WWRW and My Five Favorites Mason Jar Edition

It's been a crazy week here.  I can honestly say the only books I've read this week are picture books for Jill and a free e-book on my Kindle. I downloaded Salads To Go last November, but it sure came in handy this first week of school.

This little e-book has great recipes for mason jar salads, using international flavors to add variety.  As you know, I'm always on a quest to change up the lunchbox scene, trying to avoid the mundane square sandwich.

I've got three girls in high school this year.  (Need any drama?  I'm sure I'll have extra.) We whipped up some mason jar salads for day 2 of school.

I used a Salads To Go recipe for vinaigrette, then we layered red peppers, tomatoes, avocado, chicken, mozzarella (cut-up string cheese), and baby spinach.  The after-school verdict was "delicious" and "maybe a little too much food" for my skinny Spaniard.

The one key point missing from Salads To Go was what size jar to get.  Pinterest led me to this article that revealed the magic size is a quart jar.

I picked up 12 jars for $10 and change and Walmart. Ball mason jars are BPA free and dishwasher safe, not to mention a lot cheaper than the Pyrex my kids (and spouse) been losing at school (and work) for years.

That's my first favorite.

2.

At Peter's graduation party, I used half pint sized jars, $.50 boxes of Crayolas, and all those school pictures I've been collecting over the years for table decor.  We covered the tables with brown craft paper, and the kids, teens, and even the odd adult took advantage.

3.  

I used pint-sized jars, raffia, and Gerber daisies from Costco for centerpieces for Polly's baptism.  Her real name means daisy.  Get it?  Daisies?

4. 

I found this Mason Jar Flower Frog at my local gardening store, but you can get them from Amazon too.

I just stuck a few cosmos from the garden in there.  I'm going to be growing a lot more cosmos next year, they did much better than my marigolds.

5.  

The last way I like to use mason jars is for my favorite beverage.  Unsweetened iced tea.  Made with Lipton.  I'm not fancy.

Anyhoo.  I'm linking this link-up with Heather.  

Also, Micaela is going to link-up a new and fabulous on-line book club today!  Please check it out, I'm in it. You should be too.

An InLinkz Link-up

7 Crazy Quick Takes

1.

If you ever get one of these in your house, say under a couch or something, you can call my good friend Cheryl for her harrowing tale, as well as some expert advice.  One skunk accessible ramp up and out a window, one bucket of ammonia soaked rags, and one flour covered path later, and I'm praying that her problem has walked away.

Phew!

2.  Yesterday was Discount Day at the Field Museum.  Discount Day is the secret word for "free to all Illinois residents."  My friend, Sara, had a horrible experience with Discount Day at the Shedd Aquarium.  Two hour or more wait to get in, so they scrapped that plan and did something else. 

This is the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sirius Tower in this house).  This is the closest my kids have ever been.

I vowed to get to the Field early to avoid the crowds.  Sara and I packed picnic lunches for our broods, including the ever-popular muffuletta sandwich (much more on that later). We left straight after 8am mass.  Feast of Assumption and Holy Day of Obligation and all that.  

This is the Adler Planetarium.  This is the closest I've ever been to it.

We pretty much had the place to ourselves for the first hour.  The Field is huge and never got crowded, not like I've seen on Sunday afternoons in the winter.  

We ate our delicious lunches outside and saw ridiculous lines for the Shedd Aquarium!  

What?!?  Did those people not know that they could go to the Field for free?  Pity the fools.

3.  

Some of us are not morning people.

But give us time, we warm up.

4.  We saw:

World's Cutest Barnacle

The Honey Badger looks suspiciously like a skunk.

Perhaps the number one reason to choose the Field over the Shedd.

I call this, "Breeders at the Field."

5.  Remember last year, when I did the The Great Lunch Makeover and The Great Lunch Makeover Part 2?

I have confirmed evidence of it's success.

Susan recently told me that last year, she and her friends did this Lunch Swap at school because her lunches were better than everyone else's!  Her friends came up with the Swap, just so they could eat her lunch!

Thank you wise and wonderful readers, for your inspiring comments that brought me to this podium of  the Awesome Lunch-Making Mom Awards.  

I'd also like to thank That Pickle Guy, the maker of muffuletta spread that has upgraded my sandwich making skills.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Christopher Kimball (whom I may have called a pathological liar) and the people behind the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and my mom who gave it to me.  Love you guys.

6. More pictures from yesterday.

This post wins the award for the most uses of the word, "muffuletta."

Muffuletta makes us less sullen.

7.

Kudos to the Field Museum for putting little QR codes for us to find to make the whole experience very cool.  This video was Jill's favorite. Forty four seconds of incredibly cute.

