Car lunch

We have apple cars made with apples, biscoff spread to hold on the wheels, grapes sliced into wheels, and whole grapes. To the right of that we have a stuffed car sandwich, chicken sausage and cheese kabobs, and a ham and cheese kabob.

Colonel Sanders had the same as her brothers, only I cut things into smaller pieces.

 I had to work, so I made 3 of these. One for The Elder, one for Julie, and one for myself. I have kisses for a desert and some steamed broccoli. 

In the large compartment I made linguine  fresh diced tomatoes, yellow pepper, garlic, and olive oil topping. On top of that I made everyone a chicken and apple sausage.

I got the stuffed sandwich idea from one of my fellow bloggers. Sadly, I cannot remember who. So here are a few who have done it before!

BentoBloggy has an egg salad stuffed sandwich. 

Bentolicious has a tutorial.

Mountains of Molehills made characters out of gluten free bread.

Susan Yuen has a tutorial on a DIY mold using a cookie cutter.

Bentoriffic has a heart stuffed sandwich.

And there was someone who used a jello mold to make stuffed sandwiches. I am not sure who it was and I have had no luck finding them. Anyone who knows who, please let me know so I can add them.


The minions did not eat to well. I know Colonel Sanders is teething. Yep, my little girl is getting 3 molars at once! I think she is an overachiever. So she is not to interested in food.

Pork played with the car and ate the ham and some fruit, but not much else. I am not sure why he did not eat. It is almost unheard of Pork not finishing his bento.

Tyke did not finish his either. I know he likes the meat and cheese kabobs. Good thing the boxes are easy to close and store. I just put the tops on and placed them in the fridge for an after school snack.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did. First we went to my parents house and then we went to The Elders parents house. Sadly I had to work Thanksgiving night. 

Both of our parents live outside of town. The first picture is Colonel Sanders and Pork standing in what use to be the goat pasture. I use to have 4 goats. 

This picture is Clark and Pork playing near the old goat pen. It started out as a play fort and as we got to old for it, my father turned it into the goat pen. It was amazing that even though it has not seen any goats for well over 14 years it is still sturdy enough to stand on the top.  Tyke played outside for a little bit, but his acid reflux was acting up (cold can make it worse) so he opted to go back inside and play with toys.

Here Tyke is at Pa's house! His cousin showed him how to play "Man Guys" aka WWE Wrestling. It entertained him for a little bit before he and his brothers went outside to play with their cousin.

This is one of my favorites. I did not want to post pictures of others in the family out of respect for their privacy. Here is a picture of The Elder, Colonel Sanders, and Pa eating Thanksgiving dinner. Colonel Sanders opted to stand in a chair.

We had a lovely time with our family.

However, I was amazed with how rude and impatient people can be just to get a deal on item(s). Never have I had so many people complain about following rules. Heaven forbid you do not get every special or there be a limit (clearly stated in the paper and on the item) on items on sale. Not to mention how a very select few can not only be rude to those associates for doing their jobs, but also to other shoppers. It greatly saddens me. If you shop during that time, accept that lines will be long, items will be out of stock, and that you cannot get every deal. Stop being so greedy.

The Elder and I went out Black Friday morning after I got out of work at 3am. I did not yell or complain if places were out of items, I was nice to everyone, and was understanding of those cashiers and others who were a little frazzled. It is not their fault when items are gone, lines are long, or many things that they get blamed for.

And believe it or not, the customer is not always right. I know this is a concept pounded into many Americans brains, but it is not true.   I have seen way to many people be rude to myself or others, use the "rule" to twist rules to fit their wants, or do it just because they know if they tell you that and throw a large enough of a fit they will get their way. Just think, you are using the same tactics your kids use on you.

I have not worked at all for several years now and have not worked retail for about 7 years. I am thankful I decided to apply for a seasonal position this year to "get out of the house". It gave me a very good reminder to be grateful for not only what I have, but also a reminder of how many of those who work the lower paying jobs are treated. Always remember, treat others as you would like to be treated and never take out  your frustrations on those poor souls.

