What's in your Lunch Blox?

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A week ago, I started a raffle on my blog for a brand new Lunch Blox sandwich sized set. That raffle will finish on Saturday, September 12. In the meantime, I am using my Lunch Blox five days a week and I love it! Here are two lunches I have enjoyed this week:

This picture is from the giveaway announcement, but I've eaten this same lunch this past week as well. The blox contain cottage cheese, watermelon and cantaloupe, apple slices, carrot sticks and granola for the yogurt. Yogurt, fruit, crackers and peanut butter packaged separately. 

How about this for a healthy and tasty lunch? Tomatoes, bell pepper, baby carrots, watermelon and cantaloupe, and cottage cheese. Apple slices, peanut butter and fruit cup packaged separately. 

Here are some other Lunch Blox ideas from around the web: 

[source] 

Here, this blogger packed a sandwich, celery sticks, carrots, and small cookies. 

Come back next week for some more Rubbermaid Lunch Blox kit ideas :)

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Recipes: Green beans

This is not really a recipe- think of it more as a serving suggestion. I really like green beans, but if they aren't seasoned properly, they are tasteless. My grandmother makes wonderful green beans, and I thought I'd try to replicate hers. I didn't cook mine exactly like hers, but they still tasted great.

You can do this with garden-fresh green beans, or you can use canned beans like I did. These are The Allens brand Italian-cut green beans. I do not know what it is about these, but to me, they almost taste home-canned.

I chose to put them in a small sauce pan and drain about half of the water off of them. I then added a beef bullion cube and 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. I brought the beans and mixture to a boil and then served them. I did not drain the beans after cooking them; I simply spooned them out with a slatted spoon.  I absolutely loved the flavor!

Next time someone in your house wants to eat green beans for dinner, you should try them like this. It tasted great and I'll definitely fix them this way again. 

Recipes: Easy pan-seared pork chops

Two weeks ago, I posted a recipe for brown sugar glazed pork chops. Today, I am posting another recipe for pork chops. I promise, we do eat things that aren't pork chops. As you well know, I am constantly on the search for low-cost, easy to make ideas for dinner.

Recipe: Easy hamburger steak

I'm a full-time teacher, a mother to an active little child, and a wife, who also has a house to keep up. Needless to say, this girl has lots to do. I am always looking for quick and easy recipes. This one is one of my favorites, because it is cheap to make, and after the prep work is done, I can put it in the oven and forget about it for an hour.

This easy hamburger steak tastes great and is so easy to make, you won't believe it. All you need is a pound to a 1.5 pounds ground beef, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and a patty press. Patty presses are relatively cheap- I've found them in the grocery store before.

Here is everything you need:

Recipes: Easy apple cinnamon muffins

We love muffins and breads at our house. I realize this is not the healthiest of food groups, but muffins are easy and fun to make, and they tend to disappear fast around here. My daughter likes to help make them. I have been trying to save money by eating lunch at home lately, and muffins are a great "grab-and go" breakfast item. I just take them out of the pan, wrap them in saran wrap, and pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds when I want to eat one.

Recipes: Brown sugar glazed pork chops

My husband and I made these wonderful pork chops last week. They were absolutely delicious and I will definitely make them again. I will say this: We have attempted to make these twice, but the first time, we tried to make them in our George Foreman, and all the rub stuck to the grill plates and burned. :( When we tried again, we made it just like this recipe says. They were definitely a hit.

Recipes: Nana's Famous Meatloaf

Every family has a treasured recipe. Something that you eat frequently when you're gathered in the same place for a holiday or special occasion. In my family, we are blessed to have many good cooks, so we have lots of recipes. One of my all time favorites is my grandmother's meatloaf. 

Organized and Simplified cooking: Easy Chicken Tacos

This chicken taco recipe is one that I have made a lot. Because both of us work full time, we don't always have time to cook a big meal on the stove. This is why our crock pot and George Foreman get so much use :)

Pantry organization

  

I love our pantry because it has plenty of storage space. We do not have a large kitchen. However, our large pantry makes up for the lack of square footage in the kitchen.  One corner of our pantry functions as a coat closet. Because there is so much space, it would be very easy to "junk it up" and not organize it at all. I didn't want to do that, so I tried to organize it as I was unpacking our kitchen. As always, if your system doesn't make sense, you aren't organized :) Our pantry boasted really nice built in wood shelves. However, I still chose to maximize the space by using shelf risers. They are inexpensive and can be purchased almost anywhere. I also used simple white Rubbermaid baskets so they could be wiped clean with a damp rag. Clear canisters are also a must so I can see when I'm running low on pasta, cereal and baking goods. Since I want everything to have a place and always be returned to its proper place, I used some free editable labels from Better Homes and Gardens. There are a plethora of free printable labels available on Pinterest, too.