Make-Ahead Lunch Box Archives | Page 3 of 4

My Favorite Cheesecake Factory Salad Makeover

May 14, 2015 by Laura 11 Comments

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Who loves a Cheesecake Factory BLT Chopped Salad more than cheesecake???? This girl. I’ve only been there a few times, but I found a salad there that I love soooo much. This begs the question: A salad? At cheesecake factory? Why?

See, here’s the thing. When one goes to the Cheesecake Factory, one wants to enjoy the cheesecake right? Therefore, eating a salad as a meal preceding the cheesecake makes perfect sense. One must save room for the cheesecake! That is how I discovered this salad. Or a salad much like this.

I believe the salad I ordered at Cheesecake Factory had chopped apples and some chicken in it too (but it’s been about a year since I’ve been there so I can’t remember all the specifics). Add those to this if you like. All I know is that this salad is so good that our family devoured a huge bowl of it – two days in a row. And I want to make it again tomorrow.

Helpful hint: Want to get your kids to like salad? Add BACON.

BLT Chopped Salad with Feta Cheese

BLT Chopped Salad with Feta CheeseYum

5.0 from 1 reviews

My Favorite Cheesecake Factory Salad Makeover

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Author: Laura

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

6 cups chopped mixed greens, lettuce, or spinach (any combination you like)
2 chopped tomatoes
½ pound bacon, cut into bites, cooked, and drained
1-2 cups sweet corn, cooked and cooled
1-2 chopped avocado
4 ounces feta cheese crumbles
Dressing:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Juice of one lime (about 2 Tablespoons)
salt and pepper to taste (I put in a few shakes of each)

Instructions

Toss salad ingredients into a large bowl.
In a small jar, shake together dressing ingredients.
Pour over salad and toss.
Serve right away!

This is a perfect spring or summertime meal. I think I could eat this every day. And believe it or not, I don’t even have to have cheesecake afterward. :)

I can’t tell you how delicious and flavorful this is. You MUST try it. Every bite is delicious.

What’s your favorite thing to get at Cheesecake Factory?

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Easy Ham and Egg Breakfast Bowls – a Quick and Filling Breakfast To-Go!

February 5, 2015 by Laura 15 Comments

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Oh man (lady – whatever). You are going to love this idea! Unless you don’t like eggs. But for those of you who love eggs, and for everyone who wants an easy, real food meal that will pack a punch with nutrition and keep you full until the next meal…

Please allow me to introduce you to these delightful little Ham and Egg Breakfast Bowls:

See that? The ham is the bowl. Isn’t that clever? I didn’t think of this myself, but was enlightened by my friend who was excited to tell me about her fun breakfast of the day. She knew I’d need to know about this idea. She knows me (and my hungry crew) well, don’t you think?

Everyone get out your muffin tins and get ready to have some fun.

How to make Ham and Egg Breakfast BowlsYum

You will need:

Muffin Tins
Thin Slices of Ham
Eggs
Shredded Cheese
Sea Salt
Garnish like Fresh Spinach, Green Chilies, Mushrooms, Peppers, Onion, Broccoli, or Salsa

Push a piece of thinly sliced ham down into each muffin cup.

Crack an egg into each “ham bowl.” Poke each egg yolk with a fork and carefully scrambled it around inside the bowl. Sprinkle with salt, top with cheese, and garnish however you like. Bake in a 350° oven for 10-20 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through.

You can make these ahead of time, then rewarm them for a quick, ready-made breakfast or lunch! (That’s my favorite part, of course.)

You can also scrambled up your eggs in a dish, and then scoop some out into each ham bowl if you prefer. My kids like the texture of these better if I do it that way.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Easy Ham and Egg Breakfast Bowls - a Quick and Filling Breakfast To-Go!

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Laura

Ingredients

Muffin Tins
Thin Slices of Ham
Eggs
Shredded Cheese
Sea Salt
Garnish like Fresh Spinach, Green Chilies, Mushrooms, Peppers, Onion, Broccoli, or Salsa

Instructions

Push a piece of thinly sliced ham down into each muffin cup.
Crack an egg into each "ham bowl."
Poke each egg yolk with a fork and carefully scrambled it around inside the bowl.
Sprinkle with salt, top with cheese, and garnish however you like.
Bake in a 350° oven for 10-20 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through.

