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 #261 - Turkey & Cheese Sammy

Ella caught a glimpse of this lunch before I packed it away and she said "COOOL!  Except, I'm going to pretend that's a cat and not a dog."  What can I say?  The girl loves cats.

Quite a blurry picture of the sides - fresh fruit salad and broccoli.

Sandwich is cheddar and smoked turkey on whole wheat, and a side of ranch for the broccoli.

Easy Lunchbox all packed up!

Bento #261 - Turkey & cheddar on whole wheat, fruit salad and broccoli with ranch dressing.

Tomorrow is the LAST day to enter my bento starter pack giveaway!  I'm also throwing in extras not listed in the description, so if you haven't put your name in by now, what are you waiting for?!  Click here. (If you have problems entering, try logging out of Facebook and then back in again.)

0 Bento #256 - First Day of First Grade Bento

New year!  Miss Ella started first grade today.  How fast the summer flew!  Just look how adorable she is in her school uniform.  I got the cute bunting printable from Party On! Designs as a little first day surprise, and she loved it.

For back to school lunch we have an inside-out princess tiara turkey sandwich on wheat.

I cut out some red and yellow sweet bell peppers into flower shapes for her veg.

Served it up with some ranch dip in the panda container, along with a sweet Clementine.  The oranges I've been getting the last few weeks have been amazing!  Also a little snack of Goldfish crackers and some gummy vitamins for dessert.

Packed in her PlanteBox!  This year they aren't doing snack (at least that's what I understand right now!)

Bento #256 - Turkey & cheese sandwich on wheat, sweet bell peppers, Goldfish crackers, ranch dip, Clementine and gummy vitamins.

Don't forget to enter my Bentobloggiversary bento giveaway!  Click here to enter!

0 Bento #253 & #254 - Sandwich Plates

Today we have a two-fer, because neither is really creatively worthy of their own post, haha!  Above is a bento plate with a turkey breakfast patty sandwich and one of the 4 tomatoes that my plant produced on my back porch. Yum!

Bento #253 - Turkey patty sandwich, homegrown organic tomato, organic celery sticks and ranch dip.

Next is another bento on a Greentainer stainless plate. The black beans are from a Mexican place near us, and they are super tasty, and E loves them.  I also tackled a huge watermelon that this slice came from.  I don't think I've cut up a larger watermelon in my life!  Good thing at least two of us in the house like melon.

Bento #254 - Turkey & cheese sandwich on White Mountain bread, fresh watermelon and black beans.

4 Bento #251 - Turkey & Sweet Corn

I'm so tickled that I've been nominated for a Top 25 Foodie Moms award on CircleofMoms.com!  I'd be flattered if you'd vote for Bentobloggy here:

We had our last school field trip yesterday, to the Atlanta Zoo!  There were so many parent volunteers that my group consisted of only one of Ella's little girlfriends, so we had a really nice and relaxing morning exploring together.  We started out in the opposite direction of everyone else, so we got most of the exhibits all to ourselves.  The panda bears were really active, which was so cool to see. It was also supposed to thunderstorm but we escaped it all, and the high temperatures with some cloud cover.

Today's lunch was one of only about five that I've ever made in the morning.  I usually make them right before I go to bed, because I'm barely functional at 6:30am.  She has a whole wheat White Mountain bread turkey and cheddar sandwich in the first box.

In the second she has some grape tomatoes, fresh sweet corn sprinkled with a little kosher sea salt and a cheddar Babybel.

Packed up with snack - Cat cookies and an organic gala apple.

Bento #251 - Turkey and cheddar on whole wheat, sweet corn, grape tomatoes and cheddar Babybel.  Snack - Organic gala apple and cat cookies.

2 Bento #188 - Whole Grain Turkey Rollup

I got a whole new batch of cute bento items from AllThingsForSale.com the other day!  Look at this ADORABLE little piggy sauce container!  So cute, I can't stand it.  School gets out on May 25th here, how about for you?  I'm getting a little burned out these days, I can't wait for summer vacation to get here.

Bento #188 - Turkey & cheese whole grain rollup, organic strawberries, organic cucumbers and salad cream.

1 Bento #183 - Earth Day Lunch

First, this lunch is in a Planet Box, and the pasta is Barilla PLUS with Omega 3s and a lot of other goodness.  I made a huge batch for the volunteers at school, and packed some for Ella as well.  It's tossed with roasted organic veggies in a balsamic butter sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Bento #183 - Vegetarian organic pasta salad, dried blueberries and cherries, pretzel sticks, roast turkey slices and vitamins.

