Brown Baggin' It: The Main Course

(photo from realage.com)

So you've got your lunch bag ready. What do you put in it? We'll start with the "main course". Sure, PB&J comes to mind. And that's what my kids get quite often. But there are so many other possibilities!

Here's my list. Mix and match. Get crazy!

SANDWICH BREADS:

• Wheat or white
• Bagels
• Waffles or pancakes
  
• Pita pockets
• English muffins
  
• Tortillas
• Rolls
• Hamburger or hot dog buns
• Baguettes (these make cute little sandwiches)
  
• Croissants
  

SANDWICH FILLINGS:

• The classic, peanut butter and jelly
• Any variety of lunchmeat
• Tuna
• Peanut butter and honey
  
• Eggs! Egg salad, scrambled, fried...
• Avocado
  
• Chicken salad **
  
• Cream cheese (whipped is best) and jelly
• Cucumbers and cheese (use Tillamook cheese if you want your kids to REALLY love you)
• Don't forget the BLT! (bacon, lettuce and tomato)
  
• Peanut butter and diced apples
• Fruity cream cheese with thin-sliced strawberries

You can get really creative with sandwiches. These are just suggestions. But maybe your kids don't like sandwiches? (This one's for you, ~j.) Then here are some other ideas:

• Pigs in a blanket **
  
• Cheese and lunchmeat with crackers (HomeLunchables)
  
• Chips with salsa or hummus - or both!
• Bean and cheese (or whatever you want) burritos
• Leftover pizza (or English muffin pizzas)
  
• Loaded quesadillas
  
• Salad! (the variety here is endless...)
  

**And here are a couple of recipes in case you don't know what I'm talking about:

CHICKEN SALAD

canned chicken (drained!)
mayo (or we prefer ranch dressing) to taste
red grapes, sliced in half
diced celery, to taste

Mix it all together in a bowl and slap it on your bread of choice!
Our recommendations: serve in croissants, pitas or rolls.

PIGS IN A BLANKET

1 can refrigerator biscuits
1 package hot dogs (we prefer smoked sausage)

POP! open the can of biscuits (scares me every time!) and overlap 2 biscuits, flattening them out. Lay a hot dog on the flattened biscuits and wrap the biscuits around the hot dog, securing both ends of biscuit together. Bake according to biscuit instructions (until golden brown). These can be prepared the night before and refrigerated until lunch-packing time.

A few more fun suggestions:

-When making the homemade 'Lunchables', cut out the cheese and meat with small cookie cutters. Who can resist?

-Make sandwiches fun by cutting them into unique shapes like bears or snowmen.

-Cut the centers out of sandwiches with cookie cutters. This is great for kids who don't like crusts (you know, crazy kids. Because the crust is the BEST part!).

-When making tortilla roll-ups, you can cut them in half OR cut them into a bunch of little pinwheels. It's like having a tea party in your lunch bag!

-And, speaking of tea parties...pack a little handkerchief and a cup, plate and pitcher from a toy tea set so they can have their own little tea party during lunch. (Try to top THAT, lunch ladies!)


Want more ideas? Sorry, this post is already way too long.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about 'side dishes'.

Y'all come back now, y' hear?