Jack-o-lantern Pumpkin Pancakes

Jack-o-lantern Pumpkin Shaped Pancakes!

The other day I decided to make some pumpkin pancakes. I was going to put actual pumpkin puree in them, but I didn't have any... so I settled with Jack-o-lantern pumpkin shaped pancakes! I think he's kinda cute! What do you think?

To make these pumpkin pancakes:
First you make your favorite pancake mix, whether it is homemade or box (You do have to make sure there are no clumps so make sure the batter is completely smooth)  


Separate the batter into different bowls and add food coloring (I added cocoa powder to make brown).  


Pour the batter into separate squeeze bottles.  


Then draw your design out on your frying pan or griddle! (Remember it will need to be flipped over so you whatever you draw make sure it looks good backwards too!)


You need to make sure the heat is low so that it cooks nice and slow and doesn't burn your design. Start by drawing the outline of the pumpkin first, and then draw the inside eyes, nose and mouth.  Let it cook until almost fully cooked.  Then fill in the pumpkin with the rest of the orange batter.  Let the inside cook until fully cooked.  Then flip it over ever so gently and cook the other side.  I made the leaf and pumpkin stem separately because I thought it would be easier that way.


Once you get the hang of this it is not that complicated and the designs are endless! And of course, next time if I am making pumpkin shaped pancakes I will have to make sure we have pumpkin puree in the house! :)

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Easy Leaf Lunch

To celebrate all things fall and the falling of the leaves we made this super Easy Leaf Lunch:

I made a grilled cheese sandwich and cut it with a leaf cookie cutter. I then cut the apple (freshly picked!) and the organic fruit leather with a mini leaf cookie cutter.

And that's it! Simple as that! 

You could always add decorations to the leaf on the top (make leaf veins), or make the grilled cheese with added vegetables inside. I went the simple route this time and just did a simple grilled cheese. Maybe next time I will add sliced carrots or sliced ham inside :)

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Hungry Squirrel

This cute Hungry Squirrel is gathering acorns!

I'm all about using what you have in your kitchen... and well we had a lot of colored bell peppers so I figured I would make another fall inspired lunch for Eliana :) He looks hard to make but really didn't take much time :)


The Squirrel is a jelly sandwich cut with a squirrel cookie cutter.  For the tail I put some Nutella on the top and used a toothpick to add some texture. An edible candy eye and a chocolate sprinkle mouth add simple final touches :)


The branches of the tree are pretzel rods and pretzel sticks.


The leaves are cut red and orange bell peppers, cheese and sun dried basil tomato tortillas.


The acorns are dark chocolate Hershey kisses, Mini Nilla wafers and peanut butter chips (all "glued" together with peanut butter. Eliana wouldn't eat the acorns but they were super cute!)  I got this cute acorn idea here.


This lunch was loved by Eliana and it was fun to make :) It also worked as a great way to explain how squirrels gather acorns for the winter! :)

**Peanut and Nut Free options**
We officially learned that Eliana is allergic to peanuts and nuts (after this was made, in summer of 2012).  She previously had never eaten them because she never liked peanut butter or nuts. But now that we are aware of the actual allergy, not just dislike, we are avoiding ALL peanuts and nuts. I had "glued" together the acorns with PB  for this lunch. If I were to do this again I would use honey or soynut butter to use as "glue" and would use chocolate soynut butter instead of Nutella for the tail to make this completely peanut free and tree nut free :)

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Oak Tree

In the spirit of welcoming Fall weather I made Eliana this Oak tree lunch :)

To make this Oak Tree Lunch I started with the trunk first. The tree trunk is a jelly sandwich.  I made one side of the sandwich with the crust to make it look more like a tree. The leaves of the tree are red, yellow, orange bell peppers and sun dried basil tortillas cut with an oak leaf mini cookie cutter.  I put pomegranate seeds as "falling acorns".

The pumpkins by the tree are cheese slices cut with mini cookie cutters. I drew the details on with food safe markers.

So simple to make!!

Eliana loved this lunch and ate everything :) I wasn't the happiest with the tree at first but when it was done I loved it.  But more importantly Eliana loved it and then proceeded to show me the one tree in the backyard that has colorful leaves :) 

Happy Fall everyone!

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Prickly Porcupine

I made this cute lunch for Eliana the other day.  I wanted to try something different, other than her favorite and routine ham and cheese sandwich for this creative lunch.  So I raided the fridge and the pantry and this is what I came up with...

...a porcupine sandwich!

