Lunch for Friday, August 26, 2011

Today's lunch has some leftover spaghetti with provolone cut hearts on top, broccoli, some peppers and onion I chopped to put on the spaghetti, a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, grape tomatoes and a brown sugar mochi. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lunch for Thursday, August 25, 2011

Today's lunch was inspired by Lia of Bentolicious's Pea Boy bento.  I have the same pick set and never thought of them as head accents.  I took my two lemon picks and added them to some rice I colored yellow.  I also used some provolone cheese and sugar sheet for the facial accents.

Also in this bento are chicken nuggets, broccoli, grape tomatoes, a Laughing Cow cheese wedge and a brown sugar mochi.

See the new bento box?  It's by Smart Planet and it's collapsible and also has a spork in the lid.  I bought two so look for the extra one in an upcoming giveaway.

Lunch for Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Today's lunch is SPAM sushi.  I'm sure it has a name but I'm just a mid-American girl so I don't know.  I used some soy paper to wrap them.  I also added sugar eyes.  Also in this bento is broccoli, a Babybel cheese, grape tomatoes and soy sauce.

Hopefully soon I will have my order in so I can post my next giveaway.  I have been also buying things for the giveaway after the one coming up.  I love to buy one for me and one for you.  Now if that blasted order would come in, we could have some fun.

Lunch for Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Today's lunch is just a sandwich.  A peanut sandwich at that.  I wasn't sure if I was going to go out to eat with a former co-worker or not so I wanted it to be something that I wouldn't be sad if it was tossed.  I used my circle cookie cutter and my large cupcake cookie cutter to make this face.  The hat is made using the top of the cupcake with an added small circle and some picks.  The face is a circle with sugar sheet accents (ugh) and ketchup for the cheeks.  Also in this bento are girl scout cookies, broccoli and a Babybel cheese.

Lunch for Thursday, August 18, 2011

I sure am eating lunch out at lot.  Either with new co-workers or former or both together.  So there hasn't been as many bentos.  I'm sure this will slow down once work is not that new to me anymore and we all get into our routines.  The funny thing is that there are no places to eat close by my new job.  It takes at least 15 minutes to get anywhere except for a subway, a slow hamburger joint and an awesome place called Pecan Porch.  Pecan Porch is a very unique place that has an amazing chicken salad sandwich.

This lunch has the last of my freezer stash 7-up marinade chicken.  I really need to make up some more chicken.  I did make 3 cups of rice and portioned it out and placed in the freezer.  I really never knew how much adding some mirian to my rice and washing it before cooking really helped the flavor until I was in a hurry one time.  This batch was definitely done right.

Also in this bento I have broccoli, a Babybel cheese, grape tomatoes, a brown sugar mochi, and a quail egg decorated with sugar sheet.  I have really got to stop using the sugar sheets.  They leave items looking like crap by the time lunch come around.  But I really can't stand the nori.  Maybe I need to try a different brand.  I did buy some more soy paper.  Too bad that doesn't come in black.

Lunch for Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I'm going to try and catch up on some lunch post.  Not having my very own computer is a strange new experience.  Also not being able to post from work is entirely new too.  I know I can use Mr Man's computer whenever I want but it's just not like having your own.

For this lunch I have leftover Vanilla Balsamic Chicken, white rice, carrots, a Babybel cheese, quail egg decorated with sugar sheet (this melted completely and looked BAD by lunch time), broccoli, grape tomatoes, ranch dressing and strawberries.

Lunch for Friday, August 12, 2011

For lunch today I tried to make the bagels look like a lake monster.  I cut a bagel in half and added some ham.  I took another piece to make the head and added a candy eye.  I have Nessie in a lake of broccoli.

Also in this bento I have a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, grape tomatoes, a beef hotlink, a mini sweet pepper and a strawberry.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Lunch for Thursday, August 11, 2011

Today's lunch has mushrooms made from quail eggs.  I cut the tops off and soaked in red food coloring.  Then I cut some provolone cheese for the white dots.  The steams are just pieces of the rest of the eggs.  I put mushrooms on some white rice that I sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

In the rest of the bento I have some chicken nuggets, a Babybel cheese, a mini sweet pepper, broccoli and grape tomatoes.  In the other container I have some strawberries and cantaloupe.  I left the lid on it since it matched my mini mushrooms.

Lunch for Wednesday, August 10, 2011

We finally went to the grocery store and I was able to get things for my bentos.  It seems like The Kid is eating things quicker than we can buy them.  Things I get for my bentos would suddenly disappear.  I will be so glad when school starts next week so he is not home all day eating whatever he wants (aka my bento items).  But then again he does get home from school before I get home from work.  Ugh!

In this bento I have a mini bagel (The Kid ate three of these during the day today), some deli ham, a laughing cow cheese wedge, carrots, broccoli, grape tomatoes and strawberries (last pack of strawberries never made it to any bento, thanks to The Kid).  I know I am harping on The Kid but we don't go to the grocery store very often and he seems to eat everything within the first few day that we have food.  The gallon of orange juice we purchased late last night is already half gone.  OK enough of the complaining.

I made the mini bagel into a baby by adding a quail egg in the center of the bagel and added a pick.  The eyes are just candy eyes and the cheeks are deli ham. 

This is the first time I tried quail eggs.  I purchased a can of them from the Vietnamese grocery store.  All I could find was the canned.  To me it seemed kind of dry.  But I will try and make sure to use up the whole can.  I wonder what I will make with them next time?

Lunch for Wednesday, August 3, 2011

This lunch was made using leftovers from dinner.  I have a hotdog, a mini sweet pepper, leftover homemade mustard potato salad, a sweet gherkin pickle and some cantaloupe.

