Oh so you like Halloween-Themed Lunches?!?! I got you, boo!
I sure do enjoy a great Halloween-themed anything. And packed witches and warlocks in lunch form, well now you've stolen my heart. I mean, who doesn't enjoy cutting Jack-O'Lantern faces into oranges at 11pm at night so that the kids can tell you the next day after school (noticing they didn't eat your Orange-O'Lantern masterpiece) "Erm, that was just too hard to peel"?!?!?!
I'm joking of course. These are guilty pleasures of mine. Most of these lunches resemble that Amazon show, "Nailed It" in lunch form; specifically after my two bigs throw their lunch boxes at each other like dodge balls. Almost like they don't know I spent 30 minutes carving Jack-O'Lantern faces into oranges that are being so carelessly tossed around.
I add this story because A) It's real. B) I am going to spill some truth about single-mothering. At the end of the day, it's just me, myself, and I. I do not need to connect with someone, or do literally, anything I don't want to do. And I'll tell ya, most days I love this stuff. Let me remind you - por favor - this is a safe-space. Make a fun lunch once, and your babies will remember it. Do nothing in life, truly nothing that doesn't fill your bucket. Do nothing that makes you have less patience or love or perspective.
Some of these lunches, the kids and I do together. My darlings, my kids are great kitchen-helpers; it keeps our home a little less crazy sometimes, and they are helping me. Win-win. For some, that would be absolute h-e-double-toothpicks. Trust me, Halloween theme lunches ain't nothin' to stress about. If this is the thing that you want to do, well do you. Start easy...
As such I wanted to throw together some easy, some admittedly more painstaking options for a special lunch if the mood hits you.
Here are a few of my "faves".
The Mains:
Chicken Boo-dle Soup -
Difficulty Level - Two Glasses of Wine
Those pumpkins are the challenge. I cut about 5 carrots; serve them as sides throughout the week as well (see "The Sides" below).
Lemme just say, for Bestemar and the babies, I add the chicken. For me, I leave it without and will add some white beans or chickpeas for the vegetarian option. I also substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth.
For lunch: I pack the "bats" in a bag so the kids can add it when they get to school.
Recipe from Morganmanagesmommyhood.com
Tombstone Calzones -
Difficulty Level - Kids help
What you'll need:
- Mini Tombstone Cake Pan
- Pre-Made Pizza Dough
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Chosen fillers.
I like to brush the insides with
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley or 1 TBSP fresh parsley
- 2 TBSP Parmesan cheese
Mix all together and brush on the inside of the calzone before adding your filling.
To assemble- Place pre-made pizza dough in the mold, brush the inside with the egg-yolk mixture, and let the kids fill those bad-boys up with whatever your heart desires. Once filled, pinch the pizza dough together and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min. It's best to reference the cake pan instructions you are using and/or the pizza dough instructions. Just watch it - as if you have nothing better to do.
We typically make these for dinner and then send the left-overs to school the next day. I'm just sayin'... two birds, one stone.
Eye-Ball Wraps
Difficulty Level - Kids help
We use multi-grain wraps and he kids put the nut butter and bananas together. Using those eyeballs and either red icing, or in our case, red sprinkles, create the "out too late" look. Side note, my personal "out too late" look is now anything past 9:30 p.m.
To assemble, spread the multigrain wrap with nut butter of choice. Place peeled, banana in the wrap and roll, baby. Slice the roll into sushi-like cuts. Place some eye balls and decorate to your hearts content.
Monster (or Alligator - depending on what you need)
Difficulty Level - Not too bad...
What you'll need:
- 1 Avocado
- Squeeze of lime
- Fresh-diced tomato
- Cucumber
- Small Carrots cut into small triangles
- Eyeballs
To make -
Cut the avocado in half length-wise. Remove the pit and scoop out the marvelous wonderment; save the avocado peel. Add some salt, a squeeze of lime and begin to mash. Once mashed well, add the tomato and mix/mash to desired consistency.
To make those gnarly teeth, cut carrots into small triangles. Peel and slice the cucumber into rounds.
To assemble, fill the empty avocado peel with the guacamole. Place the cucumber rounds next to one another and assemble your need-to-brush orange teeth around the rim of the avocado peel.
The Sides:
Okay - Legit - Orange-O'Lanterns
Witches Fingers
What you'll need:
- Celery
- Nut Butter
- Almonds or Dried Cranberry
To Assemble:
Cut celery into strips.
Place small dollop of nut butter onto the celery. Add either dried cranberry or almond and ENJOY MY PRETTY!!!
Side note - My kids don't understand, "Come here, my pretty" and they thought I was just nuts chasing them around the kitchen screaming it...
