virginia grilled cheese

One of the perks of being a homeschooler is awesome hot lunches every day.  No cold PB and J for us.  We had garlic-y noodles, baked potatoes, quesadillas, and fancy grilled cheese.  A good grilled cheese sandwich was probably my favorite lunch growing up.

In the fall, mom would layer crisp apple slices, sharp cheddar, and honey-ham on buttery slices of bread.  She called it the Virginia. (I mostly think this is because we were studying Virginia history at the time, but nevertheless, the name stuck. Plus, if there is one thing Virginians do right it's honey-ham and apples.) I made this for Jason recently and he loved it. Years later, and it's still a hit. 

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banana-walnut muffins

Happy Friday!  Hope that you have BIG plans for this weekend.  Are you going to a cookout, headed camping, planting your butt on a beach towel, shopping for back-to-school?  We are going to the Outer Banks with my family and I'm really excited/nervous/excited!  It's Jason's first real vacation with my family, so I hope he doesn't think we are too crazy.   ;)  I think by now he has a pretty good idea of the mess he's gotten himself into...

Maybe...

Well, whatever you are doing these weekend, set aside half an hour to whip up these muffins for lunchboxes and breakfasts-on-the-go next week.  I've been searching for a guilt-free muffin and I've finally found one. Packed with walnuts and almonds, these little guys have enough protein to stick with you.  They are sweetened with raw honey and ripe bananas rather than refined sugar, but will turn out tasty enough to please even the pickiest of eaters.  

Plus, mini-muffins are always just so stinking cute. 

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cool cucumber-mango smoothies

Hi There! It's a quick post today. Fall is just around the corner and I am getting the itch to buy school supplies. I am dying to ransack Target and leave with bags of new clothes, lunch boxes, and #2 pencils.  Unfortunately, I'm not sending anyone off to school this year so I'll have to suppress the urge. Maybe, I'll just get a new skirt or something... Maybe. 

But if I were sending some tikes off to school, I would start the school year off right with with a healthy, easy breakfast smoothie.  It's fresh, fast, and yummy. If your kids like things on the sweeter side, add 2 tablespoons honey or use vanilla yogurt.