All posts tagged: diybento

Under The Sea Bento

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I put this one together last night, I made dinner and her bento at the same time. Nothing too crazy here, sautéed shrimp, boiled mini sausages, corn, rice, and fruits. I added organic, no chemicals (or anything weird) added food dye to the rice to make it blue. I found that all the stirring required to spread out evenly the blue made the rice extra sticky (even though I took care not to smash the rice). I don’t know how I feel about that, I might try just adding it to the water when cooking the rice next time. No real recipe this time. Just sharing the cute little fishies and showing off baby A.’s new bento box (a yumbox).

Friday Easy Bento

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After yesterday’s very labor intensive bento, I just wanted a very easy lunch that I could throw together in the morning with minimal fuss. Therefore today baby A. got an easy sandwich bento. The sandwich is made of brioche bread, home made hummus, ham and lettuce. I used a cutter to turn into a cute little piggie. As a side I made mini sausage “octopi” and just threw some berries in the container and called it a day. The hummus is what took the longest out of everything, and I threw that together fairly quickly the night before. I found these cute little cans of chickpeas that are perfect for making a smaller portion of hummus. I also made a very simple recipe since it was for a five year old, here it is: – 1 8oz can of garbanzo beans – 2 Tbsp of tahini – 2 garlic cloves – The juice of half a lemon – 1 green onion – salt and pepper Blend all of the above in a food processor, add …

Sunflower Bento

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The things we do for our children!! So yesterday, after a full day of work and a workout I headed to the kitchen to cook dinner. I knew today baby A. was heading back to class and I had sort of planned a bento in my head. After cooking the components, which were fairly easy, all I had to do was assemble it. I debated whether or not to wait until very early this morning to put it all together like I did last time, but decided I would just go ahead and leave it ready. After we finished dinner I went back into the kitchen and what proceeded was a two hour bento assembly. I had to cut each little petal by hand, then set it all so it would look like a sunflower. Then I had the great idea of making a cherry tomato stuffed with a creamy cheese filling which I had dyed blue, just to have baby A. try it and say she didn’t like it -_- so that got scrapped …

Camping Adventures — Breakfast Casserole On The Grill

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The second day dawned beautifully. It was a nice temperature in Florida (for once) and my toddler was just soooo happy to be out and about all she did was run from the moment she woke up. Our itinerary for this day was to have breakfast in the camp, then go to the Renaissance Faire that was taking place in the same park as the one we were in. But before we went off to see knights and princesses we needed a sturdy breakfast to get us through all the walking we had to do (and let me tell you it was A LOT of walking). Since it was so early in the morning and most of my family was still asleep I did not feel like starting a fire, so I opted for the easier way, and just lighted the charcoal grill that is provided in every campsite (we had brought a bag of charcoal with the idea of my husband, the grilling master, making some burgers). I also brought a small cast iron …

Camping Adventures — Campfire Chicken

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My husband and I love mountains, rivers, and anything nature. We enjoy hiking through the mountains or forest. Camping under the stars, sitting by the fire while we enjoy a drink, cooking over a fire. So of course it makes perfect sense that we would end up living in Florida, where there are no mountains, where there is as much water in the air we breathe as in the ocean, where the other alternative to the beach is swamp… Where there is only one season; HOT. Life is funny that way, sometimes you end up in a place that you don’t particularly like. But instead of getting bitter and depressed about it we try to make the most of it by finding local spots to do the things we love. That is how we found Quiet Waters Park, which gives you the opportunity to camp right in the middle of the city. It isn’t anything like the real deal of being “one with nature” but it is a fun activity that we like to do …

