Thursday: Three Orthodontist Appointments, A Packed Lunch Win & Crispy Chicken Sliders

We started the morning with a really substantial breakfast because I had three kids heading to the orthodontist today. Kids had leftover dinner rolls, fresh bacon, and smoothies

Between consultations, checkups, and adjustments, it felt a little like I was simply dropping off all of my money at the orthodontist’s office.

All joking aside, I knew the appointment would run right through lunchtime, and I was bringing my almost-four-year-old along. Before we left, I packed her lunch in one of our PlanetBoxes.

That was a 10-out-of-10 decision.

Why I Love a PlanetBox for Long Appointments

I’ve talked about these lunch boxes many times, but this is exactly the kind of situation where they make life so much easier.

I can open and close the box a hundred times without dealing with:

• Multiple plastic bags
• Open snack packages
• Food spilling around the waiting room
• Trying to remember where I tucked each individual snack

When she wanted something, I opened the box and let her eat. When she was finished, I closed it, zipped it back into its cooler, and we were done.

Everything stayed contained, and she was perfectly happy eating lunch while we waited…although, full disclosure, she was just DONE being there after 2 hours…as were the rest of my kids!

Crispy Chicken Sliders

By the time we got home, everyone else was very ready for lunch.

I recently picked up some uncooked breaded chicken fillets from Costco. I typically buy fully cooked frozen crispy chicken, but I wanted to try these.

I put the fillets into the air fryer, and they were hot and crispy in less than 20 minutes.

I also had homemade dinner rolls left from yesterday, so I sliced those in half and turned them into little crispy chicken sliders.

Everyone customized their own with things like:

• Lettuce
• Ranch
• Cheese
• Red onion

I served the sliders with fruit, fresh vegetables, and chips, and they made such a fun lunch.

Those leftover homemade rolls were absolutely perfect for this.

My Lunch

I finished off the taco meat I made on Sunday by turning it into a taco salad.

That means we officially stretched that one batch of taco meat across several meals and snacks this week, which is exactly why I love keeping versatile cooked proteins ready in the refrigerator.

And after spending close to two hours at the orthodontist with four children, I treated myself to the final gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate cupcake my mom sent home after Sunday dinner.

It felt earned.

Evening Plans

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting a few things done around the house before heading to my parents’ house for dinner with the family. My mom made a full taco dinner spread with ground beef, black beans, refried beans, cilantro lime rice, and lots of toppings. This meal works so well for our family because everyone can make a platter with what they like

After dinner, we all headed to see Dude Perfect. The concert was so great….the kids LOVED it. Fiona is learning to face paint, so she practiced on us before the show!

Going into tomorrow we have PLENTY of leftovers for tomorrow lunch and dinner….leftover grilled chicken thighs for sure will be used at some point.