Hannah's Cookie-Cutter Sandwiches

Hi family! This isn't really a recipe... but it involves food so I'll count it :)

On holidays, when my siblings and I were younger, my mom would always break out her box of cookie cutters and cut our sandwiches into fun shapes for lunch. I remember always eating shamrock-shaped sandwiches on St. Patrick's Day, pumpkins on Halloween, and stockings or trees for the month of December. It was a fun tradition, and I decided to carry it on by making Leah little heart-shaped sandwiches for Valentine's Day. She loved it! So much so, that now she won't eat a sandwich unless it's a "heart sammich." It's fun for Leah to have cute foods, and fun for me to have her actually finish her whole lunch without complaining.

We also cookie-cut our cheese ;)

We're pretty big sandwich eaters around here, and are always trying out new tastes!  We love...

• peanut butter with jam, bananas, thinly-sliced green apples, raisins, craisins, honey, or nutella
• nutella with bananas, raspberries, or strawberries (I always grill nutella sandwiches, but to each their own :)
• grilled cheese, either plain or with tomato or bacon
• meat & cheese with lettuce (we're mainly turkey fans)

That's pretty much it! Hope this might help some of you who can't get their kids to eat lunch :) What are some of your family's favorite sandwich combos?

(also, these KALAS dishes and silverware from Ikea are by far my favorite for little kids. Super durable, cute colors, and SUPER cheap! $1.99 for a pack of 6 plates/bowls/cups, or an 18-piece silverware set. waaay better than anything I've found anywhere else.)

Christmas Dessert

Heat until melted:

1 ½ sq. butter

1 ½ c. brown sugar

Cool & Mix:

3 c. Rice Krispies

¾ c. chopped nuts

1 ½ c. shredded coconut

Add sugar/butter mixture and stir until coated.  Put half of the Rice Krispie mixture in a cake pan and spread evenly.  From a half gallon of vanilla ice cream (oblong container), cut ice cream into 1” thick slices and lay over Rice Krispie mixture.  Spread remaining mixture over ice cream and freeze.  Serve with sauce below.

Sauce:

1 pkg Danish dessert

1 pkg frozen raspberries

Cook for sauce.  Pour over rice and cream to serve.

Hannah's Cornflake Christmas Wreaths

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 5 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 tsp green food coloring (or more or less, depending on how dark you want the green)
• 6 cups cornflake cereal
• red cinnamon candies (Red Hots)

Instructions:

Melt butter over heat in a large saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted, then remove from heat. Stir in food coloring. Add cornflakes, stirring until well-coated. Use a 1/4 cup to divide cornflake mixture onto parchment paper or cookie sheet. With buttered fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. Dot with Red Hots, and enjoy :)