I'll see you bright and early Monday morning with my Mystery Ingredient Monday post.  This week the link-up party is at Tasha's place, and the Queen of Busytown, my sister Anne, will be announcing an ingredient for the next challenge.

If you'd like to play along, here is the current Mystery Ingredient reveal post.

Joining Jen and her minions for 7QT Friday.

The Great Lunch Makeover Part 2

Remember this post from last school year?  The one where I share my wheat germ toast story and whine about square sandwiches?

I have resolved to do better this year.  And so far, so good. 

I got every recipe that follows from Pioneer Woman's newer cookbook, Food from My Frontier, or my collection of Cook's Country magazines (all of their recipes are available on their website for a fee or a free two week trial), or the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, henceforth referred to as ATKFC. 

Week One:

I made PW's Chicken Salad, which I served in some Flat Out wraps.  Unlike her, I started with boneless, skinless chicken breast that got baked in the oven.  Also, I omitted the sugar.  Some of my kids liked it, some didn't.  Most picked out the almonds.  But they all ate it and that's the most important thing.

Because I had baked so many chicken breasts, I also made PW's Curried Chicken Pasta Salad to change things up a bit.  The girls loved this, the boys, not so much.  Something to do with raisins.  It still went pretty fast.  I served it in pyrex or snapware, or recycled Hillshire Farm plastic boxes.  No bread, just pasta.

Week Two:

Muffaletta.

I discovered this treasure when we were on vacay in Michigan.  Make one giant sandwich on a round loaf of bread, and cut it into wedges like a pizza.  Voila!  Many sandwiches!

In MI, we made our own olive salad.  It was expensive and time consuming.  Back home, I found that Costco carries jars of muffaletta olive salad.  They are also expensive, but not time consuming.

Traditional muffaletta uses salami, provolone, and mortadella, which is an high-end Italian bologna (both of which are carried by my Costco).  But we have found that ham, or any nice deli meats and cheese will work.  Whatever is in the fridge and will be outdated soonest is always my first pick.

Everyone is loving the muffaletta.  Triangular sandwiches are big winners.

This is a Cook's Country recipe.  To. Die. For.  You can see it here at Epicurious:  Steak Quesadillas with Roasted Red Peppers and Boursin.  I heart Boursin. 

I accidentally bought these pain-in-the-keister tortillas that are raw when you buy them, but excellent when you cook them for a few seconds on each side in a nonstick skillet. 

Please don't feel like you have to use strip steaks.  Any steak will do.  When I ran out of steak, I used thinly slice pork loin.  Still awesome.

Week Three:

No, I didn't send Heinekens to school.  Yet.

I made PW's Drip Beef, which is a Lazy Man's Italian Beef.  And I made it in the slow cooker, which is even lazier, but it's cooler on these hot, muggy days.  It's pretty darn good too. 

Pioneer Woman classed up her recipe for the cookbook.  No nasty Campbell's Beef Consomme, but rather Swanson's Beef Broth was pictured.  Also, instead of generic dried Italian seasoning, she uses a couple tablespoons of fresh rosemary.  The Drip Beef recipe from the cookbook is the hot and spicy version from her website.  "Don't worry.  It's not that hot," said the girl addicted to giardinera from Chicago.

Throw some of those leftovers in a nice bun.  Microwave for a minute.  Wrap in clingwrap.  Throw in a napkin, cause it's gonna be messy, and you have Edmund's favorite lunch ever.

And The Vegetarian Option for Meatless Fridays:

Tortellini Salad.  Yes, I bought the cheese-filled tortellini at Costco, but I imagine some people shop other places that might sell it.  I asked the Chef to throw together the recipe that's in my battered ATKFC. This salad includes such culinary delights as blanched asparagus and fresh grape tomatoes.  He made it on a Thursday night and it fed everyone on a Friday and me all weekend long.  Very delicious.

What will the future bring?

I've discovered the bread and the spread are what makes the sandwich dull.  In addition to pretzel buns (which I discovered last year), I'm going to try these torta rolls. 

And this Mezzetta Sandwich Spread, which comes in many varieties.  I bought the Chimichurri flavor.

Ooooh.  The Mezzetta website has some good-looking recipes too.

Also, I found a page in that ATKFC with all kinds of great sandwich ideas including a chipotle mayo, baby dill pickles, tapenade, apples and chutney. 

We're gonna get funky...funky...funky...

The Great Lunch Makeover

Susan and Lucy are both down with strep throat.  I feel like I have to do everything with one arm tied behind my back without them.  Their illness makes me realize how much I take for granted every time I ask one of them to unload the dishwasher, dress the baby, change the load of laundry, set the table, fetch and carry etc.  