Is this idea genius, or what? You must try this! :)

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Beef Summer Sausage Recipe

November 25, 2014 by Laura 22 Comments

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Summer Sausage has always been a favorite finger food of mine during the holiday season. I’ve tinkered with recipes before, but haven’t felt like I’ve nailed them – until now.

Folks, we can now eat Summer Sausage – worry free. High fives all around! No MSG, no nitrites, no preservatives. Actually, salt is a natural preservative, so I guess I can’t say “no preservatives.” But the least of my worries is sea salt, especially when I use Redmond. That means that “summer sausage” and “good for you” can be used in the same sentence. Yay!!!

I think you’ll be as excited about this recipe as I am. It’s homemade beef summer sausage!! You will not believe how crazy easy this is to make.

Homemade Beef Summer Sausage - Easy and Healthy!

Homemade Beef Summer SausageYum

5.0 from 1 reviews

Beef Summer Sausage Recipe

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Author: Laura

Serves: 2 sausages

Ingredients

2½ pounds hamburger meat
2½ Tablespoons liquid smoke (I prefer Wright's Brand)
1 Tablespoon sea salt (I prefer Redmond brand)
1 teaspoon sucanat
1 Tablespoon ground pepper
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, squishing with your hands until everything is well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Knead meat mixture, then shape into 2 logs, about 13x2 inches each. (I found that rolling them in parchment paper helped form a nice, round shape.)
Place logs in baking dishes such as Pyrex 9x13 inch pans (so fat drippings will not spill over into the oven).
Bake in a 300° oven for 2½ - 3 hours.

To freeze Summer Sausage: Allow baked summer sausage to cool completely. Wrap in parchment paper, then with plastic wrap. Place in a freezer bag, storing in freezer for up to 2 months.

As if it wasn’t already wonderful news that we can enjoy healthy summer sausage – it’s even better news that this will be perfect for your Make-Ahead Lunch Box. I’ll be packing this for road trips, for sure.

Share with us! What’s your favorite holiday finger food?

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27 Recipes You Can Make Ahead for Your Lunch Box, Plus Easy Fruit and Veggie Add-Ons

November 13, 2014 by Laura 9 Comments

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Before we talk about your lunch box, let me just ask:

Do you ever get sick of hearing me talk about eating more and more and more fruits and vegetables? I am…not even sorry. I believe in the Great Pumpkin (eating it, of course), and all the other Great Fruits and Vegetables our bodies are screaming for. I believe in this even more than I believe in eating real butter, and I believe you and I both know how misty-eyed I get over a stick of butter. Now let’s all grab a cucumber with a little homemade ranch and keep chatting, shall we?

love and butter

Several of you have seen this card and thought of me. Yes, yes, and yes.

Packing a lunch can become a little boring day after day, right? A sandwich, chips, maybe carrots or an apple…ho hum. I like that combo every once in a while, but I have some exciting news for you: Packing a clementine and some sweet peppers is just as easy as packing an apple and carrots. Walk around the produce department a few minutes and just see what all you can find to liven up your lunches (whether you pack them to-go or not).

The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

Since beginning our Make-Ahead Lunch Box series, I’ve shared 12 fun recipes.

That’s a dozen new lunch box ideas that do not involve a package of lunch meat or a carrot stick.

Now, here are 15 more recipe ideas you should look through.

These have been on my website for quite some time. All of the ideas will work great to make ahead, then pull out to pack for a lunch:

Don’t forget our newest challenge: Add Spinach to Everything! With many of the 27 recipes listed above, you can add spinach for extra nutrients.

27 Real Food Make-Ahead Lunch Box Recipes

Now let’s look at good fruit and veggie add-ons. I listed apples and carrots first, because those are a given. But wait till you see all the other fun options to give your lunch box some life!

Apples
Carrots
Bananas
Clementines
Oranges
Applesauce
Peach Cups (100% juice)
Grapes
Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Side Salad
Blueberries
Sliced Strawberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Sliced cucumbers
Celery
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Pears

That’s 20 yummy possiblities. I’m sure you have thought of others I didn’t mention.

