Lunch for Thursday, June 30, 2011

It's the last day of June and this is the last bento I will be making until next week sometime.  That is unless I make a breakfast one tomorrow.  Hmm, we'll see about that.  We have an extended holiday here because of Independence Day.  We are going to take a couple of those days off and go to Eureka Spring, AR.  Mr Man is not too happy that the TV in the room we have rented is small and the fact that there are no casinos close to there.  But I am excited to get away.  I have never been to Eureka Springs and I am looking forward to it.

Today's lunch is almost as green as yesterday's.  Since we will be out of town I have been trying to use up what is in the refrigerator without purchasing more or creating tons of leftovers.  For today's lunch I have broccoli salad made with Light Miracle Whip, pecans, raisins, onion and garlic salt.  I also made some smashed bread sandwiches.  I used my small rolling pin and smashed the bread, placed a small spoonful of peanut butter in the middle and pulled the bread together.  I added some sugar sheet details using my punches and added some hat picks.  I also threw in some grapes and ham flowers.

I hope everyone that celebrates Independence Day has a safe and happy one.  And for those that don't... have safe and happy days as well.

Lunch for Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Today's lunch is made using macaroni salad I threw together last night using elbow noodles, light miracle whip, greek seasoning, onion and bell pepper.  I thought it all looked kind of green so I added some green grapes and broccoli frogs to my bento.  The eyes and mouth are made with provolone cheese and sugar sheet punched.  YES! I finally got some face punches.    This will also be posted on What's for Lunch Wednesday.  Look for the link on the side.

Lunch for Tuesday, June 28, 2011

This last weekend I filled the slow cooker with some white beans and ham pieces.  It made some yummy ham & beans.  I also made some mexican cornbread to go with it.  And there was some for my lunch today.

Also I have a piece of grilled corn left over from the #twittercornparty yesterday, broccoli, mini sweet pepper, ham flowers, a Babybel cheese, grapes and cantalope.


Breakfast for Friday, June 24, 2011

Today I will eat lunch out with a friend so the morning called for a breakfast bento.  I knew I wanted to put farm animals on top of my bread and what better ones than a cow and sheep.  I couldn't decided on which one then I remembered the board book by Sandra Boynton called Moo, Baa, La La La.  I use to read this to my son a lot.  So that is the inspiration for today's breakfast.

I cut the cow, sheep and letters out of provolone cheese using my cookie cutters then added some sugar sheet accents.  I found that the sugar sheets don't melt as bad on cheese.  They still melt a little but I will be eating this one early so less meltage.  The cows eye is a black sesame seed and the sheep's is a white sesame seed.

Also in this box I have a scrambled egg, grapes and cantaloupe.  Mr Man had picked out a super sweet cantaloupe last time we were at the store.  It is one of the best ones I have ever had. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lunch for Thursday, June 23, 2011

As I have mentioned before I like to play a lot of games on my phone.  One that I really like to play is Words With Friends.  Some days I can come up with great words and others, not so great.  If you want to start a game my user name is genettah.

That game is the inspiration for today's lunch.  I cut bread, Spam and cheese in square shapes.  Yes I said Spam, love it.  I used Miracle Whip to glue each layer together.  Then I used my alphabet cookie cutters to cut the letters.  I am using the sugar sheets again.  Yes I know they will probably melt but if they are intended for fondant then there has to be something they can be placed on that doesn't melt them.  So I am trying cheese.

I knew I wanted to spell the word "bento" and I wanted the second word to use the "E".  It just seemed like a good spot.  But when it came time for my other word I was at a loss.  I had to look up three letter words that have an "E" in the middle.  There are several but some were not what I was looking for.  I finally settled on "HER".  So it's HER BENTO. 

Also in this box I have grapes, broccoli, a mini sweet pepper and cherry tomatoes.

Lunch for Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Last night Mr Man grilled a whole bunch of chicken for us.  I love the taste of grilled items and love that we had enough leftovers for my lunch.

In today's lunch I have grilled chicken with A1 Steakhouse Marinade drizzled on top, white rice, yellow squash, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli, Babybel cheese, a cherry tomato, grapes and carrot flowers.

Lunch for Tuesday, June 21, 2011

So the sugar sheet faces on Friday's lunch were a failure.  The faces melted but it did make me laugh.  Also the furikake was not to my liking.  I am giving up on store bought furikake.  If I sprinkle anything on my rice it will be something I have made.  So the bulk of Friday's lunch went into the trash and I went to Subway.  Sad really but it happens sometimes.  There are just some days that my bento lunch just doesn't do it for me. 

Yesterday I was not hungry at all and only brought an apple to eat.  Me? Not hungry?  Crazy I know.  But I wasn't.  So there was no bento at all yesterday.  But for today I am using my new Lunchbots Uno bento I purchased from Ohayo Bento!.  It arrived in the mail yesterday and I love it.  Of course it is around the same size as my yellow & blue bento boxes but these have been my favorite style so far.  One single tier to throw it all in.

In this bento I have purple jasmine rice with pecans, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli, yellow squash, chicken marinated in 7Up marinade, cherry tomatoes, Babybel cheese, grapes and carrot flowers.

