Lunch for Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Today is the last day to enter my Bento Box Giveaway.  Click HERE to comment on the original post to enter.  I will cut entries off sometime tonight in order to do the drawing.

Today's lunch is just kind of thrown together.  I will be taking some days off work starting Thursday so I am trying to use up what I've got and not shop for bento making foods.  Also my appetite is not what it usually is. The antibiotic I was taking for my cat bite is making me feel sick to my stomach. So hopefully I have taken enough of it to heal properly and wont have to call the doctor from something else.


In today's lunch I have some salad leftover from dinner last night, some spicy breaded chicken breast pieces leftover from dinner on Sunday, some grapes, a mini sweet pepper, and a Babybel cheese. 
 

Lunch for Friday, May 27, 2011

beeping Blogger!  I am so bleeping mad that I have been having so much bleeping trouble commenting, blogging etc.  Back to the question if I should build my own site.  Ugh!  I was able to get to my dashboard by going to http://draft.blogger.com/ but I shouldn't have to search the bleeping forums for this solution!

Today is the last day of school for The Kid.  So that means the last day to make his bento.  Thank goodness, he used up all my bento rice stash, broccoli, Babybel cheese, etc.  When you only shop for one bento and end up making two things don't go as far.  But we did have a little bit more fish that I cooked up this morning.

In The Kids lunch he has fish, white rice with black sesame seeds, watermelon, grapes and strawberry.  I know, I know, there is no veggies in his bento but since we are out of broccoli he didn't want anything else I suggested.  But he did say I could use picks for his watermelon!!!  What?!!! The Kid that says I can't use picks or anything decorative in his lunch let me use picks today?!  I was shocked and happy to oblige.


And for us in the USA it is Memorial Day weekend.  A time when most of us go to the lakes, beaches etc and enjoy the time off.  I personally am ready for the break from work.

In my lunch I have fish, white rice colored pink, a mini sweet pepper, grapes and strawberry.


Only 4 days left to enter my Bento Box Giveaway.  Click the link HERE to enter.  If you are having trouble with Blogger like me just email your comment as to why you deserve/want this bento box to ghutton4mk at hotmail dot com.

Lunch for Thursday, May 26, 2011

I am so tired of problems with blogger. Now I can't sign in at my computer and I'm posting this from my phone. Geesh!

But onto today's lunches. Today The Kid and I have sandwiches using Spam. The Kid and I love Spam and I happen to have a couple of Spam singles in the pantry. The Kid was so excited when he found out today's lunch would be Spamwiches. Although he was upset that we ran out of broccoli. I had only bought enough broccoli to last me this week. But since I have been making his lunch too, we are out. I may have to make a special trip to the store.

In The Kids lunch he has Spam and cheese on white bread, leftover mashed potatoes, pretzel sticks, a Babybel cheese, strawberry, grapes and watermelon.


My lunch has Spam and lactose free cheese on whole wheat, carrot flowers, a mini sweet pepper, a Babybel cheese, grapes and strawberry.

 



Only 5 days left to enter my bento box giveaway! Look for the Breakfast for May 13th post to enter. Or if your having problems like me and can't sign in to leave a comment just email me... ghutton4mk at hotmail dot com.

Lunch for Wednesday, May 25, 2011

For today's lunch I cooked up some fish that Mr Man caught this last weekend.  I have been so proud that he is not throwing all the fish back he catches.  He won't eat it but me and The Kid love to.

In The Kid's lunch is white rice with black sesame seed.  He said he really likes to eat it this way.  Also he has some fish, grapes, strawberries and some broccoli.  He loves broccoli and asks for it all the time.  Not bad for an 11 year old.


In my lunch I have some white rice colored pink with food coloring and some butterflies cut out of provolone and colored with food coloring.  Also I have some of the fish, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli, carrot flowers, a strawberry and some grapes.


There is less than a week to enter my bento box giveaway.  Makes sure you enter HERE.  All you have to do is leave a comment.

