Halloween Bentos thus far...

I have ideas!  I have lots of Halloween ideas.  I would like to thank the version of myself that exists in the past for buying some Halloween bento gear last year when prices went 50% off!

None of these are super fancy lunches but the kids think they are cute and are pleased to receive them.

Packed in a Laptop Lunchbox, lunch consists for a cheese sandwich with a bat cut-out, some grapes, a mini oatmeal muffin in a cute Halloween liner, a yogurt and the piece-de-resistance, a silicone spider cup of Jello with candy eyes.

Lunch is a "Mummy Dog" that the kids and I made by wrapping refrigerator rolls around a hot dog and baking. The eyes are drawn on with food-safe markers.  Also included are grapes, a banana decorated with stickers and a Halloween Joe-Joe's cookie from Trader Joe's.  Each child also got a Halloween joke card.

Lunch on this day was a sunbutter and jelly sandwich, grapes, a mini-muffin (hidden under the yogurt) a yogurt and in the sealed container, halloween shaped Jello jigglers.  I clearly failed on the photo taking before sealing.

Another Laptop Lunchbox Lunch(can you tell they are my new favorite thing?)  Jack-o-Lantern cheese sandwich, dried apricots, grapes with a pumpkin pick, pirate booty, yogurt and a Halloween Joe-Joe cookie.

This is how tech rolls..

Where I work, this is how tech rolls....

We also build shrines to the server gods. We are willing to sacrifice a lot to keep the email flowing.

Homemade Buttermilk Bread

I enjoy baking and decided I should venture into the realm of sandwich bread.  Ok, to be honest, I also had some buttermilk that I needed to use up!  This recipe is SO simple and the results were amazing.

I used the Cooks Illustrated Buttermilk Sandwich Bread recipe.  It involves dumping your ingredients in the standing mixer and letting the machine do the kneading for ten minutes.  Then you let it rise twice and bake.  Total time is about three hours, but it is mostly hands-off.

The bread smells fabulous while baking and once it cools, the bread has a nice texture and crumb.  Great for making sandwiches.  If you plan to sneak a slice before it cools completely,  cut carefully.  The bread is delicate while warm and will squash into a funny shape. Ask me how I know....

Bento SCORE!

The kids needed new lunch boxes.  The sandwich size boxes and two-tier boxes no longer hold enough food to fill them up.  These are growing kids!  I have been searching and searching for a good replacement.   Laptop Lunchboxes and LunchBots have been high on my "coveted" list.

Last week, I almost broke down!  I had a shopping cart ready to go with a Laptop Lunchbox system for each kid..to the tune of $60+ !!  For some reason, I couldn't pull the trigger.  The very next day, I went garage sale-ing and SCORE!

That's right, a BRAND NEW laptop lunchbox set plus two Buddie add-on sets and a napkin.  The mom said her kids did not like the sets!  I paid $2 for everything in this photo!!!  TWO DOLLARS!  I was beyond thrilled!   I also scored four brand new (tags still on!) wide-mouth lunch thermos for $3 from the same lady.  Talk about a bargain shopping high!

It gets better though!  I went to a church rummage sale yesterday and found ANOTHER blue Laptop Lunchbox system for $1.  This one was used and was missing a small inner container, but who cares?  I have plenty of spare inner containers and now I have two outer containers.  $60 plus worth of lunch boxes for $3.  So great!!

First Day of School

The First Day of School!

I wasn't really prepared to make fancy lunches.  There were forms to fill out, backpacks to pack, school supplies to purchase...lunch was at the end of the list.  I did manage something nice though.

M had a sandwich stamped  "first grade" and "I love you". She also had cut fruit and a yogurt (not pictured)

W had stamped McQueen and Finn McMissile sandwiches along with cut fruit and a Mater pick.  He too had a yogurt.

Scones!

A friend suggested the Cheese Board Collective cookbook to me.  The recipes are AWESOME!  I have made the scones numerous times now.  I cut the scones in half  before baking to make 24 small scones.  They are delicious and satisfying.

Chocolate Chip Scones and plain scones awaiting a maple icing drizzle.

Mars Birthday!

Mars Rover Curiosity was scheduled to land the day after my birthday.  I showed my kids the Seven Minutes of Terror video.  They were fascinated and intrigued.  Both kids wanted to know more about Mars, space and the planets.