Lunch for Friday, June 17, 2011

Last night I went to Michaels Craft Store and found the most interesting item.  Wilton Sugar Sheets!  OMG they are so great.  As I have mentioned before I am not a big fan of nori and am always trying to find alternatives to the wonderful black color it gives to a bento.  Well I think I have found it!

These sheet come in MANY colors and even patterns!  I purchased the black to try.  The minute I opened it up it smelled like sugar cookie heaven.  The sheet is supported by a cardboard like insert and the product itself is placed on a plastic backing.  I found it was very easy to punch with my paper punchers even though Wilton is selling a variety of punchers for it.  And I was able to take and trim some with my scissors.  I of course popped the scraps in my mouth to see what the taste is like.  Sugar, just sugar.  Yum!  AND the package is resealable.  Goodbye nori accents and hello Sugar Sheets!

They do have a drawback I am afraid to report.  The cost.  The ONE sheet was $3.99 USD + tax.  Yikes!  But they are around the size of a sheet of paper.  Depending what you will be using it for, it might not be too bad.  But as much as I would love to have other colors, it will be a luxury that will have to wait.

For today's lunch I used that paper to make cute little faces for a tiny strawberry that was hiding in the bottom of my carton among the larger ones.  I really need to get some face punches.  Especially now that I have my Sugar Sheet! 

In one of the other containers I have some white rice that I sprinkled some furikake on.  The last furikake I purchased went into the trash.  I think it had too much nori in it for my taste.  This one has just a small amount that I can pick out without any problems.  It did not stink like the last one I bought either so I am will to try it.  Although every time I see bonito flakes I think of fish food. 

In the last container I have some cherry tomatoes with mozzarella, teriyaki chicken from my freezer stash, broccoli, a mini sweet pepper, and yellow squash.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Breakfast & Lunch for Thursday, June 16, 2011

This morning I was woken up very early by a scared cat.  We were having some thunderstorms roll through and one of the cats was freaking out.  She finally calmed down and went to sleep next to me but still, my sleep was interrupted.  So this morning I was only in the mood for a sandwich.  Nothing too special, just ham and provolone cheese.  I was lazy and didn't even cook my broccoli like I usually do.

Do you see the very tiny ice cream cone in the middle with a strawberry in it?  I found these cones at the grocery store thinking they were just smaller than regular ones, not extra small.  After opening the package I knew I had to incorporate one into a bento sometime.  Isn't it cute?

Also in this bento I have ham flowers, yellow squash, a mini sweet pepper, cherry tomatoes and broccoli.


After I made my lunch I still had the strawberries out.  After looking at them I knew they were not going to last too much longer and needed to be used up.  So I cut some up for a breakfast bento.  I also remembered I had one more tiny apricot left and I diced it up.  I also threw in a Babybel cheese for good measure.

Lunch for Wednesday, June 15, 2011

If you ever see me, I am usually on my phone playing games, checking Facebook/Twitter, reading, etc.  My son asked me the other day why I play games so much.  I told him it was a good time waster.  Mr Man says I will probably die with the phone in my hands.  Actually it is what relaxes me.  After a workday I like to just play games and zone out.  One of my favorites is PocketGod.  I love torturing those cute little pygmies.  And the game keeps updating and expanding.  It is one of the first games I purchased for my phone and I felt was worth the money.

So today's lunch is a happy little pygmy.  I made the pygmy using a slice of beef bologna, nori and provolone.  I hand cut the face, hair and mouth but for the bone and eyes I used cutters I had.

In the rest of the bento I have a mini sweet pepper, broccoli, yellow squash, ham flowers, cherry tomato and a strawberry.

Lunch for Tuesday, June 14, 2011

As I mentioned yesterday I purchased some mini pork sausages from the stinky Asian grocer.  I steamed a couple of these this morning as well as pan fried some fish I had stashed away in the freezer.  The last time Mr Man went fishing he caught a lot of fish.  I cut the sausages to resemble cute little octopus'.  The eyes are made using provolone and nori.  And the mouths are only provolone.  The shark fin is made from provolone colored with food coloring.  I made the fishing pole using a wooden toothpick and a strand of lo mein noodle I cooked with the broccoli.

Other items in this bento are broccoli, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, mini sweet peppers, Babybel cheese and a strawberry.

Lunch for Monday, June 13, 2011

Yesterday I was craving meatloaf, actually I think I have been craving meatloaf since Heather of Ohayo Bento posted a bento with leftover meatloaf.  I had purchased some new potatoes and green beans from the small (only 8 booths) local farmers market.  So that went real well together.  We ate all of the potatoes and green beans.  While at the farmers market I saw a sign that said basil.  I started digging in the basket and the owner said she only had mint left.  And since it was closing time I got it for a steal.

Also this weekend I ventured into Nam-Hai, an Asian market that mostly caters to the Vietnamese community.  I have been avoiding this place since all I have heard about it is how smelly it is and that they will try to overcharge you at the checkout.  The minute I walked in The Kid and I just about threw up from the smell.  But I endured it and The Kid kept asking if he could wait in the car.  I made The Kid walk up and down every isle.  He did finally see his favorite candy Hi-Chew so after he picked that up I heard no complaints.