Officially, Earth Day is today, but E's school had their Earth Day celebration on Wednesday, marked with a school-wide parade, awards, booths, activities and presentations.  It's such great fun, and so informative!  This year we had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Marcus Eriksen, co-founder of the 5 Gyres Institute.  He spoke about the pollution, specifically plastic, that is inundating the Pacific with huge floating garbage patches.  He and his colleagues built a raft out of thousands of empty water bottles and an airplane cockpit and floated on it for 3 months from California to Hawaii, braving the elements and studying water and sea life along the way. It was so interesting!  Certainly makes one think twice about using disposable plastics.  One tip he gave which I hadn't even thought about was to skip the plastic straws when you go out to eat.

Dr. Eriksen speaking in front of the Earth Balloon in the community center.

Showing some of the empty cigarette lighters he picked up on remote Pacific islands that wildlife is ingesting.

A sea turtle which grew around a plastic milk jug ring.

 Later I sat with E's class as they ate.  Her friend L also brought a PlanetBox lunch!

1 Bento #174 - Turkey Sushi & Snap Pea Garden

So in our house we have a nice big 2 lb bag of sugar snap peas.  We love sugar snap peas, and it's both a blessing and a curse that they keep so long and hardy in the veggie drawer.

Here are the five stages of sugar snap peas.

Stage 1:  Hooray!  Sugar snap peas are back, good golly and joy to the world!
Stage 2:  Yum, sugar snap peas, they sure are sweet.  And snappy!
Stage 3:  Goodness, look at all these snap peas.  I'm thankful for the fiber.
Stage 4:  Wow, sugar snap peas...again?
Stage 5:  So, do you think we can plant these suckers outside?

Today's bento is a veggie and fruit garden on the left, with sugar snap peas as the flower stalks, yellow bell peppers as the flowers, a cheddar cheese butterfly and some grape "hyacinths" (...eh, it's a stretch.)  It was inspired by my trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this weekend with my husband and friends who are photography enthusiasts (...or in my case, amateur.  E went to the zoo with her Nana.)  On the right we have turkey & cheese "sushi" tortilla rollups, also with finely minced yellow bell peppers inside.  E isn't hugely keen on bell peppers yet, but we are getting there.

Spring in the South!

Bento #174 - Sugar snap peas, yellow bell pepper, red grapes, turkey & cheese on a flour tortilla and salad dressing (not shown.)

7 Bento #171 - Turkey Bacon Panini and Snap Peas (Oscar Night Atlanta Gala 2011)

Coming off an exciting weekend!  I didn't have a bento for Monday because I didn't make one.  Ella spent Sunday night with her aunt and uncle who made her a yummy lunch and packed her off to school.  My husband and I attended the Oscar Night America charity gala event here in Atlanta, which was exciting.  We got all dolled up and walked a [small] red carpet.  Here's a picture of us as we were dropping E off at my SIL's house.  You have no idea how many pairs of Spanx I'm wearing.

I think all I'm missing is a corsage! It was fun sitting in the big theatre and watching the Academy Awards on a huge screen, enjoying cocktails, perusing the silent auction items and noshing at the hors d'oeuvre table (and might I add, they had a mighty tasty lemon/fennel/rosemary roasted veg tray. Delish.)

About today's bento. Sugar snap peas are back! I haven't seen them in a while. I also haven't had blackberries in some time, but I snagged some of those, as well as mango, pineapple, pears, strawberries, apples, bananas and grapes. Just call it a fruit salad. I'm going to be grilling the pineapple for tonight's dinner with teriyaki chicken.

The bread is something new [to me] from the Costco bakery. They are mini square rolls of chunky whole wheat, the perfect size for little hands (and I guess large ones too, since I packed this exact same lunch for my husband as well, sans cute accessories.)

Bento #171 - Turkey, bacon & cheese on whole wheat, Goldfish crackers, fresh blackberries, fresh sugar snap peas and Vidalia onion dressing.

4 Bento #170 - Thai Coconut Rice Hello Kitty

A Planet Box lunch today, with another Hello Kitty, this time with Thai coconut rice in the mold instead of an egg.  The coconut rice is in honor of the Thai cooking workshop I'm taking tonight.  I made the rice with dinner last night, (smoked garlic sausage from my butcher shop sauteed with minced red onion and bok choy that I got in my CSA basket) following this recipe from Tasty Kitchen.  YUM.

Bento #170 - Thai coconut rice with sprinkle accents, deli sliced turkey, organic sliced carrots, organic mango, dried cherry, craisin, blueberry & peanut medley, and some fruit gummy vitamins.

4 Bento #169 - Heart Ravioli & Turkey

I cooked up some more of the cute four cheese heart ravioli I got the other week, (thank you Costco for double packs) which E really loves.  My mom got me a neat Zyliss julienne peeler gadget, which I tried out on a carrot to make another "nest".  Not sure if I was wielding it correctly, but it seemed kind of clumsy to use.  We also have some sliced turkey breast pinwheels on skewers for extra protein.

Bento #169 - Four cheese ravioli, organic carrot & broccoli, turkey breast, and a tropical fruit cup (not shown.)

0 Bento #162 - Grilled Turkey & Carrots

Enter the AllThingsForSale bento giveaway here!