W kept associating the landing of Curiosity with my birthday.  He would come up to me with great anticipation and say "Mom, are you ready for your MARS BIRTHDAY?!?"

Clearly, I had to make a Mars Rover Curiosity cake to celebrate my big day.

I used the same Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake that I used for W's birthday.   I tinted the leftover Magnolia Bakery frosting and used extra chocolate rocks too!  (talk about frugal!)   We happened to have a little rover toy that W got from the Children's Discovery Museum.  It worked perfectly on the cake.  M took care of the flag and awesome alien!

Overall, it was a great cake!  This time there were even leftovers for me to enjoy the next day!

Construction Party!

My boy turned four!  He wanted a Construction Party.  In addition to filling our back yard with tons of cardboard boxes to paint, 200 lbs of sand to dig in and numerous other construction related activities, I baked a cake.

This was one of the easiest cakes I have ever decorated.  The theme was CONSTRUCTION, people.  It didn't matter if the cake stuck to the pan or broke, it was going to be demolished anyways!

I used Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake recipe with icing for the cake.  I also made cupcakes using Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Birthday Cake and Frosting.   The cake was a huge success and VERY tasty.  There were no leftovers. I highly recommend the Hershey's recipe.

The sand is pulverized Nilla wafers with two Oreo cookies added for color. The dirt is pulverized Oreo cookies.  The rocks are chocolate rocks that I purchased from a local candy store.  The kids helped me decorate.

My favorite part of the day was when W walked into the kitchen, looked at me with a cheeky grin and then pinched a chunk of his cake.  He declared "It is my birthday and my cake and I want a bite!"  It didn't hurt the look of the cake, so I didn't argue!

4th of July Bento

Yes, it is true, my kids go to school during the summer.  It is mostly summer camp with a month of actual school thrown in!   I pack lunches year round!

To celebrate American Independence Day, I made the kids a patriotic lunch.  It consisted of an open-face harvarti sandwich with USA gummy letters on it, some salami slices, grapes and some raisins.

Proper English Breakfast

Finding a Proper English Breakfast in California is not easy!  Neither is cooking one.  I did my best to celebrate Father's Day.

Sorry for the blurry iPhone photo!  I need to find my camera....

Veterinarian Party for the Six Year Old!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE a good theme party?   

My daughter is not into princesses (Thank God!) or Barbie or Hello Kitty or any of those other trendy commercial "girly" things that would make planning a birthday party so much easier.  When I asked her what kind of party she would like, she said she did not know.  But she likes animals and she wants to be a Veterinarian, so I came up with this idea for her Sixth birthday.

We invited six girls to M's Animal Hospital.  The Doctor was in!

As girls arrived, I gave them first-aid kit to decorate in the waiting room until all of the guests were assembled.   Then I announced that we had some pets lost in the backyard.  (My husband hid beanie babies before the guests arrived).

Each girl was given a photo of the pet they needed to find.   Some girls asked for a specific pet (we had dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs), other girls traded or just kept the animal I gave them.  The guests then went into the backyard to hunt for their lost animal.  It was fun watching them run all over and help each other locate the pets. 

Once they found their pets, the girls brought them back into the living room. The living room was decorated to look like the Vet's clinic.   A long table covered in blue cloth sat in the middle of the room.   There were a number of medical stations on the table.  We had one for weight/height/BP, one for stethoscopes, ears/nose checks  and one for 
medicine/shots/bandaging injuries.   In addition to having all of the stations,  the medical table had canisters of tongue depressors (popsicle sticks), cotton balls and surgical masks.

The girls gave their pets full check-ups, nursed any injuries and wrote the details in a little medical book.

 The living room was decorated with "x-rays" (black craft paper with chalk outlines) and kennels full of other recovering pets (cardboard boxes with our stuffed animals in them).   I also built an X-ray machine so the girls could check for broken bones. 

After the girls tended to their pets, they went outside to the craft table.  They made comfy beds and blankets for the animals.  The girls also made pet collars (ribbon, jewel stickers and velcro)  and pet tags (shrinky-dinks).    I hired a high school student to help with the party and as an added bonus, she can facepaint yay!! 

    

Then we returned to the dining room for lunch.  The girls ate out of dog and cat bowls.  The menu included hot dogs, fruit, popcorn, chips and juice.  Finally we had cupcakes decorated with dog bones.  