Mummy Bananas
What you'll need:
- Bananas
- White Crepe paper
- Black marker
- Tape or glue stick
To assemble (?) - Wrap banana with crepe paper. Tape or glue the loose end. Draw on those awesome faces.
Pumpkin Carrots
What you'll need:
- Carrots
- Knife
- Patience
Follow the instructions below for the Chicken Boo-dle Soup -
Oh so you like Halloween-themed, lunches? Me too, boo. Are you doing it correctly? Erm, does a five year old throw a lunch box filled with Orange O'Lanterns like a dodge ball?? Absolutely. You're killin' it.
Once it’s as shaken as you think it’s going to get, let it sit for at least an hour- over night it better. They might look like you need more, add some but note: the dye will seep a bit more as it sits. Also, due to the type of pasta, you won’t get every single noodle totally black – at least, not without tons of dye.
When you’re just about ready to serve, you will want to rinse your noodles very well, until the water is mostly clear. This will prevent tons of seeping into your soup.
That being said, when the noodles sit in the hot soup, the broth does get a little bit darker. It’s kind of unavoidable. Because of that, I choose to keep my chicken, broth, and veggies together and the noodles separate until serving. This is actually how I always treat soup unless the noodles cook in it, because I hate soggy noodles but love left overs. I have NOT noticed any change in taste, though, if you’re worried about that.
To make carrot pumpkins, I followed the tutorial from Little Dairy on the Prairie. Peel your carrot and cut 2 shallow lines about 1/4 inch apart from each other. I found that it works best if you use chunks in about 3-4 inch length and make sure it’s a thicker chunk.
Cut in from each side and then using a vegetable peeler or a paring knife, round out the angle to create the top of a pumpkin.
Slice into little pumpkin coins and add to your soup as you would normal carrots.
To serve, add bat noodles to a bowl before adding your soup.
Enjoy all October long, especially on Halloween as a fun and easy dinner before going truck or treating!
Add ‘bat’ noodles to a bowl and pour hot soup on top of the noodles and enjoy!
In a large stockpot, add the olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the onions, saute for five minutes or so, then add the garlic, the carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and stir for a couple minutes. Add the broth, allow the mixture to boil gently until the veggies are tender. Add the noodles and boil until noodles are soft. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste. I added 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper but it will vary on how salty the brand of broth is.
I'm joking of course. These are guilty pleasures of mine. Most of these lunches resemble that Amazon show, "Nailed It" in lunch form; specifically after my two bigs throw their lunch boxes at each other like dodge balls. Almost like they don't know I spent 30 minutes carving Jack-O'Lantern faces into oranges that are being so carelessly tossed around.
I add this story because A) It's real. B) I am going to spill some truth about single-mothering. At the end of the day, it's just me, myself, and I. I do not need to connect with someone, or do literally, anything I don't want to do. And I'll tell ya, most days I love this stuff. Let me remind you - por favor - this is a safe-space. Make a fun lunch once, and your babies will remember it. Do nothing in life, truly nothing that doesn't fill your bucket. Do nothing that makes you have less patience or love or perspective.
Some of these lunches, the kids and I do together. My darlings, my kids are great kitchen-helpers; it keeps our home a little less crazy sometimes, and they are helping me. Win-win. For some, that would be absolute h-e-double-toothpicks. Trust me, Halloween theme lunches ain't nothin' to stress about. If this is the thing that you want to do, well do you. Start easy...
As such I wanted to throw together some easy, some admittedly more painstaking options for a special lunch if the mood hits you.
Here are a few of my "faves".The Mains:
Chicken Boo-dle Soup -
Difficulty Level - Two Glasses of Wine
Those pumpkins are the challenge. I cut about 5 carrots; serve them as sides throughout the week as well (see "The Sides" below).
Lemme just say, for Bestemar and the babies, I add the chicken. For me, I leave it without and will add some white beans or chickpeas for the vegetarian option. I also substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth.
For lunch: I pack the "bats" in a bag so the kids can add it when they get to school.
Recipe from Morganmanagesmommyhood.com
Tombstone Calzones -
Difficulty Level - Kids helpWhat you'll need:
- Mini Tombstone Cake Pan
- Pre-Made Pizza Dough
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Chosen fillers.
I like to brush the insides with
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley or 1 TBSP fresh parsley
- 2 TBSP Parmesan cheese
Mix all together and brush on the inside of the calzone before adding your filling.
To assemble- Place pre-made pizza dough in the mold, brush the inside with the egg-yolk mixture, and let the kids fill those bad-boys up with whatever your heart desires. Once filled, pinch the pizza dough together and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min. It's best to reference the cake pan instructions you are using and/or the pizza dough instructions. Just watch it - as if you have nothing better to do.
We typically make these for dinner and then send the left-overs to school the next day. I'm just sayin'... two birds, one stone.