Thanksgiving lunch

Today we have 3 cupcake lasagnas with a turkey made of cheddar cheese and a fried corn tortilla. I used a little bit of nori for the eye. To the right of that I have an Energy ball and Hershey kisses. Under that I have apple and cranberry crumble.

 The minions had a turkey made out of ham, sliced apple, and cheddar cheese. Also they enjoyed and energy ball, grapes, and carrots.

Pork Chop enjoying his lunch.

I love the expression on Tyke's face. Clark joins us today due to there being no school.

Rocket Ship

I was given some quinoa from a friend. It sat in my pantry for several weeks. I had no clue what to do with it. Finally I got tired of it looking at me every time I went looking in there for something, so I decided to use it. I am glad I did. I admit it is a little bland, but it is pretty good. For The Elder's lunch I cooked the quinoa in some chicken stock. Sitting on top of that is some lemon pepper pork with a rocket made out of cheese. I also added some fresh diced tomatoes and cilantro for some extra flavor.  To the left of that I have some peas and Hershey mint kisses for desert.

The boys argued with me when they saw sliced cheese. So they did not get a rocket ship. I ran out of bread, so they got a hot dog biscoff and jelly sandwich  snap peas and carrots. To the right of that they have a cheese stick broken in half and some Halloween marshmallows for desert. 

Tyke looking goofy.
Pork is happy to eat.

Colonel Sanders had no intentions of sitting down to eat. So I put her down and she happily walked around eating her sandwich.

Ready for some exciting news? Aunt Julie will be living with us for a little bit! All the minions are very excited.

For this lunch I used Easy Lunchboxes

Coming back from being ill

Everyone is still pretty sick here. Meals for minions consist of  whatever we can get them to eat. Normally toast is involved. I have not only ill, but also adjusting to working 3rd shift still.

The Elder went back to work today. He has broccoli  energy balls, 2 eyeballs made out of rice, pepper, peas, and some nori. Below that is fried pork and a snap pea for a mouth.

Now, no one ever said I was bright. My stomach has been pretty iffy and I have had some other digestive issues due to this bug we all have. I decided that I was in the mood for curry. Mmm.... So I have curry, rice balls, tomatoes, broccoli, and carrots. It tasted pretty yummy. To bad  it did not agree with my tummy.

Homemade cheese bread and Suprise! Mama has to work a day shift.

I know this isn't very cute. Sorry. The bread is a homemade cheese quick bread. Somehow I managed to run out of milk, so I thought I would substitute plain yogurt. It turned out amazing!

I made the boys a turkey bacon sandwich on the cheese bread.  I have a Mini Dipper with veggie dip. The bottom tier has carrot sticks, zucchini, and small pieces of mozzarella cheese. Can you tell it was before shopping day? We always run low on fresh fruits and veggies.

Colonel Sanders also had her own lunch made for her. I broke up some very crisp turkey bacon pieces, small chunks of mozzarella cheese, the last of the pomegranate seeds, some steamed carrot sticks, steamed zucchini slices, and some thin slices of my homemade cheese bread.a

Look familiar?  I know, another no so cute lunch for the Elder. Well, he is home today. So there is no one to make jealous. He has the same as the boys, only in an Easy Lunchbox.  Zucchini, carrots, cheese, veggie dip, and a turkey bacon sandwich on homemade cheese bread.

Ah yes, you see I also have a lunch packed. My last day of training before I switch to 3rd shifts. No more missing lunches for me! Now I will just miss after dinner time 3 times a week. I would much rather that than a large chunk of the day.

I do not take my lunch to work in a lunch bag. Honestly  I am scared to use an Easy Lunchbox. I was warned that sometimes they clean out the fridge and misread the mandatory dated stickers on our lunches. Yes, they will toss a whole lunch bag. It happened to the lady training us. Because I do not use a bag, I have no place to store a fork or spoon. This is yet another reason why I love my Easy Lunchbox!  Notice my fork fits right in the container? How handy is that?

