1 Bento #211 - Mac n' Cheese & Watermelon

Ella wanted to have mac and cheese for dinner last night, but we ended up going out for burgers instead, so I made it for her lunch today.  It's her favourite TJ's white cheddar, to which I add some extra shredded cheese to make it extra good.  Lunch today also happens to be unwittingly vegetarian for Meatless Monday.

Fresh watermelon on skewers and those green beans she picked out the other day.  I just blanched them in some boiling salted water, and then dunked them in an ice bath.  I also included a bit of dip on the side.

Bento #211 - Macaroni & cheese, organic green beans, organic watermelon and dip.  Snack - Craisins and Goldfish crackers.

0 Bento #206 - Mac n' Apple Sausage

We have a Planetbox lunch today with Aidell's chicken & apple sausage and Trader Joe's organic white mac n' cheese.  Yummy!  The bell peppers didn't photograph too well, but they are cut in the shape of flowers.

Snack was an apple & banana crusher, (also from TJ's) which was completely new to us.  Also some organic baby carrots and dip.

Bento #206 - Chicken & apple sausage, organic white mac n' cheese, yellow bell peppers, dried blueberries and organic craisins.  Snack:  Organic baby carrots, dip and an apple banana Crusher.

0 Bento #201 - Steak Salad & Hello Kitty

Craaaaazy busy day yesterday!  I suffered mild sunburn all in the name of toxic shower curtains.  My local chapter of The Mommies Network was contacted by the Dr. Oz show and asked a bunch of us to come down with our old shower curtain liners and film a segment about their toxicity.  We filmed from 10am to 12:30pm!  I have several speaking lines, though who knows if my bit will ever make it on TV.  It was fun, and the show should air soon, during the next season which starts September 12th.

Goodness, my bento boxes are looking really stuffed lately!  I guess it's that snack.  This lunch consists of sliced steak and a little bit of mac n' cheese leftover from dinner and a whole lotta Hello Kitty.  The panda holds dip, and the little chickie holds two iron vitamins.  I finally found some without aspartame!!  Bluebonnet Rainforest Vitamins.

Bento #201 - Sliced steak, artisan lettuce, ranch, mac n' cheese, iron multi vitamin, and slushy applesauce. Snack: raspberries & granola bite.

2 Bento #173 - Mac n' Cheese & Strawberry Kebab

First and foremost, I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with those that are affected by the recent earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan and other areas.  I can't fathom that kind of trauma and destruction that so many people are living through right now.  I hope you'll consider making a donation to your favorite relief charity.

We are busy over here planning our summer vacation, our first one in five years that doesn't coincide with a family wedding.  We just purchased our airfare for a tour of Iceland, England, Wales, Scotland and possibly France (if I can convince my MIL to cross the English Channel.)  My sister S will meet up with us in London for a few days so we can visit our aunt and cousins, then we will part ways as she heads to Spain.  We'll hit up the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which we've been saying we were going to do every year for the last, oh, 9 years?  Well, this is finally the year!  As I've mentioned in the past, most of our trips center around motorsports events, and this is a huge one.

We will end up in New York City and Washington D.C. visiting my family, and then back home sweet home.  Whew!  Now, to figure out how to save up for it all....  I've never been to Iceland before, I can't wait to see it.  I'd love your best travel tips.  What are your favorite sights?

Miss Ella is probably going to flip out when she sees today's lunch.  She loves mac n' cheese, and she loves the zoo animals pasta.  Combine, and voila!  Happy child.

Bento #173 - Organic tomato/spinach macaroni & cheese, organic cucumber flowers and organic strawberry slices.

18 Bento #151 - Moose Mac n' Cheese

I whipped up a batch of whole wheat mac n' cheese - so simple!  Takes 10 minutes, including the pasta cook time.  While the pasta is cooking, add 2 Tbs heavy cream, 4 oz cream cheese and a handful of shredded or cubed hard yellow cheese (I used cubed Colby Jack.)  Gently melt it together, and toss pasta in with it (about 1.5 cups.)  Salt and pepper to taste.