Each girl left with a stuffed pet, a collar, dog bowl, the first aid kit, the blanket and bed and the little medical book they filled out.


I am proud to say, this party was done cheap n cheerful!  Many of the items used were free to me.  I couponed for the first aid kits, band-aids etc, used recycled computer boxes for the beds and decor and used items we already had around the house.  Yes, it is true I am a crazy Asian who saves old wrapping paper and ribbons, but HEY those ribbons came in handy for this party! 

Easter Bento

A quick Easter bento for both kids.  Lunch contains cheese cut-outs on a Hawaiian roll, a hard boiled egg decorated with food safe markers, some grapes and strawberries.

St. Patrick's Day Bento

I know, technically, St. Patrick's Day is on Saturday.  However, I had a cute idea, so I ran with it!

The kids had an open-faced shamrock cheese sandwich, ham rolls secured with a cute pick, cinnamon toast cereal, and a piece of marshmallow rainbow leading to a marshmallow pot of gold!  They also had a yogurt.  

I don't usually give the kids sweet treats in their lunches unless I do themed bento lunches, then they hit the jackpot!

Car Bento

This bento was part of the Valentine bento run, but Mr. W got a Cars theme instead!

I still hadn't learned the "punch the bread out before filling it" lesson. I created the details on McQueen by coloring the raised areas of the cutter with food-safe markers before pressing out the sandwich.

Lunch also consisted of Cars fruit snacks, grapes and a small piece of chocolate for afternoon "junk snack"

A Variety of Valentine Bentos

These bentos were made in the days leading up to Valentine's day.  The kids each got a similar lunch, even if only one is pictured.

I learned a valuable lesson with this bento, press the design before filling the sandwich!  Lunch contains rwo PB&J hearts, grapes, fruit snacks and a small chocolate heart.  I am sure there was something else in her lunch bag too...

 Lunches this day consisted of a a cheese sandwich on a sandwich thin, strawberries and chocolate covered pretzels.

This bento contains chunks of roasted chicken, a slice of homemade bread with butter, a jello heart and my guess is a tasty treat under the heart wrapper!

Sorry for the blurry pic! Lunch here was half a banana (decorated with a sticker), peanut butter sandwiches with heart fruit leather pieces, chocolate pretzels and a chocolate heart.  The kids also got a yogurt. Given the amount of sugar in this lunch, I am guessing this was Valentine's Day!   

Fishy Bento

Identical bentos made in two-tier boxes   The bottom tier consists of a sandwich round with a cheese fish, the word "fish" in gummy letters, and some teriyaki meatballs.  The top tier has strawberries, grapes and goldfish.

Panda Cookie!

Dinosaurs and Pandas. While not technically Lunar New Year themed, my kids enjoyed it!  Lunch consists of a PB & J sandwich, pretzels, strawberries and a panda cookie from Sogo Bakery.

Lunar New Year Bento

Gung Hay Fat Choy!  Happy Year of the Dragon!

I tried to make a cute dragon bento for the first school lunch of the New Year.  Unfortunately, it looked more like a hungry caterpillar!  I guess that is what I get for deciding to do a dragon at 11 pm the night before.... Next year, maybe I will plan better.  Or maybe I will wait for an easier zodiac sign.  Dog, rabbit....anyone....

 Anxious Dragon

The kids' lunches are identical.  They consist of a deconstructed "dragon" cheese sandwich, a strawberry, a clementine and a fortune cookie.  Below the red napkin is an applesauce pouch.

Perturbed Dragon

Christmas Bentos

Rudolph cheese sandwich with cheese stars, pretzel antlers and an m&m nose.  Hedgehog sandwich and strawberries.

Candy cane sandwiches made using two kinds of cheese, deli ham, grapes and a little marshmallow snowman. 

Christmas tree cheese and crackers or hawaiian bread.  Teriyaki meatballs, grapes and Christmas Jello jigglers. 

Cars Playmat

My son wanted a play mat like his sister's farm mat.  So, I made him a quick Cars mat.  Sorry for the crappy picture.  Basically, I used this fabric to sew the roll:

Then I added iron-on fabric pictures of radiator springs. My son showed me where to put the road and the Cozy Cone!  His roll contains three pockets. I had to adjust the size of one pocket to accomodate Mater.

Not the most professional job, but not bad for an hour of sewing!