Lunch for Tuesday, May 24, 2011

This is the last week of school for The Kid.  I forgot to give him lunch money yesterday, so he asked that I make his lunch for the rest of the week.

The Kid's lunch has chicken nuggets, white rice, a Babybel cheese, a sauce container with BBQ sauce under the cheese, broccoli, grapes and strawberry.


My lunch has leftover pasta bake, grapes, strawberry, Babybel cheese, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli and a sweet gherkin pickle.  Did I mention that this bento is microwavable, not the inner lids though.  I will just pop the pasta layer into the microwave here at work and have a yummy hot meal.

Make sure you enter for a change to win a bento just like mine by May 31st.  Winner will be chosen at random, details HERE.



Lunch for Monday, May 23, 2011

I have decided to use this bento up until the end of my giveaway to show how versatile it is. Not many people have entered my bento giveaway. I want everyone to have a chance to win this amazing bento. It is worth approx. $31 US dollars! This is a very well made bento. All you have to do is comment on the original post HERE. That’s all.

In this bento I have leftover salad, chicken and a roll from dinner. I added some mini sweet peppers, a Babybel cheese, broccoli and strawberries. This bento took less than 10 minutes to put together. I almost didn’t know what to do with my spare time this morning.

Lunch for Friday, May 20, 2011

I am posting Friday's lunch late since I had to move my office at work on Friday.  It took almost all day and wore me out.  And also Friday's lunch wasn't anything that I was real proud of.  I drew a blank on Friday morning.  So I had an egg sandwich in which my egg was shaped like a heart.  I used a heart shaped cookie cutter for this.  I also had some leftover green beans, pringles, a mini sweet pepper, grape tomatoes, a mandarin orange, a babybel cheese and some broccoli.  I sure hope Monday morning is more inspiring.

Lunch for Thursday, May 19, 2011

I have been craving mint chocolate chip ice cream for weeks now.  I would love to have some but being lactose intolerant is a deterrent.  I know I could take some pills to help, but with ice cream it only helps a little. 

In my lunch today I have two mint chocolate chip ice cream cones made from provolone cheese and soaked in food coloring.  I added some sugar sprinkles to the top parts to look like the chocolate pieces and scored the cones with a knife to look like waffle cones.  My ice cream is placed on top of two rice balls made of white rice colored with more food coloring.  So glad I am not afraid of artificial coloring.  In the rest of the box is a few chicken nuggets, grape tomatoes, carrots, a mini sweet pepper, more roasted potatoes and some broccoli.  Those leftover potatoes are going a long way.

Don't you just love this box?  Make sure you comment HERE for a chance to win one of your own.  Entries will be taken until May 31st.

And check out these other giveaways as well.

Lunch for Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Today will be a very rainy day.  The weatherman forecast rain until the end of next week.  I don't mind the rain since we have been in a drought for so long but there are many flooded areas and this is not making it better.

For my lunch today I was hungry for egg salad sandwiches and wanted to try making pocket sandwiches again.  I had to smash my bread to make it work, but work it did.  And changed what I normally put in my egg salad. After trying a little bit as I was making lunch I have to say it is very delicious.  For my egg salad I used a boiled egg of course, bacon bits, green onion, miracle whip, a tiny bit of mustard, black pepper and some garlic salt.  I loved the bacon addition.  I wanted to use some more of my new picks I received.  But as I was putting my lunch together I realized I don't have anything else frog related to make my lunches.  But I did remember I had some mint frog candy hidden in my craft room.  Other items in this pencil box are more roasted potatoes (these have been great for lunch), leftover baked beans, a mini sweet pepper, grape tomatoes and a mandarin orange.

Again don't forget to enter my bento box giveaway.  I have gotten some great comments and look forward to reading more.

Also check out these other giveaways for a chance to win some more awesome prizes.

