Somewhere around October most of us feel like we have the school day lunches under control. Then comes June. It’s summer, and suddenly lunch is whatever we can scramble together. I don’t know why, but lunch is the hardest meal for me to put together for my kids, so I’ve gathered five fun and easy summer lunchtime recipes.
This one is delicious; what kid doesn’t like pizza?
Pizza Quesadillas
You’ll need:
Flour tortillas
Jar of your favorite spaghetti or pizza sauce
8-oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil for baking
Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
2 tbsp oregano for garnish (optional)
1. On wax paper, lay out tortillas.
2. Spread sauce across each tortilla (approximately 2 tbsp).
3. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce.
4. Fold in half, then fold again.
5. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on each one and bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
6. Serve hot. Optional: Sprinkle Parmesan on top.
These dippers put the “E” in EASY and it’s healthy for your kids!
Fruit Dippers
You’ll need:
Skewers
Greek yogurt (standard large tub)
¼ cup Honey
Fruits your kids love: ideally, strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, grapes.
1. Mix your kids’ favorite Greek yogurt (approximately 3 cups) with ¼ cup honey for the dipping sauce.
2. Wash and trim fruit as needed, then place on skewers.
3. You guessed it; serve and you’re done!
Here’s a classic with a twist!
Grilled Cheese Braid
You’ll need:
1 package of crescent rolls
Approximately 10 slices of cheese (adjust to your level of cheesy-ness!)
1. Unroll your crescent roll, leaving them all together on a greased cookie sheet.
2. Pinch together the seams of the dough on both sides.
3. Take your cheese slices and lay them straight down in the middle of the dough (cheese will overlap and this is perfect).
4. With a pizza cutter, cut 1-inch wide strips from the edges of the crescent roll dough to the edges of the cheese. Do this on both sides of the dough.
5. Starting with the first strip, pull it to the center of the cheese row. Repeat this on the other side and do it for all strips.
6. Cook approximately 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until the dough is golden brown.
It’s amazing how much peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have become a lunchtime staple in my house. We’re talking years and years. I’m assuming as adults, my girls will want nothing to do with PB&Js, but for now, I’m making it in all the forms—like this one—to change things up.
PB Roll-Ups
You’ll need:
2 slices of bread
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp marshmallow fluff
1. Roll your bread out. Make it very thin.
2. Layer a thin coat of peanut butter on the bread, then top it with a thin layer of marshmallow fluff.
3. Tightly roll up.
4. Slice them into bite-sized pieces and enjoy!
Are you ready for this? Sometimes ideas are so simple, we don’t even think about them. I love that this Waffle-wich is so simple and can be made with any type of sandwich.
Waffle-Wich
You’ll need:
Bread and any items to make your kids’ favorite sandwich
This one is easy to sneak spinach into!
1. Make your favorite sandwich.
2. Place it in the middle of your waffle maker and bake the same amount of time you would a waffle.
3. Done! Just take out (be careful; it will be hot and possibly dripping) and serve!
Although lunch can be a challenge each and every day to make, hopefully this list gives you a week off of guessing. Enjoy and let me know what works for you.