I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a very wide variety of things.  No bentos but a handful of bento tools.  I bought a couple of bags of items including canned quail eggs, panko crumbs, soba sauce, mini pork sausages, kamaboko, furikake and some bento tools.  I just hope none of it is expired.  Some of the things in this store looked like they had been there awhile.  Everything I bought did not indicate expiration dates. 

I did almost make a horrible mistake at the store.  I saw fresh quail eggs and started to pick them up.  One of the store employees ran over to me, pointed and said "babies" in his broken English.  I got the point and stuck with the canned quail eggs.  I guess I didn't need them that fresh.

I had no problems at the checkout.  I watched very carefully to see that the priced marked on the item was what was being ran up.  I guess that it could be that the Manager was the one working the register.

In today's lunch I have some leftover meatloaf, white rice, cherry tomatoes with mozzarella, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli, strawberries and mint accents.  My lunch may be too minty, we'll see.

Breakfast for Friday, June 10, 2011

I will be going out with some co-workers for lunch today so I made a real quick breakfast this morning.  I have scrambled eggs, wheat bread cut into stars, provolone cheese cut into stars, peanut butter, cherry tomatoes and a strawberry.  That's all.

Breakfast & Lunch for Thursday, June 9, 2011

This morning I had already made my lunch then thought about bringing something for breakfast.  I had only filled up one tier of my skinny bento box so I had an extra tier. 

In the breakfast tier I have scrambled eggs, ham flowers and bread.  Under the eggs I placed the scraps of bread and some provolone cheese.  I placed the eggs in the box warm so it would melt the cheese.

In the lunch tier I have a mixture of purple jasmine rice, white rice, some white rice colored pink and some pecan pieces.  Sometimes I have little bits of rice leftover from making my lunches.  I just wrap those up and place them in the freezer.  I think it makes a nice color combo.  In the rest of the tier I have another apricot cut in half, chicken nuggets, a mini sweet pepper, yellow squash and a cherry tomato.

Lunch for Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Well I am now back from my mini vacation.  We went to the lake for a few days but it was so hot it was hard to enjoy.  The weather man said the temperatures are 10-15 degrees above normal for this time of year.  Blah.  But it was good to get away.
I did have a snag in my vacation plans for the first day.  The night before we were headed out to eat and I noticed some bees on the front porch.  When we got back home I opened the front door (we usually exit in and out the garage) and saw a swarm of bees on the porch.  The next morning I knew I needed to do something. 

I called a company that said they could come out and remove the bees.  The man showed up an hour later and rang the doorbell to say he left some of his equipment at home.  He needed to go back home and get it.  That took almost two hours since he lives a couple of towns over from mine.

When he finally did show up he got to work sucking up the bees with a shop vac.  I'm glad he did that instead of me.  I swell up when stung by bees and this was way too many for me to handle.  He did say he saw the queen bee and got her as well.  He said she looked just about ready to lay eggs.  If she had laid eggs and they had hatched I would have been in trouble.  He said if it had been worse he probably would not have done the job.  He was a grumpy old man but I enjoyed that about him.  Although it did cost me $150.

I saw on the news this last weekend about one of the homes destroyed in the recent tornado's and they said they use to have bees.  I am wondering if my bees that magically showed up were evacuees of the tornado's?  That's an idea.

After he got most of the bees removed, the top cavity of the column filled with expandable foam (yes I still had bees in the column that you could hear buzzing), some bees sprayed with chemical, he cut down the combs.  It was kind of interesting but I did throw them away.  It was starting to crystallize.

But now back to food.

After we got home last night we ran out to a town close to us and checked out the Piggly Wiggly just to see what they had.  I was able to find these tiny apricots.  They are less than 2-in each and so cute. 

I used one in my lunch today.  At first I had no idea what I was going to do for my lunch other than the apricot.  The rest of my family was snoring away since The Kid is on summer break and Mr Man took off work the rest of the week.  So I cut it in half and removed the pit.  I heated up some purple jasmine rice and laid it down in the box to look like a sheet.  I placed half of the apricot for a head, colored some provolone cheese for some arms and facial details, then added some soy wrapper for hair.  I also added some provolone Z's since that is what I was hearing from the bedrooms.

In the other part I have the other half of the apricot, a mini sweet pepper, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, chicken teriyaki and ham flowers.  It sure is good to be back to making bentos.  AND while I was shopping on vacation I started to collect some items for another bento giveaway later this summer.  Keep watching for it. 

Lunch for Wednesday, June 1, 2011 & A WINNER

This will be my last bento box until next Wednesday.  I am taking some days off work and that means no bento until I return to work.

In today's lunch I am still trying to use up whatever is in the refrigerator.  I have some leftover chicken pasta I had made for dinner and a mandarin orange.  Sometimes I get tired of eating so much pasta but pasta and Mexican food are Mr Man's favorites.


Now onto the Bento Box Giveaway Winner!

There were 19 entries and a few extra entries for making my laugh.  Enjoy this photo journey to get to the winner.





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