2 Bento #238 - Cucumber-Bacon Sandwiches & Cherries

This idea was WAY cuter in my head!  I had envisioned thin slices of cucumber with a strip of bacon and topped with spinach artichoke cream cheese and rolled up and secured with a pick.  Unfortunately, my hand-slicing wasn't quite thin enough.  I really needed to bust out my mandolin.  In any case, we have cucumber sandwiches instead of rolls.

Fresh cherries, and a side of almond-raisin granola and Goldfish crackers.

Bento #238 - Cucumber, bacon and spinach-artichoke cream cheese sandwiches, cherries, granola and Goldfish crackers.  Snack - Clementine and roasted peanuts.

2 Bento #215 - Spinach Ravioli & Fruit Salad

These days I almost always make stuffed pasta like ravioli using my so-called "dumpling method."  It's just a really quick and easy way to make it, especially from frozen.  Seven minutes flat.  No waiting for a bunch of water to boil and then baby sitting it to make sure it doesn't burst open.  It's just a lidded skillet, a little oil and 2/3 cup water.  Cover and cook on high for seven minutes, and voila!  Done, lickety-split.

We have a small container with herb parmesan topping.

Lots of fruit salad with some water fowl friends.

And snack is saltines with honey roasted peanut butter.

The stainless container is a Greentainer which is two-tiered, which is nice because it keeps everything pretty compact.

Bento #215 - Pasta Prima spinach ravioli and herb parm, and fresh fruit salad.  Snack - Saltine crackers and honey roasted peanut butter.

1 Bento #195 - Duckling Sandwiches & Berries

Whew!  I've had some technical difficulties in the last week.  Boring stuff, database corruption, blah, blah, plus a lot of work at my regular job.  All fixed now.  We are preparing to go on our big vacation!  I'll hopefully be posting pictures while I'm there, as long as I can find some free Wi-Fi.

By the way, I actually won 1st place in a cook-off this weekend with my Andouille & Cilantro Paella!  I won a $50 gift certificate!

This lunch was an adorable pair of ducklings, made from whole wheat bread, cheese and ham, with some ducky friends for company in the berries.

Bento #195 - Ham & cheddar sandwich on wheat, organic spinach, fresh blackberries and ranch dip.

11 Rainbow Leaf Chips

If you think that this picture is of a prop from Swamp Beast, you would be mistaken (a little?)  Nope, these are leaf chips, and you can make them from just about any hardy leafy veg.  I happened to have a bunch of organic rainbow chard from my CSA, and I wondered what I was going to do with it.  Let's face it - it's sort of a hard sell.  I mean sure, it's got that enticing "rainbow" right in the name, but it doesn't fool anyone for long, especially not discerning 30-something 5 year olds.  These leaf chips are crispy, salty and most importantly yummy.  Not only that, but chard packs a powerful vitamin K punch.

You'll need:

Bunch of hardy leafy greens like chard, kale or even spinach

olive oil

sea salt

cracked pepper

Parmesan cheese (opt)

Preheat the oven to 300 F.  Thoroughly wash the leaves (watch out for the sand) and pat dry with paper towels.  

Remove tough stems and tear (if needed) into large pieces and arrange on a non-stick baking sheet spritzed with a little bit of cooking spray or olive oil.

Next, lightly spritz or drizzle olive oil on the leaves.  Cover with sprinklings of fresh cracked sea salt and pepper, and cheese, if using.

Bake for about 20 minutes until crispy

and then devour.  

The chard becomes super crispy and about shatters when you take a bite.  It's got a bitter note which I really enjoy, and the saltiness which counterbalances it.  I'm dying to try this with the big bag of fresh spinach I have in the fridge.  They're ridiculously quick and easy to make, give them a try!

You'll need:

Bunch of hardy leafy greens like chard, kale or even spinach

olive oil

sea salt

cracked pepper

Parmesan cheese (opt)

-Preheat the oven to 300 F.  Thoroughly wash the leaves (watch out for the sand) and pat dry with paper towels.  Remove tough stems and tear (if needed) into large pieces and arrange on a non-stick baking sheet spritzed with a little bit of cooking spray or olive oil.

