Happy Friday!
Today’s bento has grapes, peaches & cucumber flowers in the bottom tier. In the top tier, Cam has nutella & flax seed sandwich sushi, multi-grain pringles, and a chocolate covered granola bar cut into bite-sized pieces.
Daily Bento
5 OctSandwich Sushi
5 OctWhen I was a kid, I hated jams & jellies of all kinds. So my parents would send me to school with peanut butter & mayonnaise sandwiches, banana & mayonnaise sandwiches, peanut butter & banana sandwiches & one sandwich I vaguely remember that had pineapple, cheese & most likely mayonnaise on it as well. Needless to say, I got a lot of sideways glances at the lunch table.
Now that I’m packing lunches for my kids, I’m the one catering to their specific tastes. My oldest eats the same sandwich every day. He never gets tired of it. My youngest doesn’t like sandwiches of any kind. We’ve covered this issue in the past. So I have to be a little more creative with her.
I like to make sandwich sushi for her from time to time because it’s easy & most of the time, she’ll eat it. She also thinks it looks really cool so that makes me a hero – I like being a hero.
Sandwich sushi is all over kids’ bento-land. I’m sure you’ve probably seen it done in some form or fashion before you stumbled upon this post. I thought it would be nice to post a quick tutorial just in case you had never actually seen the steps. It’s super simple. Here’s how you do it…
Daily Bento
4 Oct
I used Camryn’s larger Hello Kitty bento today because her smaller ones just wouldn’t fit everything she wanted. I’ll be very surprised if she eats all of this. In any case, what you see pictured above is what she asked me to pack. She has grape tomatoes, sliced celery, sliced carrots, mukimame (shelled soy beans), Space Adventures Goldfish, & a couple muffins we made on a whim last night (I included the recipe below).
In her purple container she has yogurt over fresh strawberries & a few rainbow sprinkles.
Instant Oatmeal Muffins
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup yogurt – we normally use vanilla but all we had in the fridge was strawberry which worked just fine.
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp veg oil
1 egg
1 packet of Instant Oatmeal – any flavor. We used banana bread.
1 tbsp flax seeds
chocolate chips – if desired
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or drop in liners.
Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flax seeds & an oatmeal packet in a large bowl & whisk together.
In a separate bowl, mix yogurt, oil, egg & milk until combined.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture & stir to combine.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop the batter into the prepared tin, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way. For mini-muffins, use a mini-muffin tin & scoop 1 tbsp of batter into each muffin cup.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly pressed.
* The flax seeds are totally optional. My kid eats them like they’re going outta style so I put them in everything. If you don’t like ’em, leave ’em out.
Daily Bento
3 Oct
Today’s bento has teeny seedless cucumbers, grape tomatoes, cheese cubes & salami rolls in the bottom tier. I found the cucumbers yesterday at the produce market near my house. At 3 for $1 I couldn’t pass them up.
The top tier has pancake sandwiches filled with nutella & sliced bananas. My pancake recipe is below.
Cam’s Favorite P’cakes
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup Silk Fruit & Protein (we like peach/mango)
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
Whisk everything together in a bowl until just combined. Batter should be slightly lumpy. Heat a pan or griddle to medium. Add desired amount of batter and cook until bubbles form on top & edges are dry. Flip & cook until golden brown.
I used half a tablespoon of batter to make these tiny pancakes. For regular sized pancakes, use about 1/4 cup of batter.
* You can also use the same amount of regular milk, unflavored soy milk, almond milk, whatever floats your boat will work.
Daily Bento
2 Oct
Cam’s Tuesday bento has sliced carrots, tiny grape tomatoes, & cucumber flowers in the bottom tier. She has apple slices, salami & turkey rolls, Colby jack cheese cubes & some crackers in the top tier.
To keep sliced or cubed apples from browning you can soak them in a little pineapple juice diluted with water. Lemon lime soda works well too. Of course you can always soak them in water that has had a few drops of lemon or lime juice added but we find that this can make apples taste too tart.
