Hellobee

This is a guest post by Anita.

When our little man opens his lunchbox this week, he’s going to have a bunny surprise! Near a holiday I like to spend a little more time (okay, maybe A LOT) on something fun for his lunch. I know he will never know the difference, but call it my artistic outlet. For his lunch, he has boiled quail eggs, cooked baby carrots and a bunny-shaped cheese quesadilla on a bed of watercress.

Normally I pack his snacks in his Dr. Sear’s Nibble Tray, but this week I packed his snacks in 6 plastic easter eggs and placed them inside a used egg carton. Each egg contains a snack – cubes of cheese, broccoli, blueberries and some special treats that he normally does not get like yogurt covered raisins, cheddar bunnies and cereal. I saved a large egg carton and it cut it down to hold 6 eggs. I also packed him and his classmate cheddar bunnies inside a pastry bag so that it looks like a big carrot. Pastry bags can be found in the baking section of any craft store (I bought the 16″ size bags from AC Moore). Then fill with cheddar bunnies and some edible grass, tie the bag with a ribbon and trim the top with kitchen shears.

– Quail eggs
– Vermicelli or Spaghetti squash
– Watercress
– Baby carrots
– Tortilla wraps
– Cheddar cheese
– Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies
– Edible “grass” or celery
– Yogurt covered raisins

The equipment:

– Food coloring
– Bunny shaped cutter
– Clear pastry bag
– Plastic eggs
– Egg carton
– Silicon cup

To make the quail eggs, boil them with the shell on for 6 minutes. In small cups, fill with 2oz of water with 4-5 drops of food coloring. I used containers that I once used to freeze purees. When the eggs are cool, peel them and rinse the outside of the cooked egg in case there are any stray shells. Drop the eggs into the cups and give it a swirl, so that all the eggs are evenly coated. To give it that really solid coat, allow them to sit in the water/coloring for 1 hour and then take them out with a spoon and allow them to dry. I made these ahead of time when I had to make deviled eggs for our family Sunday dinner. Also, I save the egg shells to compost in my vegetable garden.

In a small sauce pan, I cooked the carrots, watercress and spaghetti squash in some vegetable broth. The broth gives everything a yummy flavor. After they’re cooked, arrange the carrots and the watercress in the lunch box. Scrape or mash up your squash and form a bird’s nest in a silicon cup. Place your quail eggs into the nest. I used the remaining watercress and squash for dinner that night.

To make your bunny quesadilla, I butter a pan and lay one tortilla shell down. Then I sprinkle it with cheese and lay another tortilla shell over it. When it’s brown, turn it to the other side. Allow to cool completely and then cut your bunnies out with a bunny shaped cutter. A shortcut would have been to make a cheese sandwich between bread instead of a melted cheese quesadilla.

Have a Hoppy Easter!