"Bats in a Cave" with Fruit Salad

Sometimes we play with our food and make cheesy object lesson recipes. (What, you don't?) So we made some meatballs and then decided to turn them into bats. It goes with our cave theme. With a little ketchup you can make anything smile, at least that's what four year old Connor thinks. We peeled the carrots to look like the bones in the phalanges of the bat's wings. And in case you have an utter lack of imagination, I should inform you that the breadsticks decorating the plate in various sizes are to make stalactites and stalagmites. (Obviously). And also that some bats really like to eat fruit, and incidentally so do we!

 

Make some rolls. Get an early start two hours before dinner. We used the River Cottage Cookbook French bread recipe and just cooked it in strips at 400 for 12 minutes. The kids had fun making them different sizes.
Cost for 1 loaf bread: 
~ $3.96

Meatballs with wraps

• 1 1b beef ~ $6.75
• 1/2  lb carrots ~ $0.68
• 3/4 small cabbage head ~ $1.93
• 1/3 c oatmeal or flour (I used oatmeal) ~ $0.36
• 2 eggs ~ $0.34
• 2 1/2 T soy sauce ~$0.10
• 3/4 tsp powdered ginger ~ $0.10
• 1/3 onion sautéed ~ $0.50
• Splotches of ketchup for face

First saute the onion. Mix raw beef with oatmeal,  eggs, ginger, soy sauce and sauteed onion. Form into golf ball size balls.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.


Peel the carrots and peel cabbage in whole sheets.
After the meat has cooked use two meatballs for body and head, cabbage sheet for wings, and carrots for arm bones.

$10.76

Fruit Salad

• 1/2 small seedless watermelon (about 4 lbs) ~ $3.00
• 3 medium apples ~ $1.20
• Handful Chocolate mint (in my herb garden)
• 1 TBSP lemon juice

Mix right before eating. Enjoy!
$4.20

Total Menu cost $18.92 or $3.19/ each