Lunch for Wednesday, June 30, 2010

For today's lunch I made myself a nice cool beverage.  Or at least it looks like a beverage.  I am still on my vacation theme and I hope to be drinking plenty of nice cold beverages while I am gone.  The weather will be around 100 F.  I made my cocktail glass using rice, cheese, carrot straw and a piece of rice paper wrapper covering the whole thing.  And I added a lemon slice for a garnish.  I cooked up some more of my green beans and will have the rest tomorrow.  I tried making casino chips using carrots but I am not real sure that is what they look like.  I have never even held a casino chip so that might be my problem with them. 

Lunch for Tuesday, June 29, 2010

For today's lunch I was digging in my bento stash and found where I had portioned some baked corn casserole in cups for my bento. I just defrosted it and placed it in my lunch. I also had just a little bit of the green beans leftover that would not fit in yesterday's lunch, so they made their way into todays.

I thought that I would start making my lunches to reflect my upcoming vacation.  This one was pure spur of the moment this morning.  It isn't as well executed as I would have liked but it does convey some of what I will be doing on vacation.  Although I am never this lucky with the slots or any other gambling for that matter. 

Lunch for Monday, June 28, 2010

For lunch's today I cooked the rest of my dumplings that were in the freezer.  I'll need to pick up some more of those.  They come in handy when I have forgotten to make rice.  And I did cave and bought some french green beans at the store this weekend.  But I like that they come in such a small package I can eat them twice this week and they will be gone.  I also heated up some Sesame chicken.  I need to get back into my creative flow again.  I have not made a card in over a month and my lunches have not been too inspiring.  Maybe when I get back from vacation I can devote more time to my creative side.  I have been kind of blah when I am at home lately.  Don't really know why... well I do have some reasons but I won't air them here.  And then again maybe the lack of creativity is because I haven't sat down at my crafting desk and tried.  Going to have to soon though.  I have a couple of design commitments next month that I need to fulfill.  Hmmm...after vacation.  Right now all I can think about is what I need to pack and hoping I can put it all in a carryon.  These airlines charge way too much for checked baggage anymore.

Lunch for Friday, June 25, 2010

This morning as I was fixing my lunch my son asked for me to make him a bento.  He's been out of school for a month and he said he misses me making his lunches.  It was a little hard for me to justify fixing him one since I had already started my own and was almost done.  But of course I made one.  Only difference is I just heated up some leftover colored rice I had in the freezer for him.  And think goodness for that bento stash in the freezer or it would have been impossible.  As I am using up my fresh veggies I have had to fall back on frozen vegetables.  Glad I had that corn in the freezer and some more of that pumpkin pie custard.  Next week should get REAL interesting since I am already close to being out of veggies.  And if I have to make bento's for the kid then who knows what we will be eating.

I didn't think the kids looked too bad for just throwing something together.  And he don't like cute anyway so that is easy.

For my lunch I put a cheese giraffe on my rice.  My company is having an outing at the zoo this weekend.  I don't mind these too much but it is in the evening and most of the animals have gone inside by then.  Also our zoo is in such poor condition.  It is sad to see all the animals needing better facilities but on the brighter side they have voted to make the zoo private.  That means the already strapped budget of the city will no longer have to foot the bill for the zoo and private donors can pay for things.  I just hope the donors will be generous and they will be able to care for the zoo as it should be.

Lunch for Thursday, June 24, 2010

For today's lunch I just made a sandwich.  My tummy is still a little upset but I knew I needed to eat something.  I did place an elephant on top and some grass.  And hopefully the broccoli looks like a tree with vines coming out.  I am hoping for a more zoo themed lunch tomorrow.  My company is having a picnic at the zoo on Saturday. 

Lunch for Tuesday, June 22, 2010

This post is a day late. For some reason I can not access blogger from my computer and am posting this from my phone. Frustrating!