This has been on my mind lately as basketball season is starting up again at our house. This means that many weekends now through March, we will be on the road. We don’t mind eating out here and there, but to save money and to pack in the nutrition, I’ve been brainstorming options for food we can pack to-go.

Hearing your ideas always inspires me – so leave comments to share how you pack a healthy lunch box. Also, fill in the blank: There is little in life that could not benefit from a little love, a little time and _____________________________. How would you finish that phrase?! :)

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Cream Cheese BLT – The Best Sandwich You’ll Ever Eat

November 6, 2014 by Laura 5 Comments

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We had decided to go on an unplanned road trip. I was determined to avoid the grocery store and instead work with the abundance of food we had on hand to put together a meal we could take along with us and eat in the van. However, I had no bread, no lunch meat, no tortillas, and no cheese. It was time to get creative.

I quickly made a batch of One Hour Whole Wheat Yeast Rolls. Seriously, these rolls practically make themselves. (Although they are terrible about washing their own dishes.) I almost always have a supply of bacon and cream cheese on hand because those are staple foods at the Coppinger house, along with butter and cocoa, of course. Therefore, I decided to take my BLT Wrap idea and turn them into sandwiches.

What makes a BLT even better? Cream cheese, of course. This “to-go” meal was a hit, though the sandwiches were a tiny bit messy. Eh, that’s what napkins are for, right?

Cream Cheese BLT

Cream Cheese BLT SandwichesYum

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
8 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
Tomato slices
Lettuce

Mix cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in bacon crumbles. Spread mixture on bread or buns and top with lettuce and tomatoes. Delicious!! This mixture makes enough for 10-12 sandwiches.

The best news of all is that you can add this Cream Cheese BLT Sandwich idea to your Make-Ahead Lunch Box list. Simply make the bacon/cream cheese/mayo mixture ahead of time, prep your lettuce and tomatoes, and put it all together on bread, buns, or tortillas when packing your lunch box. It’s a great change of pace from a regular ol’ sandwich.

You’ll definitely want to check out the inspiring idea behind this recipe: BLT Wraps. Whether in a tortilla, on a bun, or even simply wrapped in lettuce – these are truly amazing.

Need more Make-Ahead Lunch Box ideas? Look through all these posts of yumminess.

These BLT Wraps and Cream Cheese BLT Sandwiches rich and filling, so the sides you’ll want to go alongside these need to be simple and light. Our favorites are:

Carrot sticks
Sliced cucumbers
Apples
Sliced sweet peppers
Pears
Applesauce

Now go get out your cream cheese and bacon. Wait. You do have these staples on hand, right?! :)

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Whole Wheat Zucchini Carrot Bread & Natural Value Foods 25% off Plus 20% off at Amazon

October 23, 2014 by Laura 5 Comments

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The more nutrients you can stuff into one recipe, the better, right? My friend Emily tried this idea of adding shredded carrots into zucchini bread, then let me know that I should try it. Great idea. Mmmmm, so good!

Zucchini Carrot BreadYum

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt, nutmeg and baking powder. Stir in honey, zucchini, carrots, eggs, and melted butter. Mix ingredients until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into two well buttered loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

zucchini carrot bread

Slices of this Zucchini Carrot Bread would be perfect in your Make-Ahead Lunch Box! Simply allow the bread to cool, slice, wrap individually, then freeze. Pull a wrapped slice of bread out of the freezer, then toss it into your lunch box for a dessert or snack!

What other veggie combinations have you thrown together in quick breads?

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Hot Chocolate Souffle ~ A Recipe That Just So Happens To Naturally Be Grain Free and Dairy Free

October 2, 2014 by Laura 9 Comments

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hot chocolate souffle 2

Elias, our 12 year old, is my cookbook buddy. Just like me, he enjoys looking through new recipes, getting food ideas, looking at the food pictures. He’s my right hand man when it comes to finding new recipe ideas to play with.

During our past few trips to the library, Elias and I have picked up different cookbooks to look through and get ideas from. This Hot Chocolate Soufflé is one he found recently. He liked the look of the dessert and figured we could adapt it with our healthier ingredients pretty easily. Obviously, he cares so much about using healthier ingredients, just like all normal 12 year old boys. Ha. Haha. Ha. Ha. Well, at least he knows his mom cares, and he sort of understands why. Really, all he was concerned about was that this recipe looked like a yummy chocolate dessert. What else matters, right?

