Another try at the tray

I want to apologize for the bad picture! This is a new low for me.

I am starting to figure out the lunch tray and how to keep everything from shifting. I have a cup of cheese, a cup of sour cream (by request), a cup of salsa, a cup of apple sauce, and a cup of chicken. Then it is all covered with chips. Nothing moved when I lifted it. :-D

Chips and Salsa take 2.

 

Still not making very cute lunches. I have been pretty tempted to just send the minions to school with lunch money. I actually tried to yesterday. Both refused and directed me to make them the "lunchable" lunch. I love my minions.

The chips and salsa was a HUGE hit and it was requested again. I am to tired to argue. This time I have organic blue chips, corn and black bean salsa, chicken breast pieces, shredded cheese, and a snickers for desert.

I added cheese this time. I felt so bad about not having any dairy last time. After I packed this, I realized there wasn't any fruit or vegetable (I am not counting the salsa today). So I added a baby banana and called it good.

Chips and Salsa

 Chips, Salsa, orange slices, and some fajita flavored chicken breast pieces.

I added a baby orange and water on top.

Chicken Kabob Leftover

You know dinner was great when it is requested that some be saved for lunch the next day. We actually had problems keeping the minions away from the chicken.

Lunch consists of a grilled chicken kabob (stick taken out), pan fried potatoes, mixed vegetables, and 2 Girl Scout cookies.

Chicken, rice, and Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is really much better looking in person.  For lunch I made brown rice with lime pepper chicken, sprinkled with yellow tomatoes, cilantro, and fine shredded carrots for a little color. To the left I have some left over black bean and corn salsa. This is meant to be mixed in with the chicken and rice after they have been warmed. For desert we have 2 cookies.

Chicken and mushrooms

I know The Elder is not a fan of veggies. I also know if I make it for lunch for him to take to work, he will eat it. If he doesn't, someone will comment on it. Underneath the meat is a bed of pasta. On top of that I have garlic butter sauteed spinach with chicken, mushrooms, and 3 little carrots for some color. To the right we have hand cut steamed carrots and the ever popular chocolate bars that were hidden in my freezer.

leftover rice, and chicken

This lunch was made before but I do not see it posted. Peas and chocolate on the left side. On the right I have left over brown rice to which I added tomatoes and some diced spinach. On top of that I have some chicken sliced and seasoned with Chinese 5 spice. Mmm...

Manicotti and dinosaurs.

I am still trying to work on the lunches, working 3rd shift, being mom all day, and sleep. Sleep is in short supply right now. Sadly I have not been taking any pictures.

In our Easy Lunchbox we have cheese and broccoli manicotti, chicken, a slice of mozzarella cheese, and some grape tomatoes. To the right of that we have steamed broccoli and an old fashioned caramel candy.

We used our Gerber Mealtime Organizer we have nitrate free salami, sliced cheese, celery, carrots, raspberry, and sunbutter and whole wheat tortilla dinosaurs. I rarely use this box because it is a little on the clunky side and easily pops open if a minion drops it.

Tyke is showing us his veggie stick. You can see Colonel Sanders standing in the background. She decided to stand and eat her lunch today.

 

 Pork enjoyed his salami. Aunt Julie was sent home from work early today since they ran out of work to do. So she joined us for lunch.

Colonel Sanders is a very messy little girl today. She was helping her brothers color earlier and then snacked on some blackberries before lunch. Did I mention her runny nose too. *sighs* I should have changed her, but she would just have gotten messy while eating. So I opted to change her after lunch.

Chicken noodle soup and The Elder's lunch

Mmm... Nothing like a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup, especially when everyone is ill.

Homemade? Yes! The noodles take a little time but the rest is easy. First you need some dark meat chicken on the bone. You can use boneless or breasts, but I do not feel they work as well. They do work though! Be cure to add a little salt. Cook chicken until it is falling off the bone. Separate the chicken and liquid. Set the chicken aside to cook and add your veggies to your broth. When the chicken has cooled, pick the meat off the bone and

 add it back to the stock. You can cook your noodles in the soup or in another pot and then add them to the soup. I chose to the the second. My homemade noodles tend to be covered in flour to keep them from sticking to each other while I cut them all up. So the water tends to get a little odd if I cook them in broth.

As you can see, I do not add broth to the the bowls for the minions. I have learned that it is just to much of a mess. I normally put it in a cup (cool it down) and let them drink it that way.

Why are the noodles green? Because I wanted them to be. I added a little bit of spinach puree to my pasta dough to turn it green. Not only did it not effect the flavor, but it added some yummy spinach goodness to the noodles without the minions knowing.

Colonel Sanders was not very happy and chose not to eat. All she did was glare at us. She even made my camera have a "memory card error". Yep, the little stinker jinxed my camera. Or maybe the camera is just old... Naw, I like the first story better.
 The Elder's lunch. Yum! I was not feeling to well (sick plus migraine) and my brain was shot. I had some ground beef thawed. We had a lot of the typical ground beef items last week, meatloaf, burgers, and spaghetti and meatballs. So I decided I would make wontons. I added spinach, onion, 5 spice powder, and some soy sauce to the ground beef for my filling. Then I friend them in a little bit of olive oil and butter. Yes, I said butter. Real butter.

Anyway, the wontons are sitting on a bed of brown rice. I also gave him carrots with dip and cheese for a side.

Countdown: 5

Grill day leftover bento

I was not even aware that I had not posted this bento. This is another leftover from grilling bento.

I have grilled chicken tht was marinated in Italian salad dressing, corn on the cob, carrots, string cheese, blueberries, and alphabet pretzels.