A thermos isn’t just good for keeping things hot, it’s also perfect for keeping dishes like this yummy fruit salad nice and cold.

Mobile Fruit Salad

1 cup fruit cocktail, drained
1 cup chunked pineapple, drained
1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup sour cream
1 cup  miniature marshmallows

Place the fruit cocktail, pineapple chunks and oranges into a large mixing bowl. Gently fold in the sour cream until all the fruit is covered. Sprinkle in the marshmallows and stir until just combined.  Place in a pre chilled thermos.

This fruit salad is a delight especially on a hot summer day.  Add a little coconut or a few nuts to make a different taste every time.

When the days are getting colder in fall, it’s nice to send your kids to school with a hot soup to go along with the usual sandwich. This chicken chowder recipe is perfect for that. Just pour it in a thermos, and send it along with a cheese sandwich or even just some crackers for a filling lunch that will also warm them up.

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 1/2 C milk
• 1 c frozen hash browns
• 1 c corn, frozen
• 3/4 C chicken breast, cooked and cubed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Pour the oil in a large sauce pan and warm slightly over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until tender, then cover the cooked onions with the flour and poultry seasoning. Continue to cook for another minute.
Pour in the milk and stirring constantly bring the mixture to a boil.
Allow to cook 2 minutes longer, still stirring, until mixture begins to thicken.
Place the potatoes and corn into the mixture and bring it back to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and cover the pan.

Cook for  12 minutes or until the potatoes begin to tender. Carefully stir in the chicken and cook an addition 15 minutes or until the chicken is heated through.

This makes a great thermos lunch for children.  Just remind them not to open the lid until it’s time to eat.  Add a biscuit with butter and jelly to top off the perfect lunch.

If you are in a rush in the morning, I have the perfect grab and go hot breakfast for you. It’s some oatmeal that you take with you to work or school in a thermos. It works great for my family. We have a hard time eating first thing in the morning, but enjoy this breakfast an hour or so into our day.

Oatmeal Breakfast on the Run

• 1/4 C steel cut oats
• 1 1/2 C boiling water
• 1/4 C dried fruit

At night, right before you go to bed, pour the oats into the thermos and add the boiling water.  Place the lid on the thermos and seal tight.

In the morning drain off any excess water and stir in the dried fruit. Replace the lid and go.

You can use old fashioned oats or quick oats in this recipe but don’t try instant oats. Add a little milk, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon or butter for a different taste.

We’re excited to announce a new section of the Menu Planning Central blog…We’re calling it “The Recipe of The Day”.  Each day we’ll share another great recipe with you.

Since we’re all still getting used to getting back into our school routine, I thought it would be appropriate to share some simpl lunch recipes with you that you can take with you to work or send to school with your kids.

Today’s recipe is a yummy tomato and bean soup that travels well in a thermos.

Tomato Bean Soup

1 Serving

• 1/2 can (8 oz) condensed tomato soup
• 1 carrot
• 1 parsnip
• 1/4 c red lentil
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Pour the soup in a heavy sauce pan and add 1/2 soup can of water.  Grate the carrot and parsnip into the soup mixture and add the red lentil.

Season with the onion and garlic powder. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour the finished soup into a warmed thermos.

There are many variations to this soup.  Try grated zucchini.  Add some leftover rice or cooked pasta to the mix.  Use canned beans instead of lentils.  If you use lentils be sure they are red not green lentils. Green lentils take awhile to cook down. (Of course you could add some cooked green lentils to the soup at the end).

I don’t know about you, but I loved scratch and sniff things when I was a kid. It was just exciting to see what smell would come off the paper. Now I’ve taken it a step further and started to make scratch and sniff paintings with my kids. They absolutely love it and I’m sure yours will as well.

It really couldn’t be simpler. All you do is grab a few packs of Kool-Aid, a cup of water and some brushes. Use the Kool-Aid like water colors and let the kids paint away. When their master pieces are done, set them aside and let them dry completely. After that they are ready. Just let the kids scratch and sniff.

Can you guess what each smell is? Don’t even think about walking over to the box of kool-aid packs to peek… that would be cheating

While you are discussing the different smells with your kids, talk about the various fruits and how they could be prepared. If you have a few of the fruits available, cut them up and serve them as a snack. Of course you could also compare how the painting smells compared to the real thing.

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR FOOD AND WIN!

Here’s a great way to get your kids to eat more fruit and veggies. Let them get creative with their sandwiches by making sandwich faces. I always start with a slice of honey wheat bread for this. Then the kids spread it with either peanut butter for a sweet sandwich, or anything from hummus to cream cheese or even a little mayo if there’s nothing else in the house for a savory one.

Next I go through the pantry and fridge and come up with all of the healthy toppings I can find.

For peanut butter sandwiches this usually includes banana and apple slices, raisins and various dried fruits.

For the savory sandwiches I pull out lettuce, tomatoes and all leftover veggies as well as some sprouts (they make great hair).

Then it’s time for the kids to get creative. Their goal is to come up with the most creative and funny face they can with the ingredients supplied. If the result is impressive, I get out the digital camera and take a snapshot before they eat the sandwich. The picture then becomes my computer background for a while. The kids love the challenge and try to outdo each other which of course results in more fruits or veggies being used for their creations.

I also noticed that they tend to snack on the good foods while they are making their face sandwich, which gives them an extra serving of fruit and veggies that day.

Let’s see YOUR Creative Funny Face Sandwiches!

We’re holding a contest and want to give you prizes for sharing your funny face sandwiches with us.

