It is completely crazy that summer is already over! Well, its not, we are still going to suffer through weeks more of insane heat, long days, and sad, dry lawns. Yet, back to school the kiddos go next week. I can't believe it. Townes has been in school for a year now, so for him, I'm so excited to get him back and just let him have a great time and watch him grow. For Hondo though, I am struggling a little bit with my sweet baby leaving me already.
I'm being a little dramatic. They don't even go to school for a full day. Or a full week. They go twice a week for four hours. But still, he's my sweet little baby and I just can't believe its already been a year since he was born and he is going off to school. He, on the other hand, is probably super excited (if he had any idea what was going on) because he loves other kids.
While I am stressing out a little that in just seven days my babies will be leaving me, the silver lining is that I got to go pick out a cute new backpack for Hondo to tote his lunch in, Townes gets a new lunch box (because one year was enough for the last one), and I will be more motivated to actually make dinner every night. Why? Because last night's dinner is almost always what my kids eat for lunch.
I have a pretty simple formula for packing lunch: 1) a protein, a.k.a. last nights chicken, 2) a fruit, 3) a little something crunchy, like pretzels or granola. Sometimes I get crazy and toss in a cheese stick. I almost always include a vegetable, but thats often encased in the category of last night's dinner too.
However, there are a couple of staples that I try to keep on hand in case we did something like actually finish the entire meal I cooked the night before, or went out to eat. It's always great to have the fixings for a simple PB&J or grilled cheese, a carton of yogurt, and our family favorite: pimento cheese.
Aaron has always made the Pimento cheese around here and its so simple and easy. The recipe makes a lot and it keeps very well. I often make it on a Sunday during the school year, and just keep it in the fridge all week. Townes will eat it on bread, out of bowl with pretzels for dipping (his favorite), or even fancied up in a grilled cheese. I even have used it for entertaining and whipped some up with hard-boiled egg yolks and a little mayo and made Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs, like I did for Alice's Baby Shower last July. They were a HUGE hit.
It doesn't take many ingredients: cream cheese, cheddar cheese, pimentos, jalapenos, and a little cayenne. Literally, just throw them into the bowl of stand mixer and whip it up. Spread some onto some home-made sandwich bread, put mayo on the outside, grill, and enjoy!
Aaron's pimento Cheese
Yields about 3 cups
ingredients:
- 16 oz (2, 8-oz blocks) of cream cheese, room temp
- 16 oz block of cheddar cheese, freshly grated*
- 4 oz diced pimentos, drained
- 4 oz diced jalapenos, drained (or more, to taste)
- Salt & Pepper
- 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
*I think its important for a recipe like this to use freshly grated cheese rather than a bag of pre-shredded if you can. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating of powder that prevents the shreds from sticking together and clumping in the bag and it helps the shreds keep their shape. This makes the cheese rather dry, in comparison to a freshly shredded block. This moisture is important because it helps the cheese blend into the cream cheese well and makes for a smoother final product.*
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Mix on medium speed until well blended. Add the remaining ingredients, mix until combined.