Lunchables

D started a new job a couple weeks ago and today is his first real day. Or rather, tonight. For his two weeks of training he was enjoying day shifts, but was ultimately put on nights. Which makes for a peculiar lunch, dinner, midnight snack challenge. His food MUST be packed because nothing except for junk is open at midnight. Plus, he doesn't even have the time to go buy said junk. His shift starts before we would normally eat dinner, but it's not late enough to justify packing part of dinner up in his lunchbox. Maybe the previous nights dinner, if there are leftover, but definitely not that nights. But leftovers can get boring and don't always reheat well (here's looking at you last nights risotto!)
So for day (night?) one, I made D lunchables. Yes, you heard me. The lunch that traditionally is packed for your kindergartener.

Because dessert is the best part, we'll start there. I whipped up a batch of his favorite chocolate chip cookies and baked two for tonight. I took the rest of the dough and balled it up just like I would to bake it. Except instead of baking it, I threw it in the freezer. Now instead of having to eat all those yummy cookies this week, my dough will last all month and I can bake one or two at a time in the toaster oven. It's perfect for a hot CA summer because I don't have to heat the entire house. It's perfect for my waistline because I won't eat them all in one sitting. And it's perfect for D because now he'll have a fresh baked, homemade cookie in each lunch!

For a side, I attempted to pack some fresh fruit. But D wasn't having any of it! He was worried about the mess. And I can't entirely fault him for it because the fruit we have hanging out right now are papaya, mango, nectarines and peaches. All not the cleanest fruits to munch on. So I'm going to have to pick up something else less messy. Instead I threw in some Mott's Natural Fruitsnacks. Not ideal, but totally delicious. He's happy.

Finally, my main dish! Tiny pizzas! I had some flatbread dough in the fridge from the day before. I cooked the dough and then topped it with some homemade tomato sauce (full of veggies!) and cheese. I tossed the whole bit in the toaster over for a few minutes to melt the cheese, and voila! Lunchables!

I know it's not the best photo, but aren't they adorable!? This is my smallest silpat, so I would say that each pizza was probably 4-5inches across. They were the perfect size to pack in his lunch. I made an extra for L, who gobbled it up! So here's to hoping D likes them too!

Along with his water bottle, he's got a pretty well rounded lunch. Hopefully it's enough to get him through the next 10 hours!

The next couple weeks will definitely be an adventure as we navigate the world of night shifts and try to get into a good routine. I'm just grateful that D is married (to me!)! Otherwise, I think he may very well have starved working nights and packing his own food!