Today I picked up my first produce basket from Farmers Market Baskets.  I got so many great things for $20! I got a small organic basket which included 1 whole head each spinach & fancy lettuce, 3 stalks broccoli, 2 pears, 4 unripe bananas, 3 cameo apples, 3 oranges, 3 white potatoes, 2 tomatoes, 1 acorn squash and 1 onion, all organic or a 'clean 15'. It's really the perfect size for our family! Next time I will get extra apples, we eat tons of them in our house.

Last thing, I picked up a sweet masala dabba spice tin from World Market today, love it!  I can put any variety of spices and herbs in there I want, but I went the traditional Indian route and filled it with mustard seed, cumin seed, ground cardamom (don't have whole pods), curry, garam masala, coriander seeds and tumeric.  I get a hankering for one every time I watch Aarti Paarti on the Food Network.

Bento #151 - Whole wheat mac n' cheese, cherry tomatoes, organic steamed broccoli, clementine and a twin cherry gummy.

0 Bento #132 - Mac and Italian Chicken

Ahh, mac n' cheese, a perennial kid favorite.  I've quartered an Aidells Italian chicken meatball for some extra protein (on drumstick skewers!) as well as the edamame, which also has great protein.  Fresh frozen raspberries for dessert, and that's what I call lunch!

By the way, that orange cup?  It's from a pack of multi-colored egg cups (aka, egg "chairs") I picked up at Tuesday Morning a few weeks ago by Zak! Designs.  It's a really neat size and shape.

Bento #132 - Organic mac n' cheese, Italian chicken meatball, organic edamame, and frozen raspberries.

2 Bento #124 - Mac & Ham Flowers

Miss E requested her favorite organic mac n' cheese for dinner, and some went into this bento.  It's topped with cucumber and ham flowers.  The celery is topped with peanut butter and chopped pecan pieces for a nice crunchy bite.

Bento #124 - Organic mac n' cheese, cucumbers, ham, Aussie apple, celery and peanut butter pecan sticks.

7 Bento #101 - Mac n' Cheese & Fruit Salad

This mac n' cheese is Trader Joe's brand organic white cheddar, and it's my favorite when I don't have the ingredients or inclination to make my own.  This is a bento box that I don't use much because it's an odd shape, but it's cute and has good space inside, so I must try and use it more often!

Bento #101 - Organic white shells and cheese on a bed of artisan lettuce, fruit salad, and flower cucumbers.

Sushi Popper giveaway winners will be posted in just a bit!

4 Baked Macaroni & Cheese

I'm taking a quick break in the air conditioning to jump on and say hi! As I mentioned on my Facebook page, I'm at the lake for a week at our family reunion. My grandfather is 90 years old tomorrow, and I happened to turn 29 for the second time yesterday ;) It's been so fun, minus having to shop for all new toiletries after I forgot my fully-packed case at home on the bathroom counter. So, we've been doing a LOT of cooking. I mean, we have between 20-30 people to feed for dinner every night! The other night I made paella, and added some beautiful shrimp.

This post is going to be about my baked mac 'n cheese, but I also made some delicious crab-stuffed mushroom caps that everyone loved, a post which will come later.  No step-by-step this time, just before and afters. :)


The inspiration recipe comes from Patti LaBelle, via Oprah.  I just had to try it a few years ago, and it has stuck, with a few modifications, and become a family favorite.  One recipe serves 4 to 6, and I tripled it to feed all our family last night.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound small shell pasta
8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded (or chopped) Muenster cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mild Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Pepper Jack (or regular, un-spicy, if you prefer)
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup (8 ounces) Velveeta , cut into small cubes
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole.

Bring the large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the oil, then the shell pasta and cook until the macaroni is just tender, about 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain well and return to the cooking pot.

In a small saucepan, melt eight tablespoons of the butter. Stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, mix the Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses. To the macaroni, add the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta, and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and dot with the remaining one tablespoon of butter.

Bake until it's bubbling around the edges, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.