Once again I made myself shrimp spring rolls, carrots, tomatoes, and some cottage cheese mixed with crushed pineapple.

Mama's first day of work.

 
I am now working part time. Today was a 9 hour shift which took up pretty much the whole day. I have to admit that I missed the minions eating lunch.

The boys had Biscoff sandwich cars, snap peas, carrots, cheese, ham, and blackberries. I put the milk down


on a lower shelf so that Tyke could help daddy out and pour some milk with lunch.

The Elder had leftover potatoes, lemon pepper pork, and AJ in sweet potato. I also have a sweet potato space ship and stars. To the right of that he has carrots, peas, and blackberries.

Yes, that is butter, real butter on his potatoes. I don't use that overly processed fake stuff here. Believe it or not, I have managed to lose weight too. It's all about moderation.

This is my lunch. Spring rolls made with  shrimp and salad greens, a sweet pepper, tomato, broccoli, and cottage cheese mixed with pineapple. I ended up buying some nuts out of the vending machine since I was still a little hungry.

My and The Elders lunches were in Easy Lunchboxes
The minions had their lunch in a little container that was found in the Target dollar section.

P is for Percy and Pasta

Can you tell what that is? I made homemade pasta! I used my Percy cookie cutter and made a train ravioli. Then I cut out some of the remaining pasta and make P's. I put some grated mozerella cheese for the sky and a slice of orange sweet pepper for the sun.  To the right I have blackberries, snap peas, carrots, grape tomatoes, and some small slices of cheddar cheese. On top of that we have some Mounds M&M's.

The Elder had a similar lunch. We have some steamed zucchini for him. Looking back, I wish I would have added some carrots or maybe sweet peppers. Oh well, maybe next time. I also gave him some Mounds M&M's.

The Elder has a bed of hand shaped ravioli, then I poured some lemon pepper butter on it, a light layer of mozzarella cheese, then some zucchini so that he could make out the train ravioli and the letter P. He had no clue what was going on. *sighs* You can

tell he does not watch much Thomas the Train.

Colonel Sanders also had her own bento. The bottom layer consists of steamed carrots and sweet potato. I also have small pieces of mozzarella cheese and blackberries.

Homemade pasta is not hard to make. All you need is some flour, salt or herbs, eggs, and a little oil. Mix that together, then roll it into a ball and let it rest in the fridge for a little bit.

Up until this year, I hand rolled and cut my pasta. Last Christmas my father-in-law gave me a pasta machine. Now it is much easier to roll out. Sometimes I even use it to cut pasta too.

Look at my fridge! Isn't that a beautiful sight! Everyone's lunches are all set and ready to go for the next day. The Elder loves his lunch bag. They are sold at www.easylunchboxes.com. They are made to fit the Easy Lunchboxes and there is plenty of room for other items. The Elder has a bottled water, milk, and a juice in that bag in addition to his ELB.

I promise there is more in my fridge that just that. There are still 2 shelves and 2 drawers of food. I just had to share the beauty of the Easy Lunchboxes sitting there in a rainbow and waiting for lunch the next day.





Oh look! It's Clark! Yes, Clark did not have school today. I really miss his lunch dialog. Clark knew who the train was right away. Clark is obsessed with trains. Colonel Sanders was giving me one of those "I'm
trying to eat" looks.

Tyke and Pork are so use to a camera in their faces that they just ignore me.

Smile! sandwich

Today we have a very easy lunch. I found the sandwich impression at the Dollar Tree. The package said to toast it first and then press the toast with the design. It actually works the other way around. First press and then toast. It works much better.

We have a homemade BBQ pork sandwich in our lunch today. I made it with left over pork roast and some BBQ sauce. Also there are carrots, snap peas,  pomegranate seeds, blackberries, and the last of the energy balls.

