0 Sushi Tray

Isn't this gorgeous! My husband's and my 8th anniversary is this weekend, and we decided to order a sushi tray at WholeFoods (not to mention they were 20% off!)

0 Bento #50 !! Grilled Cheese Heart

This was Miss E's last Bento before Winter break.  I made it happy, see?  Rainbow sprinkles!

Bento #50 - Grilled cheese on wheat heart, cherry tomatoes, celery & spinach dip, and craisins.

0 Shiver & Shake

I'm such a kid, I do this every time I heat up my stainless pans! It's so cool to watch the water shiver and shake and skate around like mercury.



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

2 Bento #49 - Gyoza & Strawberries

More gyoza!  It's E's favorite thing in the world, so she's having it again.

Bento #49 - Gyoza on a bed of salad and sliced strawberries.

0 Bento #48 - Gyoza & Checkerboard Apple

My first attempt at something fancy - a checkerboard patterned apple.  Cool, huh?

Bento #48 - Gyoza, celery sticks with spinach dip, grape tomatoes and a checkerboard apple half.

0 Bento #47 - Octodogs & Salad

Lots of veggies today!  A couple Octodogs for good measure, along with a perennial favorite, strawberries.  Something was up with Miss E, because she only ate her strawberries, when she'd normally eat most of it.

Bento #47 - Octodogs, salad, celery, carrots, spinach dip and strawberries.

0 Creamed Hard Boiled Eggs with Thyme

I really wanted something different to do with hard-boiled eggs besides deviled eggs (which I love) so I decided to try a cheesy sauce to serve over sliced eggs.  Here's what I came up with - it's velvety and delicious!

Creamed Hard Boiled Eggs with Thyme

1.5 cups heavy cream

4 oz cream cheese

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together cream and both cheeses, and whisk until melted and thoroughly combined.  Add onion powder, thyme, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over sliced hard-cooked eggs.

0 Bento #46 - Fish Party

The kid and the husband got fish sticks for dinner tonight, and I teased my husband about "bento-fying" it for him.  I arranged them all on a plate for sharing with ketchup in the middle, and stuck a few fish picks around for good measure.  (This is more of a joke than anything :p )

0 Bento #45 - Quesadilla, Veggies & Banana Bread

Yesterday we visited our favorite local taqueria after church.  E didn't eat her chicken and cheese quesadilla, so I packed it for her in today's bento.  Also, I picked up some new silicone cups - isn't it cute?  It's a fluted square, great size and shape.

Bento #45 - Chicken & cheese quesadilla, lime wedge, celery sticks, grape tomatoes, slice of homemade banana bread and fresh strawberries.

0 Bento Dinner Party!

Tonight Miss E had her friend Mr. N over for dinner and a mock sleep over while his parents went out to dinner.    I made dipper appetizers and pizza for them.

0 Eggplant-Veggie-Meat Lasagne

When I returned home after a week in Maryland, I discovered that there were a lot of veggies in the fridge that needed to be used asap. Half a red onion, the rest of a bag of spinach, some roasted red peppers, a container of portabella mushrooms, half a container of ricotta, and an eggplant. There was only one option - lasagne! Eggplant is a very good facsimile for lasagne noodles, and I slice them very thinly with my mandolin. You can basically add whatever veggies you like, and sautee them in a pan. Also, you don't have to use meat in this, but I always do.

1 eggplant, peeled and very thinly sliced (I really prefer baby eggplants, about 3 or 4)
1 lb ground beef
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint mushrooms, sliced
handful spinach
1 medium onion, diced
2 roasted peppers
1/2 large container of ricotta
3 cups parmesan to sprinkle
1 jar no-sugar-added marinara

Brown meat, add onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Add mushrooms, brown for 3 minutes, then add peppers and spinach. Salt and pepper to taste.

 Add jar of marinara. Stir in ricotta.

Layer a large baking pan with eggplant slices. Top with sauce, then sprinkle parmesan. Repeat layers, and sprinkle generously with parm. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes, let rest for 10 minutes.

0 Pan-Roasted Bacon Brussels Sprouts

Soooooo good.

Fresh brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced lengthwise in half
2-3 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
2 large shallots, sliced thinly
mushrooms, sliced (optional)
olive oil
1-2 Tbs balsamic or apple cider vinegar (or even Worcestershire sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese (optional)

Add some bacon drippings or olive oil to a pan and heat through, and start sauteeing the shallots and mushrooms, 1-2 minutes.  Throw the sprout, and add salt and pepper and sautee for 4-5 minutes until they get some color, then add the crumbled bacon. Sprinkle with vinegar and cook another 2-3 minutes until all the veg is coated and it starts to cook off the vinegar. Remove from heat and toss with parmesan cheese, if desired.