Eye-Ball Wraps
Difficulty Level - Kids helpWe use multi-grain wraps and he kids put the nut butter and bananas together. Using those eyeballs and either red icing, or in our case, red sprinkles, create the "out too late" look. Side note, my personal "out too late" look is now anything past 9:30 p.m.
To assemble, spread the multigrain wrap with nut butter of choice. Place peeled, banana in the wrap and roll, baby. Slice the roll into sushi-like cuts. Place some eye balls and decorate to your hearts content.
Monster (or Alligator - depending on what you need)
Difficulty Level - Not too bad...
What you'll need:
- 1 Avocado
- Squeeze of lime
- Fresh-diced tomato
- Cucumber
- Small Carrots cut into small triangles
- Eyeballs
To make -
Cut the avocado in half length-wise. Remove the pit and scoop out the marvelous wonderment; save the avocado peel. Add some salt, a squeeze of lime and begin to mash. Once mashed well, add the tomato and mix/mash to desired consistency.
To make those gnarly teeth, cut carrots into small triangles. Peel and slice the cucumber into rounds.
To assemble, fill the empty avocado peel with the guacamole. Place the cucumber rounds next to one another and assemble your need-to-brush orange teeth around the rim of the avocado peel.
The Sides:
Okay - Legit - Orange-O'Lanterns
Witches Fingers
What you'll need:
- Celery
- Nut Butter
- Almonds or Dried Cranberry
To Assemble:
Cut celery into strips.
Place small dollop of nut butter onto the celery. Add either dried cranberry or almond and ENJOY MY PRETTY!!!
Side note - My kids don't understand, "Come here, my pretty" and they thought I was just nuts chasing them around the kitchen screaming it...
Mummy BananasWhat you'll need:
- Bananas
- White Crepe paper
- Black marker
- Tape or glue stick
To assemble (?) - Wrap banana with crepe paper. Tape or glue the loose end. Draw on those awesome faces.
Pumpkin Carrots
What you'll need:- Carrots
- Knife
- Patience
Follow the instructions below for the Chicken Boo-dle Soup -
Oh so you like Halloween-themed, lunches? Me too, boo. Are you doing it correctly? Erm, does a five year old throw a lunch box filled with Orange O'Lanterns like a dodge ball?? Absolutely. You're killin' it.
Chicken Boo-Dle Soup
Source Morganmanagesmommyhood.com
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 diced onion
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 3 chopped celery sticks
- 4 chopped carrots
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup of flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp of salt
- 1 tsp salt
- 64 oz of vegan chicken flavored broth
- 12 oz of vegan wide noodles
Directions
To make your bats, grab some black food dye and some bowtie pasta. Cook your pasta until just under al dente – between soaking up dye and later going into hot soup, cooking your pasta any more than that will result in way over cooked pasta. Once cooked, drain, rinse in cold water, and drain as well as you can. Place into a gallon zip top bag, and add black food dye. I used about 15-20 drops for a pound of pasta, but if you do some shaking and think that you need more, feel free to up it.Once it’s as shaken as you think it’s going to get, let it sit for at least an hour- over night it better. They might look like you need more, add some but note: the dye will seep a bit more as it sits. Also, due to the type of pasta, you won’t get every single noodle totally black – at least, not without tons of dye.
When you’re just about ready to serve, you will want to rinse your noodles very well, until the water is mostly clear. This will prevent tons of seeping into your soup.
That being said, when the noodles sit in the hot soup, the broth does get a little bit darker. It’s kind of unavoidable. Because of that, I choose to keep my chicken, broth, and veggies together and the noodles separate until serving. This is actually how I always treat soup unless the noodles cook in it, because I hate soggy noodles but love left overs. I have NOT noticed any change in taste, though, if you’re worried about that.
To make carrot pumpkins, I followed the tutorial from Little Dairy on the Prairie. Peel your carrot and cut 2 shallow lines about 1/4 inch apart from each other. I found that it works best if you use chunks in about 3-4 inch length and make sure it’s a thicker chunk.
Cut in from each side and then using a vegetable peeler or a paring knife, round out the angle to create the top of a pumpkin.
Slice into little pumpkin coins and add to your soup as you would normal carrots.
To serve, add bat noodles to a bowl before adding your soup.
Enjoy all October long, especially on Halloween as a fun and easy dinner before going truck or treating!
Add ‘bat’ noodles to a bowl and pour hot soup on top of the noodles and enjoy!
In a large stockpot, add the olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the onions, saute for five minutes or so, then add the garlic, the carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and stir for a couple minutes. Add the broth, allow the mixture to boil gently until the veggies are tender. Add the noodles and boil until noodles are soft. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste. I added 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper but it will vary on how salty the brand of broth is.
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