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ABC Noodle Soup and Rainbow Kebobs

Kids who are learning to read will get a kick out of spooning up words with this alphabet noodle soup.

Keep in mind that the secret to perfectly cooked noodles is not to cook them. Just let them soften in the warm broth.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced (1 cup)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
1 48-oz. can chicken stock
1 cup diced celery
1 cup miniature alphabet pasta or
1 1/2 cups medium egg noodles

Directions

In a large stockpot, sauté the onions in the vegetable oil over medium heat until translucent (about 5 to 8 minutes). Add the carrots and chicken stock, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the celery and simmer another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Turn off the heat and stir in the pasta. Cover the pot and let sit for 20 minutes (15 minutes if you're using egg noodles).

When you're ready to pack your child's lunch, reheat the soup and transfer it to a thermos.

Otherwise, let it cool and store it in the refrigerator. Makes 7 cups.

RAINBOW KEBOBS

You don't need to spend lots of time peeling and chopping to make these colorful fruit kebobs. Instead of purchasing whole fruits, you can buy a container of sliced or cubed fruit from the salad bar section of your supermarket or delicatessen.

You'll need 6 to 8 pieces per skewer. Firm fruits such as melon, pineapple, kiwi and oranges work well. For the skewers, you can simply use plastic drinking straws.

To make each kebob, pinch the end of a straw and push it through a piece of fruit. Slide the fruit to the other end of the straw.

Add more fruit to fill the skewer with a range of colors.

Individually cover each kebob with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it's time to pack your child's lunch. Two skewers equal 1 serving.