There is no lunch for Wednesday, June 23 since my tummy is a bit upset and I really don't feel like eating. But for yesterday I heated up some teriyaki chicken and some stir fry noodles. I am trying to use up my fresh veggie and fruit supply since I will be leaving for vacation soon. I'm sure it will make some interesting bento's.

Lunch for Monday, June 21, 2010

For today's lunch I have some Sesame Chicken.  I was finally able to build up my bento stash again.  It was nice to know there was something I could just grab and heat up.  I also cooked some dumplings.  I was going for a summer theme today since today is the official day of summer.  I was keeping everything in yellow, orange and reds.   I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Lunch for Friday, June 18, 2010

Lunch for today is another uninspired meal.  I have just had a lot on my mind lately and cute lunches have not been a part of that.  And as I mentioned yesterday my bento protein stash is depleted.  But for today I do have some boneless honey BBQ chicken chunks that I heated up.  I also took the leftover mashed potatoes & mixed vegetables from dinner last night and mixed it together, added some shredded cheddar and heated that up while the chicken was warming.  And I had a leftover rice ball that I tucked in there.  I promise to try harder next week. 

Lunch for Thursday, June 17, 2010

I can't believe it is already Thursday!  This week has flown by for me.  I am not sure why but it has.  For today's lunch I cooked up some beef ravioli and threw in a container of pesto.  The flowers are from sweet potatoes.  I feel like today's lunch is not very cute.  I again did not plan the night before, woke up late, etc.  All my usual excuses.  And my bento stash of meats has been used up.  I had planned on replenishing it last weekend but that never happened.  Maybe this weekend.  But that leaves the question... what the heck will I have tomorrow?

Lunch for Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Today's lunch is more like a breakfast.  I made some filled biscuits.  I saw something like this in my new cookbook by Susen Yuen, Hawai'i' Bento Box Cookbook 2nd Course and she calls them something else but I have been making ham and cheese ones for years.  My ham didn't look so good so I tossed it out and chopped up some turkey bacon.  I flattened out my biscuit, placed some chopped turkey bacon and shredded cheddar cheese inside.  Pinched it together and placed it in a muffin tin.  I brushed the tops with egg white.  I took the rest of the egg and cooked it in the muffin tin as well.  The kid really likes these and so do I.  They are easy to make and cook up quick.  Glad my new cookbook made me think that they would be good bento foods.  And my egg turned out perfect.  I am going to have to remember to bake eggs in muffin cups more often.

Lunch for Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Ever since I entered my popsicle bento into Hapa Bento's BOMB for June I have been thinking about Hello Kitty buried in the sand.  Since the theme is beach I thought Hello Kitty needed a little R&R at the beach.

I found this cute Hello Kitty tin at the local Hobby Lobby and thought I would make a cute bento with it.  Unfortunately it is not sealed tight so whatever I put in there has to not leak.  I did take and place a piece of wax paper inside to help contain any possible leaks.  Now for what is in there.  Under the couscous sand is a couscous salad made with bell pepper, tomato, onion, greek seasoning, feta cheese, cucumber and lemon juice.

I hand shaped Hello Kitty's face and paws.  I do not have a rice mold for that...yet.  I do plan on buying one but I have been holding off on spending money on bento.  I had to rein myself in before I spent every dime I had on bento's.  I also hand cut the nori and added a sweet potato flower.

On the other side I added a red pepper surf board with cheese strip and some shells from a 100 Calorie Pack of Fudge Petites.  The kid said he like the way everything looked except for the shells.  Oh well I know how tasty they are.  I can't believe I am entering a second time, but I love the summer beach theme and had to get it out of my system.

Lunch for Monday, June 14, 2010

This last weekend I went to the lake and spent time with family.  But I ate so many fried foods and hardly any fruits and vegetables.  It made my belly hurt.  I have gotten so use to eating healthier that my tummy is looking forward to eating my lunch's again.  And for today's lunch I made the Acorn Girl Sandwich that is in Susan Yuen's Hawai'i's Bento Box Cookbook 2nd Course.  The first time I flipped through the book I saw that sandwich and remembered that I have the same cookie cutter.  In fact I have almost all of the ones she uses in the cookbook.  I love how she takes simple cutters to create such wonderful things.  I did modify mine just a little but it still pretty much looks the same.  I also made Sautéed Basil Tomatoes from the Yum-Yum Bento Box Cookbook.  These smelled so good while cooking I can't wait to try them.