I Knew I Bought All Those Biscuits For A Reason
1 OctCurrently, you can get a great deal on canned biscuits at Publix by combining the following coupons:
Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits, 12 to 17.3 oz, 4/$5
-$1/3 Pillsbury Refrigerated Grands or Grands Jr. Biscuits
-$2/3 Pillsbury Refrigerated Dough Items 9/16/2012, coupon sheet or Printable Publix Coupon
Buy 3 & pay $0.75 for all three cans! Not a bad deal in my book.
I was stalking glancing over one of my favorite food blogs the other day & came across this recipe. My mind immediately went to all that biscuit dough squished into cans on the top shelf of my fridge & I prepared to get to work.
I didn’t have pre-made cinnamon butter but that was no biggie. As I was collecting the butter, cinnamon & sugar, I started thinking about what else I could stuff into these biscuits to make them fabulous. Nutella? Yep. Chocolate chips, why not? I always have those. Why not make a savory version? Good Idea. Then I patted myself on the back for being so clever. You do that too right?
In the end, I made 3 variations of these pull-apart biscuit/roll thingies. All 3 were easy to make, tasted delicious & I would imagine that you could pretty much stuff these suckers with whatever tickled your fancy that day & they’d still be great.
There is no measurement for most of the ingredients that I used. But it’s super simple. Promise. Here’s how I made ’em…
Cinnamon Sugar Rolls inspired by bakedbree.com
- 1 can Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
- butter
- brown sugar
- cinnamon sugar mixture – 1 tbsp granulated sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Roll out biscuits slightly with a rolling-pin, wine bottle, sauce jar, whatever you have on hand. They don’t need to be completely flat, just flat enough that you can roll them up.
Spread a little butter all over the top of the biscuit.
Sprinkle some brown sugar on top of the butter followed by some of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Roll up the biscuit & lay it seam side down.
Slice biscuit into thirds & place those three pieces into a muffin pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake for 14-17 minutes
For Glaze: Whisk together 1/2 cup of powdered sugar & 2-3 tbsps of water or milk. Drizzle over the rolls.
Chocolate Rolls
- 1 can Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
- Nutella
- chocolate chips (I used semi sweet)
Directions
Roll out biscuits slightly.
Spread a layer of Nutella on top & sprinkle on some chocolate chips.
Roll up biscuit, slice into thirds, put each third into a muffin pan sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake at 350 for 14-17 minutes
Savory Pull Apart Dinner Rolls
- 1 can Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
- butter
- Italian seasoning
- minced garlic (I used the pre-minced stuff in the jar)
Directions
Roll out biscuits slightly.
Spread a layer of butter on top.
Sprinkle garlic & Italian seasoning over the butter.
Roll up, slice into thirds, place all three pieces in a muffin pan sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake at 350 for 14-17 minutes
This is what your biscuit should look like just before you roll it up.
Ready for the oven.
Cinnamon & Chocolate Rolls
Savory Dinner Rolls
Cass
Daily Bento
1 Oct
You may have noticed that there was no “Daily Bento” last Friday. Cam bought her lunch that day but told me on the way home from school that she would not be doing that again. The fruit cup that they served was less than satisfactory, the brownies had vanilla frosting on them, and the lunch lady did not give her enough time to choose what she wanted. Needless to say, the whole experience has turned her off from buying her lunch.
So we’re back to bento! And that’s fine with me.
Her Monday bento has sliced carrots & green beans in the bottom tier. The top tier has tiny grape tomatoes, Colby jack cheese slices wrapped in salami, cheez-its, and 3 vanilla creme brulee flavored rice cakes.
Meat & Potatoes Pizza
29 Sep
What is it about Friday nights & pizza? I mean, sure you could have pizza on any other day of the week & it would taste just as good, but there’s just something about pizza on Friday. I feel the same way about a big pot roast. That just screams Sunday to me.
In celebration of “Pizza Friday” at our house, I decided to do things a little differently. I played it safe with the kids though. Heavy on the cheese, light on the sauce. They’re not exactly risk takers when it comes to food.
