LUNCH – Lasagna Soup & an Almost Caesar Salad
The inspiration for this Lasagna Soup came from the fact that soup season is here and I had leftover lasagna in the fridge. Leftovers I wanted to reinvent for lunch. So, I took a slice of lasagna and some chicken broth and turned it into soup. I have to admit the end result made me feel a little bit like a kitchen genius. In my mind anyway. Literally a few minutes of prep time (the real time having been invested in the lasagna dinner we had the night before) and lunch was made. A healthy, hearty, homemade lunch at home or packed in a thermos for lunch at school or work. It just warms my heart:)

And speaking of inspiration, the kids were behind the almost caesar salad. I feel like there is this salad training stage that goes on with kids. A stage were kid’s really aren’t that impressed with a bowl full of torn up lettuce and/or greens with some cut up vegetables. A stage where if you are creative about the presentation, they learn to see past the fact that it is a salad and focus more on the individual parts.

Often when I am preparing lunch for the kids, I talk about the ingredients that I am using and give them samples to taste test. On this particular day I had some romaine lettuce on the island and one of the kids asked me what it was. Handing him one of the smaller full leaves I said “It’s romaine lettuce, here try it”. He did and then he asked for more. It seemed the full leaves were interesting to him, so I decided to serve it like that for lunch, topped with some lemon juice and grated Parmesan cheese. They all gobbled it up like rabbits.

SNACK – Deviled Egg Salad on Cucumber with a Fruit Cup
I love having Egg Salad in the fridge. It makes pulling together a quick lunch, breakfast or snack a snap. I really don’t think there is a time of day, that I wouldn’t eat egg salad.

To make this snack I sliced the cucumber into 1/4 inch thick slices, then topped each slice with some egg salad and a pinch of paprika. As I sliced the cucumber, I arranged them on a piece of paper towel and then blotted the tops with a second sheet of paper towel before topping with up. It dries the cucumber slices a bit, making them easier to load and the egg salad doesn’t slide around. If you want to pack these in a school lunch, pack the egg salad and cucumber slices separately and let your child use the cucumber to scoop the egg salad.

Fruit cups are a great way to use up fruit that is ripe, I usually grocery shop on the weekend, so as we get closer to the end of the week, I often make fruit cups to use up the odds and sods that are left in the fruit bowl.

SNACK – Peach & Goat Cheese Crostini
We had these Peach & Goat Cheese Crostini for a snack, but I’d be just as happy to eat them for breakfast or lunch. They are very easy to make, super tasty and both adults and kids love them, which makes them perfect as an appetizer too!

To make the crostini, I sliced a baguette into 1/4 inch thick slices. Placed the slices on a baking sheet or two and brushed both sides with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt. Then I baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden, turning them halfway through. After letting the crostini cool, I spread on the goat cheese, followed by a few slices of peach and some torn basil leaves. The weekend is coming folks, stock up and give them a try:)