playdate tea sandwiches

One of my greatest victories this past year as a mom has been to get my kids to eat sandwiches. Yes, sandwiches. We're not all the way there yet - the kids pretty much only accept PB&J, nutella, and butter, though they've graduated from shapes and will happily eat whole wheat bread, sometimes even with crust.

The best moment came a couple of weeks ago when I made a cucumber sandwich and told my daughter that it was fancy. "Fancy?" she asked, unimpressed. But when I told her that the cucumber sandwich was Belle's favored snack during princess tea time, she took a bite and declared herself a convert. Awesome, especially since it doesn't take much to spread cream cheese on sliced bread, layer cucumbers, and top with buttered bread.

The reason I'm loving this whole sandwich development is how much easier it has made lunchtime playdates. I basically plop down a loaf of bread, various jams, nut butters, and butter, string cheese, veggie sticks, and fruit, and let the kids go at it. Super easy and every kid gets to customize their own meal.

For today's playdate, I went fancy and pre-made a plateful of sandwiches, including PB&J, the aforementioned cucumber sandwiches, and, for the adults, deviled egg salad. I've always been a fan of deviled eggs, and when brainstorming what to serve for lunch today, thought I'd create an egg salad version to escape the boredom of eating kid sandwiches for lunch. It turned out great - creamy and eggy, with a nice kick from capers and horesradish. Playdate success!

Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches
Ingredients
Sliced whole wheat bread
4 hard-boiled eggs, cooled 
1 tbsp capers
1 radish, diced fine
1/2 scallion, diced fine
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp horeradish
1 tsp whole grain mustard


Roughly chop eggs and place in mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, and roughly mash with a fork, making sure to leave some texture in the eggs. Spread on a slice of whole wheat bread, top with another, cut off crusts, and into triangles. Makes 4-6 sandwiches, depending on how much filling you like in your sandwiches. Bonus points for getting the kids to partake!