27 & 28 - snow, snow, melt away...

*yawn* Moving the clocks ahead one hour last night has completely thrown my schedule off today. I woke up later than normal because of the lost hour, and I feel tired already even though it isn't that late! It is probably just all in my head, but I'm sticking to my story... for now. We went to watch 10,000BC today and it was one of the better movies that I've watched recently. Without giving any spoilers, I have to say that parts of the movie are neither geographically or historically correct BUT there is not a dull moment in the movie.

The first picture below was actually Friday's bento that I forgot to post on Thursday night. Most of the contents were just in the fridge, so they were neatly arranged as my snack/veggie tier. The cole slaw is the second last bit of my batch earlier in the week (made with a bit of wasabi mayo, salt, black pepper, white pepper, lime juice). One of my coworkers commented that the pastrami wrap looked like sushi from the way it was displayed. haha... it does, doesn't it? It must be subliminal, but I craved sushi after work and we went out for dinner to cure my craving. YUM!

top tier: seedless red grapes, organic carrot sticks, happy cow swiss, dried wild blueberries bottom tier: cole slaw, pastrami & swiss cheese wrap (1/2 spinach tortilla wrap)

This is my bento for tomorrow! I made tuna salad on Saturday with: 1 can chunk light tuna in water (drained), celery, carrot, wasabi mayo, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. I think I am addicted to the wasabi mayo... that little kick is just so good! Ended up using only half for my lunch wrap on Saturday, so here is the other half for lunch. I will be spreading it on the 1/2 tortilla wrap with some swiss cheese slices on top, then throwing it in the toaster oven for a minute to melt the cheese and toast the wrap just slightly. Oh, my company has a break room that has both a microwave and toaster oven that comes in mighty handy! I tried this on Saturday and it was so good. It's a nice alternative to the typical cold wrap, especially on these cold days. By the way, we got hit with a foot of snow yesterday. I opened the garage door this morning to find 1.5 feet of snow banked against the door! =O The bf shoveled while I made dinner... he's so good.

clockwise: 1/2 spinach tortilla wrap (in saran wrap), cucumbers, tuna salad,
red bell pepper, dried wild blueberries, granny smith apple, swiss cheese

026 - getting creative with my beta-carotene

As I was peeling the carrot, my lightbulb went off as I looked at the peeler. Instead of the same old boring carrot sticks, I peeled thin carrot strips and rolled several to create my spirals. To secure them and keep from unraveling, I put a single wooden toothpick through the three carrot twists. The corn chowder is not the traditional type of chowder recipe. I sauteed some onion and minced garlic, threw in one can of sweet whole kernel corn, one can of creamed corn, and a half can of water. When the mix came to a boil, I added salt, black pepper, white pepper and stirred in two beaten eggs. Simple soup/chowder that is full of nutritional value. =)

Oh! Before I forgot (sorry yvo), here's a link to the grocery totes on Amazon. They look a LOT nicer than the pictures show, and the plastic bottom insert helps keep the bag from sagging when full. I used it for the first time this past Monday and loved it!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Grocery-Assorted-Colors-Printed/dp/B000XSEZFU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1204737098&sr=8-1

top tier: seedless red grapes, green bell pepper, organic carrot spirals
bottom tier: chicken, carrot and bell pepper fried rice
side box: corn chowder

23 - cleaning out the fridge

Well, it's a good thing I made a decent sized batch of baked penne last night! Had a late meeting tonight, so I didn't make dinner. The bf made some chicken and rotini pasta dish for himself, but I will leave that for him for dinner tomorrow night (my bowling league night). I had a wee bit of baked penne left from last night, so it just took some veggie fillers to finish off tomorrow's lunch bento. =) Our weekly lunch meeting has been cancelled until we move into our new office in about one month, so I will most likely have bento's every day unless I have a lunch date with the girls. This lunch is the last of my rasberries... it's ok, they weren't really in season. The only time I had out-of-this-world rasberries was when I picked them myself! There's an apple/berry farm about 25 minutes from my home that we went to last year. It took me about 2 hours to pick two pints worth (I was very picky!... might also be the pick two, eat one that slowed me down...), but they were SO GOOD! I have to remember to go again this coming season.

By the way... I got my reusable grocery shopping totes!!! The pictures on Amazon does not do them justice... they look so much better in person! Super excited to use them on my next grocery restock, which probably will not be until Sunday since I am going away this weekend. Two more days until I'm in Virginia visiting my college girlfriend/drunken partner! =D Oh oh, can't wait. *smiles*

top tier: plain cole slaw mix, organic carrot sticks
bottom tier: more leftover baked penne, steamed broccoli
snack box: rasberries, seedless red grapes, thai peanut sauce (for cole slaw & carrots)

22 - Breaking habits

Do you sometimes find that you fall into a food rut? I don't mean bad food by any means, but I mean when you keep falling back on the "safety" foods. It wasn't obvious until I realized I couldn't stop craving things left and right. Ack! In an attempt to "freshen" things up a bit, our goal this week is to think outside the box. A quick inventory of the fridge found some sweet italian sausage, hot italian sausage, bell peppers, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. The light bulb goes off... baked penne! I sauteed the sausage, peppers, and sliced baby bella mushrooms with some white wine, cilantro, sundried tomatoes and a bit of tomato sauce. This was tossed with cooked penne, layered with some shredded cheddar and baked until cheese melted. Yumm! The only thing I would change next time is eliminate the sundried tomato and use less hot sausage. =)

sausage, pepper and mushroom baked penne, plain cole slaw, thai peanut sauce

snack: rasberries and seedless red grapes

organic carrot sticks (not shown)

#12 - crock pots rock

sorry for the short post... my brain is fried from work. but i'm planning a recipe post this weekend on some of my bento components (coming soon yvo!)

top tier: yellow bell pepper, happy cow swiss, red pepper feta, grapes, turnip cake

bottom tier: beef stew with carrots and celery, jasmine rice, furikake heart & yellow bell pepper

Bento #7 - wasa... bi?!

It has been a long search, but I finally found sushi rice at a local asian market. So of course, I had to make some real onigiri with my mold! I read on a fellow bento blog about tuna onigiri made with wasabi mayo, and just the sound of it made my mouth water. *drools* i had the ingredients and i added finely chopped celery for a bit of crunch... whoala! From 1 1/2 cups of rice, I was able to make six onigiri but only fit five in the quart size freezer bag so.... I ate the lone one as part of dinner tonight! The wasabi gives it just the right kick and is oh-so appetizing. The turkey wrap was made with a pesto wrap, but looks kind of dull next to the turkey and onigiri. Maybe I will go with the sundried tomato wrap next time for a bit more contrast. Btw, did you notice the flower and butterfly shaped baguette? *smiles*

top tier: turkey wrap with feta, hummus and spring mix; tuna onigiri
bottom tier: baguette, laughing cow swiss, grapes & grape tomatoes