It’s been forever since I have posted recipes but in that time I have successfully gotten my two five year olds started in kindergarten. My pocketbook took a final huge sigh of relief as they climbed on the bus and headed toward a free education (goodbye daycare!)
Since then, lots of people have asked me if I cried their first day or if I am sad to see them growing up. I have to say that my answer to them is a pretty solid “no”. Although I got a little dewy that first morning at the crack of dawn before I had had any coffee, I am nothing but proud of my children. They are ready for this and so am I. Don’t get me wrong, I miss the new baby smell and those first recognizable words, but this age is my favorite. I love watching their little minds work out problems ( or in my son’s case, schemes), form opinions, and develop their individual personalities. It’s a chapter in our lives that we are all eager to start.
That being said, 6AM ain’t no joke. Packing lunches at 6AM is even less of a joke. I have been writing a series on healthy lunches in my hometown paper encouraging parents to pack at least 2 healthy lunches every week for their kids. Doing my best to practice what I preach, I have also been packing lunches for my kids ( whether they like it or not). School lunches here are $1.75 each (before ice cream). For two kids, that’s $70 a month. And it’s not like the food is all that great, nevertheless, my kids want to eat it. I’m sure there will be days that I send in my $4 for them to eat whatever the lunchroom is serving but until then I’m packing lunches.
So far the main dishes have been pretty easy, but since we live waayyy out of town we seem to run out of snacks and side food before the end of the week. Therefore, this Parmesan Popcorn is a great cheap, healthy and quick substitute for crackers or chips. The idea came from my friend Diana back in Georgia who served the kids and I up some of this for a snack one day. It was a big hit all around.
Ingredients
- 8 cups of air-popped popcorn (or 1 bag of microwave popcorn no salt)
- 2 T light butter melted
- 2 T grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ t . salt
- 1 t . dried oregano
- ¼ t . garlic powder
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together the popcorn and butter. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the popcorn. Toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!!
The popcorn looks wonderful.
OMG, this looks absolutely delish! I can’t wait to make this! I’m celebrating my birthday with a recipe link up and a spicy giveaway that include 4 oz of each of these spices: ground chipotle, ground cardamom, ground ceylon cinnamon, oregano, granulated garlic, and whole cumin. I’d love for you to stop by and link up this recipe and any other’s that use one or more of these spices. TGIF!
http://4you-withlove.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-birthday-party-begins.html
Marilyn