Lil Miss's lunch today and iced coffee :)

Home-made iced coffee (recipe to follow)

Salaam ya'll! So here is the second installment of "What I packed for my daughter's lunch" sponsored by my pocketbook. :)

Last night we made carne picada which is basically just a term for chuck roast that is very thinly sliced and chopped. It is typically used in Hispanic cooking (thus the Spanish name). I decided to marinate it overnight to improve the texture a bit. I used a packaged lime-chili marinade which turned out delicious. :)

This is the meat frying in my cast iron skillet; I drained the excess marinade and oil. :) I put a bit of smoked paprika on it and the color was lovely but I didn't take a pic of it. :)

So we packed leftover carne picada on a small flour tortilla with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a smear of chipotle mayo. :) I think packed her side-dish container with cucumber sticks, halved baby tomatoes (so the juice wouldn't splatter out as she bit into larger ones!) and pre-shredded carrots. She loves to eat the shredded carrots, weird little girl. :) I then packed some preservative-free Ranch dip (found in the produce section) and in the last small container I took 3 strawberries, cored and sliced them for her. I am sure ths lunch will be a hit!

Her snack was a yogurt tube (strawberry vanilla) and a few Pringles sour cream and onion chips. Chips are her weakness, her downfall, her unhealth snack of choice. We induldge moderately in our house with no guilt. :) I also packed a shelf-stable strawberry milk and also her water bottle with grape flavored water. We'll see how much she brings back!

As I'm now a stay-at-home mama with a going-to-school girl, we've both had some adjusting to do. I was thinking about it the other day when I went to the doctor. I was always used to having her to chat with, point things out to, making every outing a learning opportunity of some sort. Now it's even more precious, the time that we do have together.

On the way to school (which is indeed a bit of a drive) I took the opportunity to explain road signs. She had asked about a particular sign and we are always of course on the lookout for school zones! It was really fun and I love how quickly she catches on mA. Well overall she's just pretty awesome anyway and I miss her a lot during the day.

So how do you fill your days now, UofA? Ahhh let's see, I generally do jack diddly. :) I sometimes lie back down but regardless, I alwyas try to rest a bit while she is gone. I get so tired and I really try to use this time to rest. According to Cap'n, however, I don't rest enough, bless his heart. Allah swt blessed me with an understanding husband mA. :)

I also do my grocery shopping at that time. Besides saving me money ;) I don't use our precious together-time for mundance chores that take up so much time. There are of course my requisite doctor visits as well so all of those things I try and schedule for her school time.

Her school lasts realllly long actually. She doesn't get out until 3:50 pm, subhanallah. I think because we have to fit Qur'an, Arabic, and Islamic studies (plus prayer time) into the schedule and we have state standards to uphold. iA it gets easier, I'm still not used to her being gone so much.

Oh the iced coffee! Yes, it is sooo yummy and delicious AND cheap! I make this at home for a fraction of the cost of "pricey" chain stores with dubious investment portfolios. :) Here is the recipe:

3 tbsp instant coffee, any type
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups cold water
French Vanilla coffee creamer (or any flavor you prefer)
Milk

Mix the 3 heaping tbsp of coffee with about 1/2 cup hot water. I put this in a clean, empty sauce jar. Shake it to mix thoroughly but be cautious of the jar exploding (common sense, shake a bit then release pressure, duh lol). Put it 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cold water. Refrigerate. This is your coffee base. It keeps indefinitely in the fridge.

When you crave some coffee, simply fill a cup 1/2 way with milk. Add a good splash of the chilled coffee base until your milk is the color you like (I prefer a bit lighter). Then add a good pour of the flavored creamer. Be careful bec it is pre-sweetened; you can always add more.

That's it! Delicious and frugal. :) Of course you can pour it over ice but I just pre-chill the coffee base so I can make it anytime and not worry about melting ice diluting the drink.

Alrighty, ma salaama ya'll!