Before:

And the luscious after:

Now, I leave you with an evening view from our lake house.

4 Bento #79 - ABC Mac n' Cheese

I dragged my family and our best friends and their daughter out to Super H Mart.  I told them is was a field trip, and they would love it.  Of course, I was right and they did love it, and we came away with some amazing produce, and naturally, some new bento items!  That post will come in a bit.  For now, I introduce E's newest bento box, with matching fork (just a super simple lunch, nothing fancy.)

Bento #79 - Organic ABC pasta with homemade cheese sauce, steamed broccoli and sliced strawberries.

I just love the little sayings they always seem to have on these boxes.  It says "Leaflet tight - It is so wonderful to be able to maintain your dreams."

0 Crazy Moose Mac & Cheese

My daughter requested macaroni & cheese for lunch today, and the whole wheat moose-shaped pasta we bought from Ikea recently.  Well, I had to go and mess with a perfectly good mac n'cheese recipe by adding an envelope of veggie dip mix and parmesan cheese.  Now, I think it tastes yummy, but E doesn't care for it at all.  I baked it in my silicone flower cups, and the remainder I put in my moose baking pan, just for kicks.  *sigh*  This will be one to freeze and try much later.  Too bad E is the only one who can or will eat pasta.

0 Bento #33 - Lunch & Classroom Snack

About once a month we are assigned classroom snack, which I need to prepare for 20. I tried to make mini corn muffins, but apparently I can't accomplish that on the first try!  Flat and burned.  Yuck!  I scrapped the whole pan.

Corn muffin FAIL:

Second batch was much better, but they didn't get golden brown on the top like I wanted, but I was too terrified of having them burn like the first batch, and I certainly didn't want to stay up past 2am.  And anyway, we're talking 3 year olds here, not Tom Colicchio.  I made a fresh strawberry, pineapple, grape and banana fruit salad to go along with it.

Miss E had fish sticks for dinner last night that she didn't finish, as well as mac n' cheese, so I decided to make her lunch easy on myself and just pack those for her (and make a little more room in my fridge.)

Bento #33 - Mac n' cheese and fish sticks with cheese stars and hearts, broccoli and spinach dipping sauce.

0 Bento #14 - Ham & Spinach Rollup

I received my bento shipment from Japan this morning! It had a bunch of adorable skewers in it, and I wanted to try them out, so I got a little skewer-crazy! I steamed some fresh sweet corn, and Ella just loves it. I can do it really quickly in the micro - just use a microwave-safe plate, add some water to the bottom, and the corn on the cob, then cover with a domed splatter shield with holes in the top, and micro on high for 4 mins. Delish! Sorry for the over-exposed pic, not sure why that happened.

Bento #14 is a mac n' cheese, ham & spinach rollup, fresh sweet corn off the cob, and grapes on skewers.

0 Bento #13 - Pita Pockets

Bento #13 - I made more cheese cutouts, and with all the trimmings I've collected I made mac n' cheese. I decided to try the mini pita pockets I bought and stashed in the freezer. Anyway, this bento consists of mini pita stuffed with mac n' cheese, with a chicken nugget tucked inside for protein, a side of celery sticks, topped with colby cheese, and strawberry cream cheese for dipping.

0 Bento #4 - Ham n' Cheese Flower

Bento #4 - my take on a fun grilled ham & cheese sandwich in star flower shape. It's not actually burned ;)

Today was meet the teacher day at E's school, so when we got home I made her lunch.

0 Bento #2 - Animal Rollup

Bento #2 - Okay, I fully admit it - I have no idea what kind of "animal" this might be, but Ella liked it. It consists of bacon mac n'cheese (leftover from The Nook the other day) with sliced chicken nuggets rolled in a small flour tortilla. Raspberries and sliced chicken nuggets for ears, nose and tail.




I know this isn't REAL bento, but it will be more so once she starts school next week and I start packing it in her lunch box ;)

A few days ago I took Ella to the Dollar Tree, and then to Ikea to buy a bunch of bento supplies - cookie cutters, neat cups, pretty toothpicks...fun!