Lunch for Tuesday, May 17, 2011

For today's lunch I have some white rice that I sprinkled with black and plain sesame seeds.  I then cut some sakura flowers out of bologna and placed on top.  In the other side I have tamagoyaki, more leftover roasted potatoes, carrots, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli and grape tomatoes.

Enter my bento giveaway HERE.

Learn about other giveaways HERE.

Lunch for Monday, May 16, 2011

For today's lunch I have some pink rice shaped into a bunny rabbit.  I got the idea from some of my new picks I ordered recently.  I wanted some picks that would be easy to add that extra something to my lunch without a lot of effort.  The accents on my bunny rice ball is made with provolone cheese and nori.  In the rest of this box I have some teriyaki chicken, carrots, broccoli, some leftover roasted potatoes and a grape tomato.

Make sure you enter my bento box giveaway.  I am taking entries until May 31st.  The box I am giving away is worth approximately $31.00 USD!  And it could be yours for just leaving a comment on the Breakfast for Friday, May 13, 2011 post.

There are also more contest and giveaways you might be interested in.  Make sure you click HERE for a summary.

Giveaways and Contest

I wanted to make sure I told everyone about some giveaways/contest that I am aware of.

Cooking Gallery is giving away two different bento sets (May 31st deadline)

My Lunch is Cuter - yup, I am giving away a bento box (Deadline May 31st)

Ohayo Bento has a 1st Bento Anniversary giveaway (Deadline May 23rd)

Bento Fun is have a lunch punch giveaway. (Deadline May 31st)


If you know of a bento related giveaway or contest just let me know and I will revise this list.

Breakfast for Friday, May 13, 2011 & A SURPRISE

I never knew having blogger down would be such a pain. It messed up my day and way of thinking. I knew something was wrong when I was trying to comment back on some comments left on my blog. Aggravating, but there are a lot of people affected so now we just move on. And we shall move on to my breakfast for today.

My breakfast is in a new bento box.  I begun to evaluate the types of boxes I want in my collection.  I made a list of all the types I’ve seen that make me take notice and say “I want that!”  I will always want more boxes but I needed to start narrowing it down to favorites styles or I will be out of money quick.  The next one on my wish list was a LONG skinny bento box.  This one is over 8-1/2 inches in length and only 2-1/5 inches wide.  Stacked together it holds a lot of food at 840ml total (420ml per tier).  But I figure I will only be using one tier most of the time, such as today.  If I need to I will add a small side container.  But today was just breakfast.


In this bento I have toast made with white bread, and three little piggies on top made by cutting some provolone cheese with a cutter and soaking them in some food coloring.  I also have some scrambled eggs, strawberries and colby-jack cheese cubes.



And now for the surprise.

I not only bought myself a new bento...


But I bought an additional one to giveaway.
 
That’s right, I bought TWO of these awesome bento boxes.  One for me and one for YOU.



I started feeling bad that I didn’t do a giveaway for my 1st Bento-versary.  There were intentions of doing so.  But since I live in such a bento-free zone of the US it’s not like I could just run to the store and pick some stuff up.  I was going to purchase some things in Dallas but I didn’t find anything that said 1st Bento-versary Giveaway to me.  I wanted to place an online order but the US Dollar kept dropping in value and that makes it hard for me to justify an International purchase.


Enough of excuses!  The Dollar started to rebound (a little) and a certain company had a sale.  I would mention them but this giveaway is being sponsored by me, using my own money and I’m not being paid to advertise.  And the order arrived last night!  I was going to wait a little bit before I did the giveaway but I am not a patient person.


Rules:


1. Comment on this blog post and tell me why you deserve or just have to have this bento box.
     Creative, crazy, over the top, make me LOL comments will get you an extra entry.


2. Make sure you leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you are the winner.


That’s it. That’s all you have to do. Sure it would be great if you followed my blog, followed me on Twitter, posted this on your blog, etc. But that is all up to you.  I'm a easy going, laid back person that doesn't force things on people.  All I am asking for is your comment here and tell me why this bento box should be yours. Feel free to comment more than once if you come up with a crazier comment than before, limit 3 per person.  This contest is open to anyone who lives on Earth. 

