Packed Lunch

People, feed your children good food.

Over the years I have really paid attention to how kids eat and what's in their packed lunch and I have to say, it's getting bad.

Most meals are carb heavy w/(fattening rich) sauces galore, skinny kids bring lean cuisine and weight watcher meals, and for the parents we know don't cook...yes, we can tell you packed your kids lunch with leftovers from whatever restaurant or take out joint you ate at last night, night after night after...

It's Summertime! If your not going to purchase school lunch this year then lets get a "game plan" together! Start trying out foods this summer to see what your children like. Watch the trash can, it doesn't lie! Start cruising Pinterest like a PRO. Build up a menu of choice you can shop for and throw together quick once school starts. Lets get ahead of this!

Here, let me start you off with some IDEAS!

Once again, I paraphrase a great quote from my friend PW, "Never saw anybody get fat from eating school lunch!".

Recipe is an "Idea"

Jacque Pepin describes it best in this video. Watch it! It's a small investment of time. [3:55]

"Have you ever had a dish turn out wrong no matter how closely you stick to the recipe? According to legendary chef Jacques Pépin, recipes describe a process that can never be duplicated exactly; what you need to understand is the “idea” behind the recipe, and use it as a point of departure."

Who is Jacque? One of the greatest! (at least in my opinion) He was on PBS in the early days with Julia Child.

But Tyrone, you just sent me a recipe for joining your family newsletter! Yes, I did. And will probably include more in future newsletters. People love recipes, and I love to cook and create. We can argue that there are no "original" recipes left and I am ok with that. But I want to give you a starting point in which to find a dish you love to make. A dish you will create yourself and change, tweak, and diversify to make it your own.

For years I never wrote down any recipes. I actually didn't care to do it. I cook from my head and often did the same thing Jacque talked about in this video, using a recipe as a starting point. But it helps to find good starting points. Some of the recipes I will share you may not care for, or, maybe something that is not part of your diet. And that's OK. I get it. I can't reasonably think that you would love everything I put out.

Do your own thing, create.
[For some excellent video on cooking, Jacque Pepin - Fast Food My Way]

Bartons On Board

If you found yourself here, and/or you subscribed to my blog this is the last post for a while. I will still be posting as myself, but I'll be doing it over at BartonsOnBoard.com. If you know me, I think you'll love to check out the other link. It won't be all food and such, but I am sure it's going to come up from time to time. 

If you're reading this after Fall 2019, then no worries mate! I'm back and doing videos!

Homie Humor!

If you haven't realized it by now, I call my two boys "The Homies".
[Tytus is 6 and Ezra is 3 at the time of this post.]

Every now and then I let the boys go to breakfast with me before they go to school and I go to work. Usually the request is Dunkin Donuts where Tytus likes the croissant breakfast sandwich and Ezra a donut with sprinkles. Sheriff Dave (I know his name because I have run into him a few times now) offered Tytus a Sheriff badge the first time we met him. Dave walked up and handed the badge to Tytus (while Tytus was in mid-chew) and said, "I bet you'd love to have one of these wouldn't you?" to which Tytus looked un-impressed and said, "No!". AWKWARD! I laughed it off, gave Tytus the "eye" and told Dave "Thank you!".


Later on I explained to Tytus that Dave was like Chief Burns on the Transformer show Rescue Bots. I saw the "light" come on in Tytus eyes as he realized the significance of the badge. Later that morning he was showing all his friends in kindergarten his cool badge!

In a related funny story...

Ezra is not to be outdone when it comes to playing "Transformers"! He often tells me he can transform into "vehicle mode" in which a Transformer "robot" can transform back into their assigned scanned vehicle. Here we see Ezra after many squiggles, pops, and spitting sounds has transformed into his "vehicle mode"! Nice Ezra, Nice...I am trying to hold back laughter at this point as this is "serious business".

Wifey got Skills!

Add caption

My wifey bang'd out these cool Christmas tree cupcakes for Tytus party today at school!

(see full image)

#Win #Dadslife

Caramel Apples

Most kids (or parents for that matter) don't really want to tackle a whole caramel apple. I decided to do quarter of an apple size slices with Granny Smith apples. I bought my supplies (except Caramel and apples) at the dollar store. Cupcake liners help for easy serving and cleanup. I topped then with sprinkles, chocolate drizzle, and crushed skittles. (Things I had on hand leftover from another event.) These were sold at a fundraiser. Its easier to sell more of these at a much smaller price than a full coated apple. 

The Homies: Tytus Starts Kindergarten

Man! Time is flying by...

My oldest Homie Tytus just started k5! We don't even have tying shoelaces down to a science yet.

You've seen blogs, posts, and articles all over Facebook and social media...GET OFF THAT PHONE, TABLET, AND/OR IPAD or your going to miss your kids growing up!!! And you wonder how they got "that way" when you spend all your time hurrying on to the next thing and trying to rush "sleep time" along because you needed a break. (And sometimes we do!)

My boys are really sweet, loving, and then...you may unexpectedly get headbutted! Whining, crying, getting on your nerves and then...you realize they just need some "lovin'"! Its all in there.

The Homies: Ezra turns 3!

Recently my youngest homie Ezra turned 3. He's a big boy. I often laugh and describe him as if he was a minion that was magically turned into a real boy!

What is it that people say? "He's daddy's boy!" or "just like daddy". I suppose its because he's so "rough and tumble", stubborn, hard-headed, and built like a tank. Even though I would like to think its because he's so handsome and smart. He also has that blond almost white hair that still hasn't went away. I love it!

Before he had his own little birthday party in his pre-school room another little child did and they gave out party hats. Ezra loves those pointy dunce cap looking party hats! He tried to wear it to bath and to bed for two days! And that was after playing outside all afternoon with it on!

Sam's FOODIE Club

I noticed lately at my local Sam's Club it has really tried to draw in the "foodie" crowd. Sure it has the usual restaurant section and the home kitchen aisle BUT now they are really getting into it!

Wood Fired Oven. Cool, yet steep(price). I think we could make a bigger one with less money...a friend once found online where you could make one out of used or broken tombstones(recycling baby!)! -- Imagine pulling a delicious pizza out of it and seeing "Here lies Bro..." crusted into the bottom of it? HAHAHA 

Chocolate & Dulce De Leche Cake

Don't hate...I had some sweetened condensed milk to get rid of, OH, and some chocolate cake too!

Grilling, School Lunch, Bad Weather

Snack Break #DadLife