What's for lunch?

I begin hearing these words around 10:00 am every day. Months ago, I had a ready-made answer: Sandwiches!

But not anymore. Shaun's wheat allergy has changed all that. Oh, I tried to keep making sandwiches work as a suitable lunch. I bought the rice bread. The rice bread that's really thick and dry and gritty. And costs 4 dollars for one small loaf. And that the kids wouldn't eat. So, no more sandwiches for us.

During the summer, I would cook a great meal for my boys at lunch time. Then, when our home school year started, I realized that I was wasting over an hour of my precious time cooking and cleaning up. Since my children still need to eat, despite how crunched for time I am, I came up with some quick, simply recipes that my children love. They're healthy, and I don't have to give the kids anything they shouldn't be eating. I'm really quite proud of myself. Here they are:

Mexican Beans and Rice (I made up this title)

white rice (kids are allergic to the brown)
black beans
salsa
Monterey Jack cheese

I just mix it all together and then top the mixture with some additional cheese. Then I bake it for awhile and its done. The kids eat this like its going out of style. I make a big casserole dish full, so we can eat on it for at least 2 days.


Pizza

Bob's Red Mill Gluten/Wheat Free pizza dough
flax mill and water (as an egg substitute for the dough)
tomato sauce (made without high fructose corn syrup)
ground beef
onion
Mozzarella cheese

I just make the dough, sautee the beef and onion, spread the sauce, sprinkle the cheese and bake. One bag of Bob's Red Mill dough mix is enough for 2 huge pizzas. So, once again, we can eat this meal for more than one day. The great thing about this dough is that it tastes almost like thin-crust dough made from what. Its actually pretty good. And again-- my boys eat it like its going out of style.


Veggies and Mac and Cheese

2 boxes of rice mac and cheese mix
green beans (fresh or canned)
crowder peas or black eyed peas
any other kind of vegetable I have in the house

Mac and cheese has been a favorite food of Shaun's since...um...I guess since he could eat. Ditto on the crowder peas. My granny has fed him crowder peas from her garden since he was about 9 months old. They're delicious and full of protein. I was so thrilled to find boxes of quick mac and cheese made from white rice noodles. Just like Kraft, only the kids can eat it. Its also really good. You can detect a difference in the noodles. Not a bad difference, just a difference. I also mix in some ground flax seed for additional nutrition. Served with vegetables, this is a quick and nutritious meal.


There you have it. What we've had for lunch this week. Not quite as easy as slapping some ham and cheese sandwiches together, but not too difficult either.