Lunch for Friday, June 11, 2010

For today's lunch I have my TrueBlood inspired bento.  I am SO excited for Season 3 to start on Sunday.  I have read the Twilight books, loved the movies.  And then I found TrueBlood on HBO.  OMG!!  I love it even more.  After watching Season 1 I read all of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris that are out so far.  I have even re-read some of them.  And Alexander Skarsgard that plays Eric Northman...he's my kind of vampire. 

Now for what I pack to eat.  I made sure everything was a black and/or red in color.  I made some Sesame Chicken using mostly black sesame seeds.  I also pack in a wedge of red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, red seedless grapes, strawberries and some Oreo Cakesters.  For my rice part I cooked up some purple Jasmine rice and put a nori top on it.  The TrueBlood logo was cut out using provolone cheese and beets. 

I struggled when planning the logo.  I knew I would use the cheese but I had a hard time trying to decide on what the red part would be.  I would have just used more cheese and colored it but I wanted a natural color.  Trouble is I have never liked beets.  I remember one of those diets from years back where you ate beets, bacon and green beans.  I just about gagged every time I took a bite of a beet.  Maybe that is why I never lost any weight while on it.  When I opened the jar of them last night I had to turn my head.  But I pressed onward since that is what I had planned and didn't have time to change my mind.  I had thought maybe I would give them another try but after smelling them last night it is not likely.

Lunch for Thursday, June 10, 2010

For today's lunch I made a popsicle.  I wanted to enter something into Hapa Bento's B.O.M.B for June.  The theme is "The Beach".  When I think of beaches I think of walking along the sand and eating a popsicle.  With the ice cream melting down your hand.  It also reminds me of the first time my parents and I took a vacation to the Pacific Ocean.  My mom found a starfish in the sand and she wanted it for a souvenir.  She placed it in a plastic bag and put it in the back of the vehicle.  The funny thing is, none of us thought about it being a live creature.  Let's just say it did not survive the trip as well as stinking up the vehicle for quite a while. 

I made my popsicle by molding the rice by hand and then making an egg sheet to cover the rice.  I did insert a popsicle stick in the bottom and gave it a little smirk of a face.  I also hand cut some hotdog crabs since I don't have one of those fancy cutters for it.  And honestly I don't think I will ever buy one.  We do not eat a lot of hotdogs and I think they look just fine using only a knife.  And in honor of the starfish that was, I hand carved a starfish out of a piece of sweet potato, added some sesame seeds for it's "bumps" and gave it a face.  I'm sure this one won't stink up my office.

Lunch for Wednesday, June 9, 2010

There was no lunch yesterday because the kid had a couple of doctor appointments and so I took the day off.  But while fixing breakfast I was able to add some cuteness to my eggs.  I like my eggs over easy.  And when I flipped one back over to just put a skin on the yoke it split just a little.  I thought it looked like an egg ninja.  So I added some eyes and a ninja star.  Since I did that I just had to add a face to my other egg.  I really want to order some nori punches that make faces.  I have been using my paper crafting punches for things so far but I really want more details.

For today's lunch I made some scorpions.  Or at least I think they look like scorpions.  My only plan was some rice balls with shrimp and tamagoyaki on top.  After I placed that first shrimp on top I knew I had to add eyes.  I also took some veggie and a few shrimp and breaded them with panko bread crumbs and fried them.  I need to practice doing that.  I don't feel like they turned out that great.  This weekend I cooked up a can of pumpkin pie.  Instead of putting it in a pie shell I pour it into silicone baking cups, mini and regular size making more of a pumpkin custard.  I froze the mini ones for my bento.  All of the regular one were eaten by the kid that same day.  He loves pumpkin pie but doesn't care for the crust so this worked out perfectly.  I just wish that after I had filled the mini cups that I had poured the rest in one big casserole dish since he had baking cups all over his room.  Cleaning all of those at once was not fun.