Here’s how to enter:

Photo Contest:

1. Make a silly sandwich with your child or children.
2. Take a picture.
3. Send both the picture and the recipe to us at nicole@menuplanningcentral.com
4. Check back here to vote after we post the finalists, and watch your inbox for prize notifications.

Recipe Contest:

1. Send your funny-face sandwich recipe to us at nicole@menuplanningcentral.com
2. Check back here to vote after we post the finalists, and watch your inbox for prize notifications.

What can you Win?

Great question! For starters, everyone who enters either just a recipe OR a recipe and photo will receive a printable coloring book via email as a “thank you” from us to you.

All entries will be eligible to win the following prizes, as well:

1. Membership to MenuPlanningCentral.com (1 winner)
2. Copy of Work at Home ebook www.FullTimeWAHM.com (2 winners)
3. Copy of Party by Mom ebook from www.PartybyMom.com (2 winners)
4. Pack of recipes from www.YummyPLR.com
5. $25 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com
6. More prizes coming…

Here are some tips to get your creative juices flowing with these…

• Banana slices topped with raisins, or cucumber slices topped with a dot of ketchup make great eyes.
• Pepper and apple or peach slices are great for mouths.
• For ears try mushroom slices or strawberries cut in half.
• Sprouts and little broccoli flowerets are perfect for various hair does.

Rules:

Here’s the legal stuff. The recipes and photos will become the propery of MenuPlanningCentral.com Please submit only recipes and photos for which you are the owner. (Don’t send us pictures unless you personally took them.) We reserve the right to judge the contest and choose the winners based upon our preference. Contest will end after we’ve had sufficient time to promote it and gets lots of entries.

Thank you to these contest sites for mentioning our contest.

Playing with playdough is a lot of fun and I have yet to meet a kids who doesn’t like to help making it either. Last week we took it up another notch by making an edible playdough that actually tastes pretty decent. So we’re combining making something, playing with something and having a sugary treat all at the same time… now that’s hard to beat

Here’s the recipe we used:

Peanutbutter Playdough

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a bowl, using your hands. Dough should feel soft and pliable. Form shapes and be creative!! Storage: When not using, MUST be stored in an airtight container.

Here’s another great way to have fun with food - Make your own mini green house and grow a fruit tree or plant in it. Kids enjoy watching something they planted grow and they are learning along the way.

Here’s how you do it…

Mini Greenhouse

•    2 clear plastic cups
•    Tape
•    Fruit seeds
•    Water
•    Paper towels
•    Marker

Write the name of the type of seeds on a piece of tape and also the child’s name to place on a set of cups. Let the child wet the paper towel in the water, fold it and place it in the bottom of one cup. Place the seeds on top of the wet paper towel. Put the second cup over the first and tape in place on one side.  Place the “greenhouses” on a sunny windowsill.  If too much moisture accumulates inside the cup, lift the top cup for a while. When the seeds have sprouted the children can replant in a pot with dirt.

Welcome to Day Two of Summer Fun In The Kitchen.

When was the last time you baked something with your kids? Christmas cookies for Santa?

Now is a great time to get them involved in some baking. They need some afternoon snacks anyway and I’m sure your family would also appreciate some pie for dessert. Last night I made this Oatmeal Pie with my kids and it was a big hit. I used a frozen pie crust I had in the freezer and everything else needed for this simple pie was in my fridge and pantry. I’m sure you have most of it around the house too.

We did use about 1/2 cup of coconut flakes in it and it turned out great. Didn’t even need any ice cream or whipped cream to top it (even though I’m sure that would have been delicious too).

Now it’s your turn… what are you going to bake with your kids? Feel free to share your favorite recipes as a comment below.

The first few weeks of summer break were great… The kids had all kinds of things they wanted to do and were also quite content to just do nothing for a while. Slowly that changed though and I was hearing “Mom, I’m bored” more and more often. I’m sure you’re in the same boat. After wracking my brain for a while to come up with various crafts and activities, it finally hit me… this is the perfect time to get them more involved in the kitchen. Of course it would have to be fun to make sure they stick around, but you just can’t beat keeping them busy and entertained while also teaching them some valuable life skills (proper food preparation for example).

Ready to get your kids interested in food and cooking? Then keep an eye on this blog. Over the next few weeks my team and I will share quite a few fun activities for you and the kids in the kitchen. We try to come up with something for just about any age group of kids and different skill levels.

Let’s start with something simple for the little ones.

Cereal Necklaces

This is super simple and you probably have everything you need in the house right now. Grab a box of “doughnut shaped” cereal (like fruit loops or cheerios) and some string or yarn. Pour the cereal in a box and hand each child a piece of yarn and have them thread the cereal pieces on the yarn to make edible necklaces.

I like to use fruit loop type cereal for this because of the different colors of the cereal pieces which makes them feel more like colorful beads.

Give it a try and see how much fun your kids have with this… plus you are feeding them a snack at the same time. Believe me, quite a bit of the cereal will find it’s way into their mouth while they work on the necklaces.

Stay tuned for more fun with food on this blog tomorrow.

I’d also like to invite you to become a member of Menu Planning Central. We’d love to take all the hard work out of meal planning for you and provide you with three different types of menus (family-friendly, healthy and vegetarian). Just click, print and head to the store and you’ll have everything you need including detailed recipes. Try it and see for yourself how much easier cooking a wholesome dinner for your family is when you have everything you need right at your fingertips. Join today at www.menuplanningcentral.com/main.html