Family Dinner (and more)

Last week's family dinner was amazing, but I'll get to that in a moment.
First I want to give the new preschoolers their due...with a few pics from the day the mayor came. He didn't visit with the preschoolers, but they enjoyed the lunch just the same. I'm so proud of these kiddos, they are really settling in to their new routine and classrooms, and I'm having so much fun cooking for them. Have a look...

It's a little hard to tell, but that's a mouthful of spinach!

Enjoying the meatloaf!A full table in the kitchen

And I'm so excited about the incredible kitchen area in the Green Preschool





I had some help preparing for the Family Dinner from my new friend and kitchen volunteer Meghan O'Day from Williston. She's working on a challenge project for school that involves learning about a non-profit organization and the work they do around a specific issue. Meghan is interested in childhood obesity, and she's spending some time with me this month learning about the BCS lunch program and how we work to promote good child and family nutrition.
She helped me prep and serve lunch on Tuesday, then came back Thursday afternoon to help get the dinner organized.
The turnout was terrific. We served shepherd's pie, homemade bread, and sliced apples buffet style near the entrance so families could come in, grab a plate, and head to their child's classroom to relax with teachers and other families.
After dinner, the party got a little wild in the preschool, where everyone was excited about the Rube-Goldberg machines the Green Preschoolers have been designing...








It was a chilly fall evening, so the shepherd's pie was perfect to warm us up. It was so popular I put it on the menu this week for lunch, and I'm distributing the recipe to parents as well.
I do love a casserole when it's cold outside!

On the lunch menu this week - grilled cheese and tomato soup, chicken alfredo, pizza, turkey burgers and green salad, yum!