Winner will be announced on June 1st.

Lunch for Thursday, May 12, 2011

Yesterday they did more layoffs at work.  They have been doing a lot of these over the last couple of years and it is such a stressful time.  You lose friends and great co-workers and since they drag it out all day long it makes you sick wondering if you are next.  I made it again, but who knows when I will be one of the ones walked out.  I hate days like yesterday.

But onto today's lunch.  I have leftover pasta bake, salad and some strawberries.  That's it.  I really didn't feel like cooking this morning so it was great to just pull these things from the refrigerator and so.  I did heat up the pasta first but that's what microwaves are for.

Lunch for Wednesday, May 11, 2011

I had a little bit of the fish left that was caught this last weekend.  So I took and battered it with tempura batter.  But instead of mixing it with water I used coconut milk.  And I soaked the fish in coconut milk before I dipped it as well.  I have to say I am loving the coconut milk idea.  The batter was so good I poured little circles of batter in my pan and made little tempura biscuits.  I am having them with my coffee this morning.  I didn't want the yummy mixture go to waste.

In the rest of my box I have white rice with black sesame seeds sprinkled on top, broccoli, carrots, and grape tomatoes.  In the smaller container I have strawberries and some colby-jack cheese cubes.

Lunch for Tuesday, May 10, 2011

For today's lunch I have a bumblebee sandwich and a salad.  The bumblebee is made using cheddar & provolone cheese with black egg sheet accents.  I also put a salad in a separate container and some salad dressing.  The other items are a mini sweet pepper, mandarin orange and strawberries.  I have been kind of disappointed with my peppers, oranges and strawberries that I purchased this last time.  They seem like they have gotten bigger.  This orange is the last of the small ones.  Doesn't the store know I need bento sized foods, not overweight American sized portions.  That's it, I am blaming all of my heaviness on the grocery store for not providing me with smaller portions of fruits and vegetables.  Hmm, somehow I don't think that would go over well.

Lunch for Monday, May 9, 2011

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Mother's Day.  I didn't do much just cleaned house, did laundry and took a nap.  Mr Man went fishing in his new boat and he actually kept some of the fish this time.  His friend that he went fishing with cleaned them but I was still very happy to have some.  That is what I am having in my lunch today, a few pieces of the fish that I cooked up this morning.

I soaked the fish in coconut milk, coated it with a cornmeal/spice mixture then fried in a skillet.  The Kid and I had a couple of pieces this morning and we thought it was very good.  Mr Man had a nibble and said not bad and handed it back to me.  I wish he liked to eat fish.  In the rest of my box I have some white rice and a couple of goldfish on top.  The goldfish are made with a mini sweet pepper and cut using a fish shaped cutter.  I also have my usual broccoli, carrots, grape tomato, mushroom, strawberry and a few more pieces of the pepper.

Lunch for Friday, May 6, 2011

When I was in Dallas a few weekends ago I stopped into Shop Minoya and purchased a few things.  I knew I wanted to buy some aburaage and I found this package.  I have no idea what the words are but I could tell it was aburaage with a seasoning packet and there were 8 of them.  I'm so glad I purchased this instead of just a can.  While making it this morning it smelled so good I can not wait to eat this for lunch.

I turned my aburaage into Hello Kitty which is filled with rice and part of the seasoning packet.  I placed them upside down and decorated them with a bow pick, nori accents and a piece of corn for the nose.  I stuck a piece of spaghetti in and placed the corn on the end.  Also I have some broccoli, a mini sweet pepper I cut in half, a Babybel cheese, strawberry, pineapple and provolone cheese flowers.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Lunch for Thursday, May 5, 2011

Today is Children's Day, a day to celebrate the happiness of all children and their personalities.  I would love to celebrate The Kid's personality if I didn't get phone calls from the school at least once a week.  He definitely tests my patience.  The day was originally Boy's Day but of course they decided to include girls and still have a girls day.  Girls can have it all.  Well... sometimes.

