.15.12

Tuesday 10.16.12

Wednesday 10.17.12