I know I have been missing but I have been buying items for a BIG back to school giveaway.  Make sure you stay tuned and I will try to post more and also details for the giveaway when everything arrives. 

Lunch for Thursday, July 28, 2011

This bento is just a simple ham sandwich, chips made with a flour tortilla that I cut and baked with garlic salt on top, some salsa, ham flowers and some strawberries.  The butterfly pick is something I found at Michaels craft store.

Lunch for Wednesday, July 27, 2011

This lunch was inspired by all the new faces at my new job.  There are so many new people to get to know and learn their names.

In this bento are some SPAM sandwiches, a mini sweet pepper, a Babybel cheese, sweet gherkin pickle, cherry tomato and a strawberry.  The faces were made with provolone cheese, American cheese and sugar sheet accents.

Lunch for Tuesday, July 26,2011

No I have not dropped off the face of the earth.  I have been in the middle of a job change.  Things were unsure as for lunch plans and I wasn't sure if I was going to be walked out of work, eat out with friends from the old job, eat out with new co-workers, etc.  So I have not been taking the time to make a whole lot of bentos.  Also my laptop died and I am borrowing Mr Man's laptop to post right now.  I didn't realize how much personal business I did on the work computer until now.  lol

For this lunch I made purple jasmine rice, a tamagoyaki, teryaki chicken, pickled cucumbers and carrots, a mini sweet pepper, cherry tomato and a strawberry.

Lunch for Thursday, July 14, 2011

Last night I made some fried rice with SPAM in it.  And to make sure I would have enough leftover for lunch I made 8 cups worth.  There was a lot of it but there was only enough leftover for The Kid to have a small portion for lunch and for my lunch.  We love our fried rice, well The Kid and I do.  Mr Man didn't want any because of the SPAM and ate some soup.  But he did end up eating a small part of the rice after all.

In my fried rice I have SPAM, egg, onion, green onion, and a veggie mixture of peas/carrots/green beans.  It is very tasty and I can't wait to have some for lunch.

Also in this bento I have grapes, broccoli, carrots, grape tomatoes, a Babybel cheese and a frog made using provolone cheese that I soaked in green food coloring and added sugar sheet features.

Lunch for Tuesday, June 12, 2011

This summer has been one of the hottest I remember.  Every day has been over 100 degrees and there is no relief in sight. 

I have seen a couple of heat related jokes lately that made me laugh.
"It's so hot the squirrels are using potholders to lift their nuts."
"It's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog."

I found some small pickling cucumbers at a farmer's market and paid only .94 cents for about 8 of them.  I sliced them, added some cut carrots, poured in some vinegar, sugar and salt & put them in the refrigerator.

In this bento I have purple jasmine rice, teriyaki chicken, broccoli, carrots, a grape tomato, refrigerator pickles with carrots and some grapes.

Lunch for Friday, July 8, 2011 and my holiday recap

Wow it has been over a week since I made a bento.  With time away for the holiday and work providing lunch there was no need.

For the 4th of July holiday we went to Eureka Springs, AR.  It is a small touristy town that tries to keep a Victorian feel to it.  The buildings are but the people and shops are not.  There were a few stores that carried antiques at a reasonable price but most were charging too much in my opinion.  The restaurants were making lots of money on the tourist as well.  I knew that before we left but it was still a shock to see what someone would charge for a plate of food.



View of our building



We stayed in a wonderful old building.  There is only one room available called Twilight Terrace and it occupies one half of the entire bottom floor.  The room was wonderful except for the hard mattress.  I didn't want to stay in some old cottage that reminded me of grandmothers.  This place had modern furniture and the decor was more my style.

The details of this place were amazing.  From the handles on the doors, the furniture, the stone walls.  It was cleaner than a hotel room as well.  I could have lived there.

I was being nosy and in the top drawer of the desk were letters written by people who had stayed there.  They mentioned how much they liked the place, gave tips on where to eat, suggested things to do.  It was a sweet tradition and gave the room that much more character.

We ate at a few places in town.  The first being Casa Colina.  The salsa is wonderful.  We dined out on the terrace.  It may have been in the 90 degree range but it wasn't too hot under the trees.  I had the Casa Colina Crepes.  They were crepes filled with mushroom, shrimp and spinach and topped with pineapple salsa.  They were so good.

Another place in town that we just happen to run across is call The Dog House.  They serve up several style of hotdogs in three different sizes.  The largest being a footlong that is about a quarter size in diameter!  I had their medium KC Dog.  It had bacon, relish, onion, bbq sauce, and green onions.  It was delicious.

For buffet dining we ate at Forest Hill.  I can say for breakfast it is very tasty.  Especially the white gravy.  I could have drank the gravy.  But their dinner buffet was a disappointment.  They had a few items that were good and the dessert was fantastic but overall we wouldn't eat dinner there again.

Our last evening there we ate at The Rowdy Beaver.  Mr Man was unimpressed with the chicken fried steak but I absolutely loved my Honey Bourbon Steak.

Shopping in this town can be lots of fun.  There are so many unique places. 

My favorite was called Something Simple.  Everything in the old house was white, black and/or cream colored.  One of my favorite features of the house was the staircase leading upstairs.  There were old numbers and door plates positioned at the bottom of each step.  I also found a giant sock monkey in the bedroom upstairs.  I should have purchased him since he wasn't that expensive.  Ah but I can only imagine how the cats would have reacted to him.

Enough of my vacation adventures and onto today's lunch.  My bento stash is without many items at the moment and I really was surprised that I could come up with a bento at all.  I still have some fish leftover from Mr Man's catches.  So I fried that up and used a premade mixture to make some hush puppies.  I did add some chopped green onion into it before I fried it.  Also in this bento is broccoli, carrots, grapes, a Babybel cheese and grape tomatoes.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!



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!