1 Turkey Biscuit Pie

If you have some leftover roast turkey or chicken, this is a super great way to use it up!

Turkey Biscuit Pie

You'll need:

3 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken

10-12 frozen ready-to-bake biscuits

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cups chopped frozen or fresh veggies of your choice (I used peas, rainbow carrots, mushrooms and corn)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, minced

2 tsp sage

2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

water

salt to taste

butter or olive oil for sauteeing

Preheat oven to 375F

In a large sautee pan, begin by sauteeing all the vegetables in a bit of butter or olive oil, until they are just cooked through, but still crisp.  The onions and celery will be translucent, but not browned.

Add both cans of soup, then fill each can 3/4 full with water and pour into pan, and add pepper, sage and thyme. Stir well to combine.

Fold in shredded turkey and taste for seasoning.  Only add salt after tasting, as there is quite a bit already in the soup.

Pour mixture into a large baking dish, about 9x12.

Top with frozen biscuits, enough to cover the top.  Push each one down slightly.  It's okay if they sink in, they will rise and brown beautifully!

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the liquid is bubbly and the biscuits are golden brown.  Check the biscuits to make sure they are cooked through and not doughy (if so, keep baking.)

Ella says this is her favorite dinner ever!

0 Bento #226 - Gyoza & Tomatoes

This one's been hanging out in my bento folder for a few weeks now.  We've been on vacation from school and work, and enjoying our time off and relaxing!  Hope everyone else has been enjoying their time too.  My husband and I spend our 10th wedding anniversary at the Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa in the North Georgia mountains for a few days.  We went horseback riding, had spa treatments, a wine tasting at a local vineyard and more.  We even had our very own fireplace in our suite.  Heaven!

For this Planetbox bento, we have E's favourite chicken gyoza here, cut in half.

E has been bugging me about fresh tomatoes for the last few weeks.  She loves Romas!

Accompanying the tomatoes and gyoza are little cute bottles of ponzu sauce and ranch dressing.

All loaded up in her Planetbox!

Bento #226 - Chicken gyoza, ponzu sauce, celery sticks, ranch dip, roma tomatoes and multi vitamins.  Snack - Focaccia croutons and dried cranberries.

0 Bento #225 - Pizza & Fruit Salad

Oh my word, I'm so far behind in posting bentos!  Today E helped me.  We have TJ's famous Pizza Margherita with the crusts cut off (one because it doesn't fit in the box with them on and two, E doesn't really care for it.)  It's imported from Italy, uses great cheese, a tasty dough and it's fast cooking.  It's one of the best frozen pizzas ever and we always have a few in our freezer.

She arranged her own veggies as well, and decided on both celery and carrots.  Fresh fruit salad is also on the menu.

Snack is a bowl full of Goldfish crackers and a special Rice Krispie Treat, which E also helped me make.  The three of us literally polished off the entire batch in an 18 hour period.  Yikes!

I'm an equal-opportunity bento box user.

Bento #225 - Margherita pizza, fresh fruit salad, celery, organic carrots and ranch dip.  Snack - Rice Krispie Treat and Goldfish. 

4 Bento #200! First Day of Kindergarten Flower PB&J

Aaaand 200!  I asked Miss E what she wanted for her first day of Kindergarten lunch, and she was very specific.  She wanted PB&J, carrots, broccoli (which I don't have, so she settled for celery), dip, and an Aussie apple. This year parents are sending snacks every day, rather than depending on a class snack.  It works for me because I can control exactly what goes in her belly and make sure it's healthy.  She asked for a granola bite and a slushy applesauce (frozen applesauce which is slushy by the time lunch rolls around.)  Your wish is my command!

Bento #200 - Organic peanut butter and organic strawberry jam on 15 grain bread, organic carrots and organic celery, ranch dip, homemade granola bite, frozen apple sauce and an Aussie apple (not shown.)

So, what are you guys planning for your kiddos for the first day of school?

0 Bento #199 - Chicken-Cilantro Wontons & Grape Pyramid

Oh my lawd, #199?  That's a lot of lunches.  Next week for #200 I'm planning to do a giveaway to celebrate, so be on the lookout!  It'll also be the first school lunch of the year, so it'll definitely be in a bento box.

I am just in love with this Cath Kidston food tray!  I'm so glad I popped into the shop and got it before they closed. It's so sweet.  The Pororo chopsticks are also super cute.  I piled the grapes into a 3-D pyramid with a fun little flag pick.

Bento # 199 - All natural chicken-cilantro wontons, organic celery spears, homemade pesto, and organic red grapes.

2 Bento #147 - Naan Pizza

Today E and I made a naan bread pizza, with fresh tomato basil bruschetta as the base, shredded cheese, and  a couple slices of ham. I buy naan in the frozen section at Trader Joe's, and now they sell it in the bakery area of Costco (which is where this naan came from.)  It was baked at 400 for about 9 minutes.

Bento #147 - Naan pizza, fresh fruit salad, yogurt stars, sunflower seeds and celery.

19 Bento #142 - Beary Good Bento

Pardon the corny title, it's late and my husband is whistling "The Chicken Dance" as he does the dishes, and it's a bad influence on me.

Yesterday I was online browsing luggage stores and came across this totally adorable lunch bag!  I have a real soft spot right now for owls (E's class is called The Owls and their class mascot is named Whooo.)  This one's by Skip Hop, and has a matching backpack.  Hold me back!  Utter cuteness.

As for today's bento, as the title suggests, I have some cute bear friends holding hands.   Right now World Market has their cookie cutters on sale, BOGO free, and they are the perfect size for a slice of cheese.  I made a loaf of sandwich bread today and that's what the bread in this bento is, Mr. Brown Bear was made using the heel piece.

You'd think that buying a fresh fruit salad is a waste of money on a small scale, however I've found recently that they've been a very cost-effective way of getting a variety of fruit that I'd not otherwise get, especially this time of year.  It's a huge bonus that it's already cut and prepared.  I bought a 2lb fresh fruit salad bowl this evening for $5.92, and I know I spend that much on just one type of fruit, let alone the five or six types that are included.  It just makes sense!

Bento #142 - Homemade bread, Monterey Jack cheese, celery sticks, homemade chocolate chip cookie and fresh fruit salad.

8 Bento #139 - Veggie Rice Salad

The other night I made a batch of jasmine rice for dinner...and then realized I didn't have a major ingredient I needed (don't you hate that?)  I pulled it out of the fridge last night and thought I could make something good with it, and all these wonderful fresh veggies I have.  Maybe a rice salad?  I have to admit, I don't think I've ever tasted a rice salad, let alone made one, but when I get a food idea in my head, I just have to try it.  I started by finely dicing carrots, celery, asparagus, julienned some cucumber and chiffonade some baby spinach.

I tossed it with the rice, along with some freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt, a few dried cranberries, and tossed it all with a pinch of Pecorino Romano cheese, and about 1 tsp of salad cream.  It tasted wonderful!  It's mild enough for a kid, but if I was making it for myself, I'd add some really good brined black olives, diced tomatoes and a hard boiled egg or two and a splash of cider vinegar to give it more body and depth.  The raw veg gives it this fresh, crisp texture, and the cranberries are sweet and give it a nice chewy bite.

Bento #139 - Jasmine rice salad with organic carrots, organic baby spinach, celery, asparagus, cucumbers, and cranberries, mini meat balls and fresh raspberries.