Used in this lunch: Easy Lunchboxes
Elephant and Tree food picks
Face Food Pick

Making Our Own Lunch in a Egg Carton

Take the picture already! We want to decorate!

Today I decided we would do a little craft before lunch. This is one the the minions' favorite things to do. Luckily we have friends and family that save their egg cartons for us.

I needed this to be a quick craft, so I used my foam stickers. I purchased these at Walmart for about a dollar a bag. You can also purchase basic ones at the Dollar Tree. After each holiday I hit up the seasonal clearance area at Walmart and pick up the seasonal ones. My minions are younger, so they do not care if they are in season or not. Plus, then I also have extra for the next time the holiday season rolls around. I bought 2 small packs of pumpkins and acorns at Walmart yesterday for about $1.25. Sadly they did  not have any more. I have 2 shoe boxes full of these. I just kinda mix them all together.

 I took a few out of the box and made sure the extra bits were off them. If I put the whole shoe box out, we would be sitting there all day long. Not to mention they would some how migrate all over the house.

Colonel Sanders always has perfect timing. I had hopes she would remain napping during this. I have 55 minutes between getting Clark on the bus, feeding the other minions, and taking Tyke to school. Colonel Sanders fell asleep as I was getting Clark ready. She apparently decided a 15 minute power nap was all she needed. Here she is joining us at the table.

Normally I would add some paper to the top of the egg cartons so that you can see everything a little better. Also it allows the boys to use marker and crayons to help them decorate the top. I had planed on this craft last night, but decided I was to lazy to glue on paper.

See what I mean? They are having great fun, but it would be nice to not see all that ink.

In the mean time, I went to the kitchen and did some lunch prep work. I made the little sandwiches last night. Most of the veggies were already cut. One of the veggie trays was on sale at the store when I went shopping. It was near the sell by date so I got it for 40% off. I learned that for the most part, these are still good for a week. You can't beat buying one of these for $3.50ish.

I know the table is a mess. What can I say. Going from left to right, we have blackberries, ham, pomegranate, Biscoff sandwiches in the shape of a D & a duck also Hello Kitty & the letter C, cheddar cheese, figs, and a veggie tray.

I put one sandwich and the matching letter into their cartons. From there they took over. I told them to put a few bites into each spot. I know it does not seem like a lot of food, but if you filled this up and then emptied it out, you would have more than enough to feed an adult.

Tyke showing off his lunch. It looks like he grabbed a little bit of everything.

 Pork Chop and his lunch. I know he only picked some of the items because he wanted to be like Tyke. Either way, both of them had great fun picking out what they were going to eat for lunch.

Poor little Colonel Sanders was given leftovers. I don't think she minds though. She happily ate 2 pieces of ham, some cheese, one of the sandwiches, and then some pomegranate.

I know the boys really enjoy the chance to make their own lunches. Most days I make it before hand or hurry to do it while they play. I need to remember to set aside time and do more lunches where the minions help.

Meatloaf Wednesday

What do frogs have to do with this lunch? Absolutely 

nothing! I just felt like using them. Or maybe I should just say they went with the fudge.

Anyway, for lunch today, The Elder has mashed potatoes and carrots (don't knock it till you try it) and mini meatloaf stuffed with cheese. To the right he has a piece of fudge (not homemade, to lazy) and steamed cauliflower.

 

The minions have a mini stuffed meatloaf, carrots, cauliflower, snap peas, dried cranberries, mozzarella cheese, and an energy ball. On the side they have a Mini Dipper from Easy Lunchboxes filled with Italian dressing.

Why the funny faces on the 2 minions? I have no clue. Tyke insisted I take his picture and he gave me that lovely pose. Then Pork insisted I also take a picture of his dirty faced self. *sighs* I am still trying to figure out where the chocolate on his face came from.

Today's lunches used items from:
The Elder- Easy Lunchboxes
Minions: One tier bento from All Things For Sale and the Mini Dippers are from Easy Lunchboxes