Here’s what’s fun about this Hot Chocolate Soufflé recipe:

It’s very easy to make
It only has 4 ingredients
It can be made for those who need to avoid gluten and/or dairy

Hot Chocolate SouffléYum

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup sucanat powdered sugar
5 eggs, separated
pinch of sea salt

Separate eggs – whites and yolks – into two separate bowls. Stir sucanat powdered sugar into the egg yolks until smooth. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate, stirring constantly and removing from heat immediately after chocolate has melted. Stir melted chocolate into egg yolks and sucanat mixture. Beat egg whites and sea salt until stiff peaks form. Fold chocolate mixture into the egg whites until barely mixed. Pour mixture into a 8×8 inch baking pan. Bake in a 400° oven for about 15 minutes or until done through and through.

Grain Free, Dairy Free Hot Chocolate Souffle

These would be great for your Make-Ahead Lunch Box. Also, I looked into where you can purchase allergy free dark chocolate chips. Here’s what I found:

Do you like looking through cookbooks and recipes? (Hope so – this site is full of ’em!)

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Lazy Dogs ~ The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

September 30, 2014 by Laura 20 Comments

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The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

Find all of our Make-Ahead Lunch Box recipes and ideas here.

You might laugh at this recipe for several reasons. It is a little different from those I typically share.

First of all…hot dogs?

Yes, hot dogs. Remember how I’ve told you that I really love me a good, all beef hot dog? It’s true. I love sweet peppers, apples, strawberries, and asparagus better. But a good quality beef hot dog tastes really yummy to me. What can I say?

Second reason to laugh at this recipe: This is not exactly the most inexpensive recipe I’ll ever suggest that you make. I didn’t find my hot dogs on sale, and I got the best quality dogs I could find at the store that don’t contain nitrites. So…cha-ching. I used real cheese, not American cheese slices, which is obviously, more expensive because it’s real.

I did save by making my own whole wheat tortillas. But other than that? I’m not telling you how much each of these Lazy Dogs cost me. I’ll do it better next time by waiting for a sale on hot dogs. (If you have my Oh, For Real cookbook, you’ll find the tortilla recipe there. It’s also in my Totally Tortillas eBook.)

So if these Lazy Dogs are a little more on the pricey side, why am I sharing this recipe with you? Because these Lazy Dogs taste good. Because they are still less expensive than eating out. Because they are a fun, kid friendly (and apparently Laura friendly) food. And because you can make them ahead of time and put them in your lunch box.

I can’t take the credit for this great idea. When I posted my Taco Quesadilla recipe, “Busy Mom in AL” shared this:

Another of our “wraps” are some that we call Lazy Dogs! We boil some hot dogs to plump them up, roll them up with some cheese in a tortilla and heat them up in the oven until the cheese melts! Very good, even cold!

I loved the idea and made them for our soccer games and travel that very weekend. Once I had the tortillas made, the boys got in an assembly line to help put the Lazy Dogs together. Just like that, our to-go meal was ready.

Lazy DogsYum

Tortillas (I use homemade whole wheat tortillas)
Cheese Slices (I use Colby jack slices)
High Qualtity Beef or Turkey Hot Dogs (I found Oscar Meyer Angus Nitrite Free Dogs)

Boil the hot dogs just long enough for them to plump. ( <— what a weird sentence.) Lay one slice of cheese on each tortilla, top with a hot dog, and roll it up. Bake in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Make these ahead of time! Warm them in the oven, then serve.

Lazy Dogs ~ Perfect For Your Lunch Box

We found that we preferred these warm instead of cold. Still, if you want to pack them to-go, simply bake, wrap, and pack. Easy and fun!

Are you a hot dog lover? What is your favorite kind?

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Taco Quesadillas ~ The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

September 16, 2014 by Laura 34 Comments

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taco quesadillas 2

Have you ever made quesadillas, let them cool, then put them into the fridge or freezer for another day? You should do this. They are perfect for your Make-Ahead Lunch Box.