-Next, lightly spritz or drizzle olive oil on the leaves.  Cover with sprinklings of fresh cracked sea salt and pepper, and cheese, if using.

-Bake for about 20 minutes until crispy, and then devour.  

4 Bento #158 - Spinach Ravioli & Clementine

We have one of E's favourite lunches - spinach ravioli, on a bed of spring mix lettuce.  The cute kitty container holds some herb Parmesan cheese she can sprinkle on the ravioli if she wants.  Today she'll be getting extra treats during morning centers, because I'm doing a mini rice cake snowman activity with the kids, which they will be able to decorate using cream cheese, dried fruit, Cheerios and sunflower seeds.  Yum!

Bento #158 - Spinach ravioli, organic spring mix lettuce and organic clementine.

9 Bento #145 - Shapes

Today's bento was all about basic shapes.  Circles, squares, ovals, triangles, etc. which E thought was quite fun and enjoyed identifying them all.  She had a big appetite today since she skipped snack and ate everything except most of the zucchini bread. We'll save that for after her nap, just before we head to ballet, when something small to snack on invariably puts her in a better mood after she wakes up.

Bento #145 - Spinach ravioli, mini meatballs, homemade zucchini bread, stewed cinnamon apples with honey, ranch dip and cheese cubes.

3 Bento #137 - Chicken Ravioli & Cucumber Hearts

It promises to be a busy week!  My sister and my baby nephew arrived on Saturday, so we are planning all sorts of fun things.  Last night I was in my element cooking at my IL's house - pork chops two ways, sausage dressing with homemade bread, and pan roasted brussels sprouts with bacon.  So, I guess that's pork a whole lotta different ways!  It was really good.

As for this bento, I pan steamed some chicken ravioli and placed it on a bed of fresh organic baby spinach, and cut out some funky stars and hearts out of cucumber slices.

Bento #137 - Chicken ravioli, baby spinach, red grapes, and cucumber shapes.

2 Bento #130 - Ravioli 'Sunflowers' & Edamame

These ravioli are not only delicious, but adorable to boot!  There was a lady sitting on a stool handing out samples at Costco, and I just had to get some.  They are Buitoni brand filled with a spicy blend of beef and sausage, and I figured we could shake things up a bit with the protein.  They look just like sunflowers to me, so they are nestled in a 'field' of fresh baby spinach.  Also, I grabbed a container of organic, non-GMO edamame pods, which E has a great time shelling (though I've obviously shelled them for her here, I can't imagine how long she'd be at it during school lunch.)  They are delicious!

Bento #130 - Beef & sausage ravioli, baby spinach, organic edamame, and sliced strawberries.

1 Creamed Spinach with Shallots & Bacon

I just LOVE spinach, and I love creamed spinach very muchly.  I had a lot of spinach on hand, so I decided today to make some with it.

1 tbs butter
2+ tbs olive oil
8 cups fresh spinach
5 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 shallots, sliced
1.5 cups heavy cream
4 slices crisp bacon, minced
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs garlic powder
3 dashes nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste.

I really avoid using thickeners like cornstarch and flour these days, so for this creamed spinach recipe, I just left it out, and to no ill-effect.  You just have to take enough time for the cream to thicken on its own.

In a very large sautee pan, melt butter and olive oil and add garlic and shallots.  Add s&p to taste.

Next throw in half your fresh spinach and wilt down enough to make room for the last half of the batch.  Make sure you don't let the bottom burn.

When the spinach is good and wilted, and there isn't a whole lot of water left, add your heavy cream 

Add in your nutmeg, garlic and onion powders (they will help thicken as well.) Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low until it thickens, about 10 mins. 

Pretty thick!  Add in your bacon and stir through.  Enjoy!

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 #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.