Princess Crown Stuffed Peppers

I have to first mention that my first daughter is the epitome of girly-girl.  She loves everything pink and sparkly and having to do with princesses or fairies.  Now that you have this important background information, I can tell you about the success of this meal.  

I was making turkey and veggie stuffed peppers tonight and was wondering how I could make it more kid friendly.  Frankly, there isn't a cute, small pepper that you can use to reduce portion size and still make the presentation look spectacular (well, there are small peppers...they just happen to be rather spicy).  So while I was chopping off the tops of the peppers to take out the insides, I was hit with a lightbulb moment!  I must somehow use this "crown" part (b/c I would hate to just throw a perfectly good portion of this pepper away) as part of the kids' meals!  Well, when I took the top off, I was left with a donut shape (a whole where the stem had been), which I placed on a cookie sheet and piled the "stuffing" right into the center.  When I gave this to my daughter, she asked me what it was and I told her it was a "stuffed pepper crown!"  Needless to say, the name alone sold her.  Anything that has to do with crowns is a home run in her book...and who's to say that this top part of the pepper isn't called a crown?  :)   

Here's the recipe that I based this meal off of.  I made some changes as I always do.  I used Italian style ground turkey for some extra flavor, but then backed off of the Italian seasoning later on.  I also used some sort of flavored diced tomato only b/c it's what I had on hand. The recipe is chock-full of veggies and color...definitely give it a try!  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffed-Peppers-with-Turkey-and-Vegetables/Detail.aspx

Crown Stuffed Peppers - turkey and veggie stuffed peppers, yogurt, bananas   

Kabob Crazy

We were in a kabobing mood with the nice weather we've been having.  I feel like regardless of whether they are made on the grill or in the oven, they just remind me of the summer months.  And somehow, when you serve food in kabob form, kids seem to find it more enticing.  So Eve helped me create a meatball kabob skewered together with some orange pepper and quartered biscuits.  Soooo easy and quick.  Just bake them for about 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven and that's it (we used fully cooked frozen meatballs to make this a quick meal).  Served with some marinara sauce for dipping as well as a fruit kabob.  Oh, and if you're using wooden skewers like we did, don't forget to soak them first so they don't catch on fire! That would turn your quick meal into a quick mess.  :(

Kabobs a plenty - meatball/pepper/buiscuit kabob, strawberries, blackberries, marinara

Lunch for a Long Day at School

Today was a big day for my DD!!!  It is the first day that she stayed for the extended day program at school, which means she had to pack a lunch and stay all day.  We decided to go with something fairly easy because frankly, she eats at a snail's pace and I wanted to make sure she had a chance to actually finish.  So we went with PBJ "sushi" along with some fruit, veggies, cheese, and star cookies for dessert.  To make the "sushi", just flatten one slice of bread with a rolling pin (or your hand if you don't have a rolling pin handy). Then spread the PB on and a little jelly on top (not much or else it will squirt out when you roll it).  Roll it up and with the seem side down, cut it into small pieces. Voila!

Oh, by the way, this is the cutest little bento box.  It was marketed as a "jibbitz organizer" at the Crocs stand at our mall (on clearance!!!), but any bento lover knows that it is just a transformed two tier bento box. Thanks Crocs for the bargain bento box! Here's a pic of it assembled.

PBJ Sushi Bento - PBJ "sushi" rollups, cheese cubes, green peppers, strawberry and marshmallow kabob, star cookies