Now you’re thinking, why would I do that? Quesadillas are already my easy go-to meal to make on the fly. How would it help to make them ahead of time?

Come closer. I have something to tell you. If you make quesadillas ahead of time, then they will already be made when you want to serve or eat them. <— It has taken years of research, trial, and error to arrive at wise and knowledgeable comments such as these.

Okay fine. I just figured it out last week. It should have been obvious to me long ago, but I thought melty cheese should always be warm. Yes, somehow I forgot cold pizza was a food group for some people. Who knew cold quesadillas were also good? And if you don’t want to eat them cold, but instead want them warm again, simply warm them up at serving time. <—- Again, the brilliance of advice read here must continue to amaze you.

Now, the best part about a quesadilla is that you can fill them with whatever you like. Cheese, obviously. But what about varieties of meat and/or veggies? Taco Quesadillas are my current favorite, dipped in a small bowl of fresh salsa. I will tell you from experience that these taste great warm or cold. Warm would be my top choice, but we threw a bunch of cold ones into a bag to take to a soccer game recently and they were delicious. This means you can make these ahead of time and throw them in your lunch box for work or school. Perfect!

Taco QuesadillasYum

Your favorite tortillas (we like my homemade whole wheat tortillas)
Shredded cheese (my fav is Colby jack or white cheddar)
Leftover cooked taco meat
Salsa

Place a tortilla in a skillet and top with shredded cheese and cooked meat. Top with an additional tortilla. (I do feel a little bit silly telling you how to make a quesadilla, as if you don’t know how to make a quesadilla. But hey, if you didn’t know before, now you do.) Cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side until cheese has melted.

Watch to be sure tortillas don’t burn. <—- Breaking out one more time with more never-heard-before, ground breaking advice. You’re welcome.

Taco Quesadillas

I would love to hear how you like to fill your quesadillas and if you have ever tried eating them cold. What are your favorite meats and veggies used to fill tortillas?

Have any earth-shattering advice for us? Here’s one more nugget of wisdom from me, completely unrelated to quesadillas: When it is cold outside, you should wear a coat. Now, your turn.

The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

Find all of our Make-Ahead Lunch Box recipes and ideas here.

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Barbecue Beef and Cheese Hot Pockets ~ The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

September 4, 2014 by Laura 5 Comments

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Hot pockets can actually be eaten cold. Who knew?

When I asked you what you needed in a packed lunch, this is what you told me:

Quick and easy
Can be eaten cold
Hearty and filling

These Barbecue Beef and Cheese Hot Pockets are all that plus they are delicious. You can make them big or small, accommodating big or small appetites. They taste great hot or cold. You can make them ahead of time and pull them out as needed. They freeze well. What more do you need? Just the recipe I guess…

Barbecue Beef and Cheese Hot PocketsYum

Barbecue Beef and Cheese Hot Pockets ~ The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

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Author: Laura

Serves: 16

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat
1 batch homemade barbecue sauce (more if you like)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 batch whole wheat pizza dough

Instructions

Place stew meat and barbecue sauce in a skillet.
Cook on low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked and tender.
In the meantime, mix the whole wheat pizza dough and set it aside to rise.
Once both meat and dough are ready, remove meat from the heat.
Stir in cheese until it is melted.
Divide dough into about 16 pieces.
Roll each piece of dough into a thin circle.
Spoon meat mixture into the center of the circle, then gather up the edges of the dough and pinch to seal.
Place pinched side down on a baking sheet.
Once all dough is filled with meat, allow the pockets to rise about 15 minutes more.
Bake in a 375° oven for 15-25 minutes or until pockets are golden brown.

This would be a great way to use up leftover roast beef. In addition, you can fill hot pockets with any variety of meats and cheeses. They are a great, versatile meal idea!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’re hitting the restart button with us this fall, I challenge you to find one recipe (maybe this Barbecue Beef and Cheese Hot Pocket recipe?) that you can make ahead of time and freeze. Having food prepared like this in the freezer is a life saver on busy days when you need a healthy meal quickly. You’ll find all of our Make-Ahead Meal recipes here.

Once you’ve completed the challenge, come back to this post and leave a comment letting us know what you made. Can’t wait to hear!

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