Two Loaves, No Fishes

Since we homeschool, I spend most of my days teaching my kids' minds. Yet, training their hearts is even more important to me. I'm always on the lookout for everyday situations to teach a heart lesson. One morning a couple of weeks ago, opportunity came knocking. Or so I thought.

My teenage son asked if he could eat the last breakfast muffin, which would give him one more than everyone else. Since he is growing at a rate of about an inch a day, I had no problem with giving him some extra fuel. But, I figured I would sieze the moment to teach the younger kids about being generous, while having a little fun with Christopher. So......I took a vote on the issue. It was a loud (and mischievous) "No muffin for Christopher!" All of us were holding back laughter as Christopher tried his innocent "puppy dog" look, while I appealed to the kiddos to be kind and tenderhearted. No luck (poor guy). Then, I decided to break out the big guns. Still trying to salvage the life lesson (sort of hard when I'm giggling), I asked THE question: "What would Jesus do?" To that, my daughter answered, "Well that's easy! He'd just pray over it and make five thousand muffins, and we'd all have some left over." Good point. But don't worry, Christopher got his muffin...and we all learned a little lesson about the joy of sharing a good laugh.

Well, I'm no miracle worker, but I have found that I can get several lunches out of a couple loaves of French bread. Our meals might not survive an actual lunchbox, but they are favorites on our lunch plates. From our loaves we'll make grilled cheese, chicken sandwiches, or peanutbutter and jelly. But two of our favorite (and super easy) meals are Pressed Sandwiches and Garlic Bread with Cheese. Here's how we like them:

Pressed Sandwiches with Italian Dressing
(If you don't have a sandwich press, you can either make these in a pan like you would a regular grilled cheese, or put a heavy skillet on top to press them while they grill.)

French bread, sliced (two for each sandwich)
Ham
Mozzarella or Provolone cheese
Butter
Italian salad dressing

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Flip over so unbuttered side is facing up. Brush the unbuttered side of bread with Italian dressing. For each sandwich, take one slice of bread and top with cheese, ham, and then more cheese. Put the second slice of bread on top, with buttered side facing up. Grill as desired.

Pressed Sandwiches with Garlic Mayo
For garlic mayo, combine one tablespoon mayonnaise with one garlic clove, minced or passed through a garlic press. Make sandwiches like the one above, substituting Garlic Mayo for the Italian dressing. Sometimes we also add dill pickle slices. Yum!

Garlic Bread with Cheese
French bread, sliced
Butter
Garlic salt
Mozzarella or Provolone cheese
Pizza or spaghetti sauce, for dipping

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread slices on baking sheet. Spread with a thin layer of butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt, then top with cheese. Bake for about ten minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve with sauce for dipping.

For more great recipe ideas, head on over to Life as Mom.

 

Photo credit: markusgpl

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Related posts:

1. Menu Plan Monday: Easy Meals
2. Quick Chick
3. Menu Plan Monday: Eat Bread