The porcupine is a piece of whole wheat bread cut with a porcupine shaped cookie cutter. I spread Nutella over the bread and placed sliced almond "quills" all over.  His eye is a confetti sprinkle that I used a food safe marker to make the pupil and used a chocolate sprinkle for the mouth.

The tree is a pretzel rod with celery tops (which surprisingly she ate some! Eliana isn't a fan of celery all together)

The grass is cut up cucumber

The sun is a Nilla wafer.

Eliana enjoyed this lunch.  She didn't finish all the celery or the almonds and nor did I expect her too but she did have fun using the almonds like a spoon to scoop up the Nutella off the bread :)

*now that we know her peanut and nut allergy (June 2012) we would steer away from nut products. Eliana is not allergic to almonds or hazelnuts but we are trying to avoid all nuts to be safe.*

Taco "Cupcakes"

Sometimes for dinner you just want something fun and creative and not necessarily in the shape of an animal. And no I don't make animal shaped sandwiches for dinner. I know you were wondering..


One day I was browsing on Pinterest and I found a few pins with recipes using won ton wrappers in a cupcake pans. One of the many recipes was a taco "cupcake".  I love tacos and I love cupcakes so this was a win-win situation! So I thought I would try out some of the recipes and then of course tweak it to my own liking.
(Before we go any further if you don't know what Pinterest is by now then you don't need to know. I'm warning you.. its highly addictive.)

Taco Cupcakes

Taco "Cupcakes" Ingredients
1 package won ton wrappers (you can find them in the produce section)
about 1 lb of ground beef (or say around 1.23 lbs. if you really want an exact number)
1 can (15.5oz) of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (8.5oz) whole kernel golden corn, drained and rinsed
1 packet of taco seasoning (or your own seasonings..whatever you prefer)
1 1/2 to 2 cups of shredded cheese (use cheddar or Mexican blend, or your favorite blend)
desired taco toppings (for example: lettuce, tomato, sour cream)


*Preheat the oven to 375
*Cook ground beef in a skillet until no pink shows (if desired drain fat... I personally don't always drain the fat since I use very lean ground beef already)
*After fully cooked add Taco seasoning packet and 2/3 cup water OR add your own taco seasonings and water/liquid
*Add rinsed and drained beans and corn
*Mix meat, bean and corn mixture and cook for 5 to 10 minutes
*Spray cupcake pan with any kind of cooking spray
*Gently push one won ton wrapper into each cupcake cup
*Next spoon 1Tbsp of meat mixture in the won ton wrapper
*Sprinkle cheese over the meat mixture
*Make a second layer of won ton wrappers.  Gently push the won ton wrapper, in the opposite direction, and repeat with 1Tbsp of meat mixture and some cheese.
*Bake for 10 to 20 minutes, really depending on what you like best.  I enjoy my taco "cupcakes" to be brown and crispy on the edges.


*Leave the taco "cupcakes" in the cupcake pan for a few minutes before trying to remove them so you let them settle, but more importantly so you don't burn your fingers.
*Then add all your favorite taco toppings.  In my family's case we take a buffet style approach to serving these.  I serve cut up tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, and salsa verde all in different bowls and everyone makes their own taco.


(This recipe makes so many taco cupcakes so be prepared.  Each time I make a different amount but last time I made 24 and I still had leftover meat mixture.  Just put your leftover meat mixture in the fridge and use in another dinner or to make more taco cupcakes later!)


I hope you enjoy these as much as my family does!


and p.s. I told you! I warned you! Pinterest IS addictive and amazing. Especially for us visual folks ;)


Until Next Time... :)

Kids DIY Creative Lunch

♫Sometimes Kids just want to have fu-un ♫ Oh Kids just want to have FUN! 

So let them make a fun lunch themselves :)

This is Eliana's masterpiece: "The Fish with Spots"

You can cut up whatever fruits, vegetables, and cold cuts you want your child to use (or if your child is old enough he/she can cut them with you).  Then let them assemble their fun lunch all by themselves! FUN! :)

Eliana was so proud of this lunch and had a lot of fun making it!  The only side note is that this bread was a lot of bread for her.  Eliana isn't the biggest fan of eating huge sandwiches, which is why my sandwich shapes work since she never eats a full sandwich.  So she didn't finish all the bread, but she had so much fun making her own lunch that she asked to do it again :)


I'm pretty darn proud that my little girl knows how to make a creative lunch at the age of three :) I've taught her well! *tear* ;)