Pulled Pork Bento

The weather turned a little cool today so it was perfect for this lunch of leftover pulled pork.

I doctored the pulled pork a bit with some sriracha sauce and bbq sauce, and a bit of cheddar cheese. Ooo, tasty! The crackers are some quite ones that are kind of like little breads, so not super crispy. They are a Spanish brand and apparently Rafael Nadal loves them (his pic was on the package). I also have slices of green pepper and cauliflower, plus a little Snickers bite. Happy bentoing!

Yogurt Chicken Bento

This is a leftovers bento I made for lunch today. I had prepared a kind of Indian supper for me and the hubs this past weekend (perfect for St. Patrick's Day, right?!?) and I assembled it in a small Tupperware to take to work.

In this bento: yellow lentil dahl, white rice, cilantro, chopped tomato, and yogurt spiced chicken. I prepared the chicken thighs using some plain yogurt, salt, pepper, and a lemongrass sweet curry spice mixture that I picked up at Savory Spice Shop in Santa Rosa. I let the chicken thighs marinate for a bit in that mixture, then seared them in a pan for a few minutes on each side and finished them in the oven for about 20 minutes. They were quite tasty, and also made great leftovers. 

Happy bentoing!

In Flight Birthday Bento

Tomorrow is my birthday and I am headed to the Seattle area for a quick trip to see my family. I am really excited to see my little niece, I just love her so! We get to so an Auntie and Me swim class together. She just turned 1 year old, so I think it will be more splashing than swimming. :) And of course, a flight of any kind if a great excuse to make bento! Why pay a ton of money for uninspired airplane food?

In this bento: a hard boiled egg, steamed edamame, slices of aged white cheddar cheese, a few baby carrots, a few radishes, some raw broccoli, and a couple of soppressata salami roll-ups. This and the complimentary adult beverage that I get on my flight to Seattle will do nicely. (I love flying Alaska Airlines! Free beer!)

Enchilada Monster Bento

This is a quick bento that I fashioned out of leftovers. I had made some chicken enchiladas (which my hubby and step daughter scarfed down), and I managed to save enough for a lunch serving the next day. With a few little additions, I turned this chicken enchilada into a monster! The bento that bites you back!

Also in this bento: steamed edamame and sliced radishes. The monster face was made with pepper jack cheese and slices of black olive. 

Chicken Cutlet Bento

Leftovers are AWESOME for bento. It saves time in the morning and you get something really tasty for lunch. Last night I made panko breaded chicken cutlets for me and hubs, so today the leftovers are in my bento box.

In the small container is lime cumin coleslaw. In the black bento box: frozen edamame (they look like the rooftops did this morning, all frosty!) baby carrots, a small container of dipping sauce for the cutlets (mayo + ketchup + sriracha), slices of chicken cutlet, and slices of fuji apple. 

Tomorrow I am going to the farmers market. It seems like forever since I have been to the market and I really miss it. 

Lime Cumin Coleslaw

1 baby carrot, grated

about 1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage

1 pinch ground cumin

juice of 1/4 lime

drizzle of olive oil

pinch of sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients. Let flavors meld for at least 15 minutes before serving. Makes enough for 1 or two bento sized servings. 

Snowman Bento

We have not really had typical winter weather here in Sonoma County. Today we got a bit of rain, but we rarely have snow. And it has actually been quite warm here for December. So the only winter I can see is the one in my bento box!

In the yellow box: a snowman onigiri (rice balls) with nori dried seaweed features. I used a fun face punch for his facial features. Also in this box: baby carrots, and tamagoyaki omelette. He's resting on some cabbage leaves. In the smaller pink box: quick pickled cabbage with black sesame seeds (recipe from Maki of Just Bento), edamame, and chicken with broccoli stir fry. 

Here are the two boxes with their lids. I got these are Borders (boo hoo, I am sad they closed) from their awesome collection of Paperchase items. 

Happy Monday!

Blustery Day Bento

Last night we had quite the wind storm, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. It gave me a headache all day and kept me up at night. Grrr! So I decided if there is chaos out in the air, I would add some chaos to my lunch! The wind blew the cheese leaves from the inside of my sandwich to the top of it! ;-)

In this bento: a tuna fish sandwich topped with Havarti cheese leaves, broccoli spears, a radish, baby carrots, and dried apricots. 

Sorry I have been MIA for a while bento buddies! I have really gotten into my nail art designs and they kind of took over for a bit. I hope to find more balance now between my bento and my nail art. :-) Good news, though: all of this practice I have been doing with my nail art landed me a prize from the Muppets and OPI brand nail polish! See my award winning Fozzie manicure by clicking here. :-) Happy December!!