School Lunch Day 18: Pizza Rolls!
If you were paying attention and read my post with our meal plan for this week, then you might already know what I packed...
The Lunch Idea:
One word: Easy. Monday needs an easy lunch, and these little guys fit the bill. If you haven't made these yet, and your people like pizza - then what are you waiting for? Make a double batch, it takes about 5 minutes, pack some in lunch, have some for dinner, stick half in the freezer for a couple of lunches down the road. You will not regret it. If you have them frozen, just put them straight from the freezer to the lunchbox the night before (you are packing the night before, right?). They will thaw overnight in the fridge and be perfect at room temp for lunch.
What's in the Lunches:
- Pizza rolls. Two have just cheese and sauce, two have rolls that I added some cooked ground beef to (leftover from taco night).
- Carrots and cucumbers
- Homemade applesauce
- Cheese
- A slice of homemade apple quick bread - I'm still working on that recipe, I'll share it ASAP.
Applesauce Recipe:
- Ingredients: Apples
- Directions: Cut up and cook apples. Puree.
Really, it's that easy. Get some good juicy and sweet apples, and that is all you need. You can cook them in your slow cooker overnight, or in a pot on the stove for an hour or so. Stir them a little at first until the juice starts releasing, just so they don't burn, but after that you just leave them alone. I core them and just very roughly chop. But I don't peel. I am pureeing these when cooked, so the peel just gets pureed right in there. If you like cinnamon, or other fruit in there, go ahead and add a little. Strawberry applesauce is great. Or apricot. I guarantee this will be the best applesauce you've ever had.
Lunch Questions and Tips:
- I can't say it enough. Pack the night before. You will never regret this decision. I also fill my kids drink bottles the night before and put them in the fridge.
- Make ahead and freeze. Things like these pizza rolls are so awesome to have in the freezer. Anything you can freeze in single serving portions are awesome for lunches. It makes lunch packing so fast and easy. Muffins and quick breads freeze great too. If you pack the night before, then you can put the frozen stuff right in the lunch, and it will be thawed by morning.
- I always try include a veggie in the lunch. They don't always eat it, but more and more often they do. They didn't eat it when I first started packing them, but after a while they get used to the idea of this being a part of their lunch, and they start trying it. Don't get discoured and quit packing it. Normalize real food - pack it every day so they understand that this is normal.