Braised Short Ribs

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This is a low and slow meal. Perfect for weekend entertaining, or a “cena” (late night dinner). Short ribs cooked slowly in a wine sauce, need I say more? With a little time and preparation you can make this dish and look like a star to your guests! Or just make it for yourself, nothing wrong with indulging yourself every now and then… or always! Braised Short Ribs — (Serves 4-8 depending on how willing to share your family is o_O) Ingredients: -8 short ribs -3 carrots diced -2 celery sticks diced -1 onion diced -4 garlic cloves pounded into a fine paste… Or minced, depending on how much aggression you have pent up. -salt and pepper to taste -2 cups of red wine -2 cups beef broth -1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce -1/4 cup tomato paste -2 bay leaves -chives for garnish -olive oil Season your short ribs with salt and pepper. Let sit and come to room temperature while you prep all of your veggies. In a big, heavy bottom, oven safe pot (a …

Bento Series #14 — Healthy Joes

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I love sloppy joes. They are a no frills, delicious food that is pretty fun to eat since the whole purpose of it is to get sloppy with it 😉 Another huge benefit of it is that you can hide any veggie you want in it. Have a picky eater, such as a child or a husband? Then don’t fret, you can hide a lot of goodness in here and your fussy eater will never find out, neither will your child. This recipe in particular has a lot of vegetables so I renamed it “Healthy Joe.” Bento Components Healthy Joe Strawberries Tamagoyaki Healthy Joe — -1 package ground beef -3 carrots shredded or grated -1/2 zucchini diced -1/2 onion diced -1 small squash diced -1/2 red bell pepper diced -2 garlic cloves minced -1 cup ketchup -1 cup tomato sauce -1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce -1 dash hot sauce -1 Tbsp lemon juice -1 Tbsp brown sugar -1 tsp garlic powder -1 tsp onion powder -1 tsp cumin -salt and pepper to taste In a pan add …

Bento Series #13 — Potato Chip “Fried” Chicken

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This bento is a little bit mysterious… a little tricky… The reason being that potato chips are unhealthy, and fried chicken is unhealthy… but this meal is still super healthy. How did I manage to pull that magic trick? Let me explain. First off it is oven “fried”, second of all the oil used is coconut oil, which we all know is the cure for all ailments in the world O_O. The last part of this magic trick is that I don’t actually use potato chips, I use potato starch flour which can be found at any Asian market. The amazingness of this “fried” chicken is that the potato starch makes it super crispy and adds a delicious potato chip flavor to the chicken. Nevertheless if you can not find potato starch then you can use panko or flour instead. Healthifying (is that even a word o_O) a meal: 1- Always try to oven “fry” things when possible. A lot of the time you will get that delicious crunch without getting all the calories of …

Quickie Smoothie

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For this recipe there is not a lot of foreplay *cough* I mean before prep necessary. It is quick and easy, which is exactly what I am looking for when I drag my semi-awake body to the kitchen Mondays at 7 in the morning. I don’t want to be awake yet, much less be cooking at this hour. Which is why this smoothie recipe is great to start your week. Now if you want to freeze your own fruit, milk your own cows, or press your own almonds (for almond milk, get it?) be my guest. However this recipe is about convenience and speediness. About the constant struggle of mankind against the clock, against society’s preconceptions of what adult life must be like, against the cruelty perpetuated upon the individuals that are made to wake up at an ungodly hour after having a sleepless night thanks to their toddlers deciding to practice bed karate in their sleep… But I digress. For this recipe all you need is the following: -1 cup frozen strawberries -1/2 cup frozen blueberries …

Prepping And Cooking Ahead

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Sometimes when I have free time (oh glorious day!), usually on a Sunday afternoon, I like to do some prep and cook a few things ahead for the week. It makes my life way easier later on if I can get all my veggies cleaned and cut, if I can portion and season my meats, and in some cases, if I can actually cook the dish in advance. Now for story time: something you need to know about my husband and me, we HATE leftovers… End of story (that was a short one). I honestly don’t know why that is, but we like our dinner to be freshly cooked, and sadly cooking ahead kind of falls in a grey area between fresh and leftovers. Therefore I don’t like to cook too many things ahead, just the few things that I feel will not lose a lot of their deliciousness. That being said, I don’t have anything against prepping the food ahead of time and then freezing, or seasoning it ahead, as long as most of …