I had some leftover hot dog buns laying around, and figured I'd make E a sandwich with some shredded cheddar and sliced turkey breast.  I toasted it in the panini grill, and sliced it into sections.  I used one of my veggie cutters to make the carrot flowers.  Those little bears are just hangin' on for dear life!

Bento #162 - Grilled turkey & cheese, red grapes, salad cream, and organic carrots.

1 Bento # 87 - Turkey Meatballs & Sweet Peppers

FIRST of all...the Cookware.com giveaway details will be posted tomorrow.  You know, just thought you'd like a heads up. ;)

Today's lunch consisted of those yummy TJ's turkey meatballs (cut in half - they are HUGE).  Miss E actually chose all the pick decorations today, which she was tickled to do, given that she doesn't usually have access to my bento supply organizer.  This is the first time I've given her raw sweet bell peppers - usually I add them into things I'm cooking, but today I wanted her to try them naked.  She was reticent at first because she associates "peppers" understandably with "spicy", but I assured her they were sweet.  She ended up loving them and cleaned her entire plate!

Bento #87 - Turkey meatballs, cucumber flowers, sweet bell peppers, yogurt dip and cheese.

3 Bento #83 - Turkey Meatballs & Veggie Fried Rice

You have until midnight EST tonight to enter the giveaway contest!

First of all, I'm so excited about choosing winners for the giveaway contest tomorrow!  There have been some wonderful ideas and recipes posted, such an imaginative group (and what good eaters!)  I have plans for more contests in near future, since this one has gone so well.  Thanks to everyone who participated!  I will post winners around noon tomorrow.

Using the tray again today, we have some cute tree animals in our broccoli forest and hanging out on our meatball boulders.  The meatballs are turkey, and they are from Trader Joe's.  E really loves them, she squealed "HMMM, these are soooo yummy!"  She thinks they are chicken, though, which is fine by me.  She is still quite wary of most meats, except chicken.

Bento #83 - Veggie fried rice, flame broiled turkey meatballs, steamed broccoli, marinara dipping sauce and craisins.

0 Bento #55 - Grilled Turkey & Cheese

It seems to be Clementine season yet again, and I have a few pounds of them sitting on my counter, so you'll probably see a few in the coming days (if I don't eat them all myself first.)

These crispy mini cookies are oatmeal raisin, and I get them at Trader Joe's.  First time I've gotten them, and they smell so good, like nutty Nilla wafers to me.  

Bento #55 - Turkey & cheese melt, carrot coins, Clementine wedges and crispy mini oatmeal raisin cookies.

0 Turkey & Spinach Quiche with Caramelized Onions

Today I hosted a teacher appreciation luncheon at my daughter's school for both her teachers.  I had such fun planning the menu!

Turkey & Spinach Quiche with Caramelized Onions

Roasted Vegetables in Balsamic Butter Sauce tossed with Rotini Pasta

Fresh Fruit Salad

White Chocolate Chip & Berries Oatmeal Cookies

This is such a simple recipe for quiche, mainly because there is no crust to fool with.  I actually like my quiche without crust, so this is perfect for me (and anyone who is carb or gluten conscious.)

I normally make this quiche with bacon, but for once I didn't have any (horrors!) but had instead some really nice sliced roast turkey.  I browned it in bacon fat to get some extra flavor.  It turns deliciously brown and savory.

10 strips bacon (or turkey, as explained above)
1/2 yellow onion, very thinly sliced
6 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 package frozen chopped spinach (squeezed dry)
1/2 lb of hard cheese (I usually use 1/4 lb swiss and 1/4 lb cheddar cheese or Monterey Pepper Jack for a kick)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Heat Oven to 350 F.

Grate your cheese.  Hmmmm.

Today I used Emmentaler and Cheddar.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp, and coarsely chop. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings from the skillet. Add onion and cook on very high heat until softened, browned and caramelized.  Add spinach and cook over medium heat with onions for about 3-4 minutes.  Remove and add to bacon, toss well together and cool completely.  When cooled, add cheeses and toss together.  At this point you could cover and refrigerate until you're ready to bake it, which is what I did for the luncheon.

In a large bowl combine eggs, cream, and pepper. Pour this egg mixture over your bacon, spinach and onion (with any drippings), and mix well with a fork.

Pour mixture into buttered 10-inch tart pan or 9-inch deep pie plate. At this point I'm in my mother-in-law's kitchen where she has much better lighting!

Tent with foil. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. During the last 15 minutes, remove foil for browning.

Cool 5 minutes and cut into wedges.

0 Bento #9 - Turkey Quesadilla

Bento #9 - Turkey & cheese quesadilla, asparagus & dipping sauce.

This was tonight's dinner. She declared that she doesn't eat meat, or asparagus. I declared that she does eat both, especially if she wants dessert. Ahh, mommyhood!