Lunch for Monday, June 7, 2010

For today's lunch it was another day where I had no idea what I was going to do.  So I pulled out my cookie cutters.  While I was digging through them I looked at my leaf fondant cutter and to me it looked like a bird.  So I cut out a piece of provolone and soaked it in some water I tinted blue.  But when I blotted it off some of the color came off.  Someone at work said it looked more like a fish.  Pooey, I was going for a bird in the nest.  For the meat portion I heated up some boneless Honey BBQ wings that I had in the freezer.  I really don't mind creating bento's on a whim but I feel better to be organized and have a plan.  That will be my goal this week.

Lunch for Friday, June 4, 2010

I had absolutely nothing prepared last night for today's lunch.  And I had no idea what I wanted to do with it.  So this morning I cooked up some dumplings and teriyaki chicken.  I placed it all in my bento and still had no vision of what I wanted to create.  As I was looking through my bento accessories I pulled out the cute little bunny and thought he would look cute hiding in the dumplings.  Then I pulled out all my veggies and started cutting up some broccoli and tucked it around the dumplings.  Still no vision.  The side looked empty so I added some carrots.  I almost forgot about fruit but that big empty hole at the top soon was filled with some strawberries, lettuce and yellow cherry tomatoes.  I was still in a funk and started looking through my pics to add one for the top of the strawberry then it hit me.  I could use the flower stem pick and make a flower.  I used a cookie cutter to cut a tulip out of sweet red pepper.  Not too bad for no planning but it did take me longer to fix.

Lunch for Thursday, June 3, 2010

I was so afraid that this week was going to drag on since for one... it is a short work week for me and two... I have a weekend getaway planned, but it has flown by.  Which is wonderful.  I think I will even take off work early on Friday.  Now that's a plan.

For today's lunch I cooked up some brown rice and shaped it into a fish.  Then I gave the fish some nori accents.  I used my round paper punches to created the scales.  I placed the fish on top of some french green beans that I sauteed with a whole green onion including the bulb, soy sauce and salt.  I had bought the green onion at our local farmer's market.  I cooked a piece of salmon with teriyaki sauce in my toaster oven.  I was trying to remember the last time I turned my stove oven on and I couldn't remember.  I cook almost everything in the toaster oven now.  I also scrambled an egg for my bento and placed a half of a grape tomato on top.  Now I just need to figure out what tomorrow's bento will be.

Lunch for Wednesday, June 2, 2010

For today's lunch I made some stir-fry noodles with teriyaki sauce.  The last time I made that it was so good I was looking forward to making it again.  I cut a piece of provolone cheese to mimic the bowl on the lid of my bento.  And this is the same bento set that I thought was too babyish at first.  So glad I went back and bought them.  I drew the lines with food markers and cut the eyes and mouth from nori.  The cheeks are from a thin piece of deli ham.  I wish the cheeks showed up better because you can barely see them.  I put some ranch in a container for my veggies.  I also heated up some sesame chicken I had in the freezer.  Having a stash in the freezer has been great.  But it is about time for me to replenish it again.  Maybe tonight I will get to that. 

bento lid

Lunch for Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Finally back to work after the long weekend.  I had a pretty good weekend with lots of relaxing, swimming and fun.  I could have used a few more days off though, I feel I need some more sleep.  Maybe I just got use to sleeping in.

For today's lunch I have some leftover chicken salad I made.  I just threw this together using diced chicken, diced apples, red grapes, pecans, craisins, Miracle Whip and seasoning.  I also put some leftover corn casserole in there.  The bottom bento is my breakfast.  I put some granola, dried apples, crasins and banana chips together.  I like snacking on my granola in the mornings at work.  I have been craving a lot of fruit lately.  I guess it is a counter balance from eating so many vegetables in my bento's.  lol