The parentals’ pizza was much more fancy & mature.
I keeps it classy.
I had been wanting to try potato pizza ever since I had seen it done on one of those Food Network specials.
I like potatoes. I like pizza.
Seemed like a no-brainer to me.
There are tons of recipes online for potato pizza & all of them were pretty much the same. So I scoured my fridge for some culinary inspiration & threw my version together in just a few minutes.
It was easy. It was fast. It was delicious. It was cheaper than calling for delivery.
Works for me.
Meat & Potatoes Pizza
extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion – thinly sliced
1 russet potato – thinly sliced
1 lb refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 cup cooked meatballs – sliced or quartered
1/2 cup of red wine (give or take) – I used Merlot
Italian seasoning – optional
shredded mozzarella/parmesan cheese blend
Directions
Preheat oven to 450
Saute onion in a little olive oil over medium heat until soft.
Add a splash of wine. I did not measure here but I would venture to guess that I added about 1/2 cup to my onions.
When your onions are good & drunk with purpley goodness, transfer them to a bowl with the potatoes & meatballs.
Drizzle in just enough olive oil to lightly coat everything. Season with salt, pepper & Italian seasoning. Toss gently to combine.
Press or roll out your dough to desired shape & place dough on a cookie sheet or pizza stone.
Add potatoes to the dough in one layer. Then arrange meatballs & onions on top. Sprinkle lightly with cheese blend.
Bake for about 18 minutes or until crust is golden & potatoes are cooked through.
* I actually cooked my pizza on the back of the cast iron skillet that I cooked my onions in. I just wiped it out, flipped it over, rubbed some olive oil on with a paper towel & I was good to go.
Daily Bento
27 Sep
My daughter has become a yogurt lover pretty much over night. She always liked it in smoothies but I could never get her to eat it by itself. All that changed this afternoon. She’s become a full fledged yogurt maniac. So I figured why not make her day & put some in her bento?
Her bottom tier has strawberry yogurt with chopped fresh strawberries & a few rainbow sprinkles since today is her Aunt Jill’s birthday. Her top tier has ham roll-ups, cucumbers cut with apple-shaped cutters, and sliced grape tomatoes. Not pictured is a biscuit left-over from dinner that she requested I add to her lunch.
Cass
Wine Cupcakes!
27 Sep
We’re talking about wine, cupcakes, and friendship today!
All good things.
We’re discussing these things because today happens to be my best friend’s birthday.
We’ve been friends for over 20 years! That’s a long time.
That deserves a blog post.
Being friends as long as we have, there are a lot of great memories that we share.
We rarely talk on the phone but when we do, we usually end up laughing hysterically for hours over the things we did before we knew any better. In other words, our 20’s.
One particularly hilarious memory for me, revolves around a couple of bottles of red wine & how we learned late one night the best way NOT to open them. Word to the wise – corkscrews have a purpose. Keep ’em on hand… just sayin’.
In honor of her special day, I’m posting a recipe that reminds me of her.
These cupcakes are definitely for grown ups. There is wine in the cake & wine in the frosting, I also highly recommend serving them with a glass of wine.
Especially if it’s your birthday.
Happy Birthday Jill! ♥
Sweet Red Cupcakes
For Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter – room temperature
2 large eggs
1/4 sweet red wine
1/4 cup milk
For Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese – room temperature
2 tbsp sweet red wine
16 oz. package confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla
red food coloring – if desired
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl using your stand or hand mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until completely incorporated.
Add wine & milk & mix until combined.
Add dry ingredients & mix until smooth.
Fill cupcake tins about 2/3 full & bake for approximately 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes before removing from pan.
For Frosting
Beat cream cheese and wine with stand or hand mixer until smooth. About 2-3 minutes. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar and vanilla until well blended. Frosting will be pale pink. Add a couple drops of red food coloring if you want a deeper colored frosting. Frost cupcake tops.
Notes:
*Yields 24 cupcakes
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Beyond The Bento
We Should Be Folding Laundry 