Edmund has been helping out more though.  He loves to work in the kitchen. Last night, he did most of the prep work for Spanish Chicken Skillet.  Gotta love those McCormick Recipe Inspirations.  We've tried nearly all of them and every one is a winner.  (I do recommend cutting down on the salt, especially when doubling or tripling the recipe.) 

Take last night's dinner.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts simmered in a rich sauce with lots of vegetables.  I served it with brown and white rice medley (using up half empty boxes of stuff) and a green salad.  Healthful and delicious. 

Speaking of last night's dinner, I made a big announcement, which I will share with you after some backstory. 

About six years ago, my children switched from one school with very strict lunch guidelines (and even breakfast guidelines) to another school with no guidelines.  In fact, I was informed that the soda machines had just been removed from the cafeteria, but that I should feel free to send soda from home.

Now, I have never sent soda, but I have been sending:

a sandwich,

a fruit or vegetable, 

chips, 

AND cookies or other sugary treat.  

But after reading this story about the girl whose lunch was confiscated and replaced by chicken nuggets,  

I've been wondering if my kids' lunches should be confiscated and if the chicken nugget lunch might be healthier than some of the stuff I've been packing.

Confession 1:  I hate packing lunches.

Confession 2:  I hate eating square sandwiches of square meat on square bread.  

Confession 3:  I wouldn't eat most of the sandwiches I make.

yuck.

We've recently made a few changes in the things we eat.  The Chef has gotten more and more concerned about food additives and steroids and hormones and things that I don't generally care about.  We switched to hormone free, antibiotic free milk. 

And, in an effort to avoid square meat and preservatives and the exorbitant prices at the deli counter, I gave The Chef an electric food slicer for Christmas.  We've sliced some turkey breasts and boneless hams, but it's kind of a pain in the neck to haul the appliance out of the basement, use it, clean it, pack it back up again, and move it downstairs.  I'll quit whining.

I've been buying the Sara Lee whole grain white bread from Costco for three reasons.  It's cheap.  My kids will eat it unlike the 100% whole wheat bread I buy for myself.  And it's cheap.  Plus, it says it's whole grain right on the package.  But recently, Costco has been carrying delicious Labriola pretzel buns that smell amazing, my kids LOVE them, and one bun has a whopping 17 grams of protein.  No more squares.

I'd like to have more variety in the school lunch, but how? 

I have invested at least at least hundred dollars into Thermos corporation, but my dingbats will throw them away, or lose them, or leave hamburger noodle casserole sealed to ferment for weeks to the point where I throw them away myself.  

I have sometimes send leftovers in Rubbermaid.  But half of my people don't have access to a microwave.  Plus I have concerns about microwaving plastics. Whenever I do this, The Chef and I have had long discussions about whether to heat it up in the morning, thus letting the food slowly cool over several hours and encouraging bacteria growth (my way), or to send it cold and gross which is how it will most likely return, uneaten (his way).  Exciting conversations, I know.

So the big announcement.  

I informed the family that henceforth they will no longer be receiving chips and cookies, but they may choose chips or cookies.  To replace the lost item, the will now be receiving a serving of fruits and a serving of vegetables or two fruits.  Only one person complained.  But when I explained that I had been to the grocery store and Aldi, and that in our two refrigerators we have pineapple, clementines, apples, strawberries, blueberries, grapes (green or red), mini cucumbers, baby carrots, celery, and sugar snap peas, he was subdued.

Did I mention that none of the produce I bought is organic? 

Am I over-thinking this?

Did you know this whole post probably stems from the fact that my mom vacillated between "super-crunchy/healthy wheat germ on wheat toast" and "no holds barred Twinkies every day/Cookie Crisp for breakfast?" 

also yuck.

Do you know what I did with that whole wheat toast topped with wheat germ?  

I couldn't choke it down before the bus came and so she MADE me carry it to the bus stop.  The bus stop was on one of those street sewer drains, and every day I threw my toast in the sewer. 

How's that for a confession?

Until one day, when we got off the bus after school, and I saw a crew of workmen working on my toast sewer!  Did they find two years worth of whole wheat toast?  Was the drain clogged with wheat germ?  Did they find my Strawberry Shortcake wristwatch that fell down there one morning when I was disposing of my toast?  I'll never know.

So, help me out internet friends. 

What do you pack for lunch?  Are pickles a vegetable?  Do raisins count as fruit?

I need some inspiration.  Or some therapy.  Or both.  I look forward to your wise responses.  And, yes, I did figure out how to unlock my combox so everyone is welcome.