I created two koinobori (carp shaped wind socks) to represent the two men in my life, my son (The Kid) and my boyfriend (Mr Man).  I made the koinobori using Italian sausage that I cut, boiled and added a candy eye.  I also made a face wearing a Kabuto (military helmet) using provolone and cheddar cheese, beef bologna and nori.  Other items in this bento are white rice dyed blue using food coloring, broccoli, carrots, grape tomato, a mini sweet pepper, strawberry and pineapple.


Also if you are in the shopping mood there is a Children's Day sale at Japanistic and

Lunch for Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I follow Japanistic_com on Twitter and a couple of days ago they promoted their Kokeshi Doll Mug.  While looking at it I was inspired to make a Kokeshi Doll bento.

In this bento my kokeshi doll is made using provolone and cheddar cheese with nori accents and I placed her on a bed of white rice dyed blue with food coloring.  I also have some chicken teriyaki, broccoli, a mini sweet pepper, carrots, grape tomatoes, a Babybel cheese, strawberry and pineapple.  All of my flowers are made with beef bologna and provolone.


BTW... Japanistic is having a Children's Day sale tomorrow.

Lunch for Tuesday, May 3, 2011

For today’s lunch I made a puppy, or at least I hope it looks like a puppy. I already had a co-worker say it didn't look like a puppy to him.  Oh well.  I still had some leftover pulled pork that I placed on the bun for a sandwich. The puppy’s features are made from provolone and cheddar cheese, a piece of pepperoni for the tongue and candy eyes. In the rest of this basket are some pretzels, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli, strawberries, pineapple, a mandarin orange, a container with BBQ Sauce and cheese dog bones.


I found this basket at my local craft store on sale for $3. I thought it would make a great bento. I just put a paper towel in the bottom and laid a piece of parchment paper on the top before I closed it.

Breakfast & Lunch for Monday May 2, 2011


This last weekend I made scones using a recipe I saw on Etsy from Alice of Savory Sweet Life.  I knew I had to try them, they are filled with roasted red peppers, feta cheese and green onion.  I added cooked bacon leftover from our breakfast.  I split the entire batch into two equal pieces and made two.  I also added about 8 minutes to the cooking time.  When I pulled the stone from the oven the first time they didn't seem quite done yet.  I'm glad I did, it seemed it needed more cooking time.  Makes me wonder if I had made one big piece how long I would have needed to add.  But the kid and I thought these were very delicious!  The flavors are amazing all together.  Mr Man who likes the most plain of plain foods didn't care for them.  He even handed me his after two bites and requested chocolate chip cookies, no nuts.  See what I mean about plain.  When I want cookies I want nuts, oats, dark chocolate, a little molasses.  sigh  I made plain 'ol chocolate chip cookies.  I didn't even take a picture they were so plain.


For my breakfast bento I have two pieces of the scone and some pineapple and strawberries leftover from a Friday fondue girls night.  Every few months or so, a couple of my friends and I get together and we all bring items to dip.  We have found a great White Wine Cheese fondue recipe and one of the girls makes the best peanut butter chocolate one.  It's always a great time and no matter how little food we try to bring we always have so many leftovers.


For lunch today I am using my thermos bento set again.  We had Bar-B-Que from Legends this weekend.  I just called in a Family pack and picked it up.  So I have some pulled pork, beef brisket, spicy cowboy beans and more pineapple and strawberries.

I did so much this weekend, fondue night, scones, cookies, clean house, laundry, took down the Easter decor and put up my red, white and blue items, went shopping, got pulled over for speeding, oh and we bought a boat.  Or should I say Mr Man bought a boat.  He sees himself as a fisherman.  Yet he is a catch and release fisherman.  He says he doesn't know how to clean a fish.  And actually he doesn't care for the taste of fish.  Maybe putting a hook in them is his revenge.

The kid striking a pose.