Pasta and an Octopus

I had some leftover sausage from making lunches for The Elder and Julie. They had already ate it 2 days this week so I figured I would give it to the minions for lunch. The top meal was what the boys had. The only difference between theirs and The Colonel's lunch was that her fruit was cut up smaller. She does just fine with sausage, so I had no left it whole.

Lunch in our Easy Lunchboxes today! We have carrot sticks (slightly steamed for Colonel Sanders), strawberries, grapes, cheese cubes, tri colored pasta, and a turkey sausage octopus with whole wheat spaghetti legs.

The Colonel Decided to eat the legs off first.

So did Pork. The octopus is always a huge hit around here!

Look at that! Clark ate the legs off too! 

Tyke was not very happy with me. First I would not allow him to watch tv, then I made him take his acid meds, then I forced him to eat at the table. *gasps* I know, I am a mean mama.

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.

Kiwi Boat and Pasta with Andouille Sausage

For adult lunch we have organic andouille sausage on top of tri colored noodles with an olive oil, garlic, carrot, fresh tomato, and red pepper topping. I also added a piece of summer squash for some color. Besides that we have broccoli and peppermint kisses.

The minions have cheese cubes, lil' smoky links (or whatever they are called), a boat made form half a kiwi and a slice of hot house cucumber, a letter P for Pirate made out of homemade cheese bread, and some Uncle Sams cereal (GMO free).

How did I get the boat and cereal to stay? A little bit of sunbutter does wonders! The minions are so use to me using it for glue that they do not even question it.

All lunches were put into our Easy Lunchboxes

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.

Squid meatballs

I am having a little to much fun with The Elder's lunches. I wonder if he is wishing he had one of his frozen meals yet. These meals are normally made during 11pm and 1am while I am waiting for wither Colonel Sanders or Clark to finally go to sleep.

 On top of a bed of bow tie pasta, homemade tomato sauce, and Parmesan cheese I have 3 meatball squid. The ocean floor is made up of carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli. To the left I have steamed carrots and steamed broccoli with salad seasoning on top.

Countdown: 9

3 Bite rule



A special thank you to Clark for the art work

I am trying to enforce a 3 bite rule in the house. I realize that is something you really need to start out young. I am not giving up though. I have always encouraged the boys to wat what was served and I refuse to be a short order cook. You eat or not. I know not everyone is a fan of that philosophy, but that is how we roll in this house.

Today's lunch is pasta with a tomato paste and olive oil sauce (so much better than it sounds), zucchini, red bell peppers, 3 slices of mini portabella mushrooms, and 3 small meatballs. I also have a small cocktail fork for some added fun. As a reminder to the 3 bite rule I have it made out of processed cheese.

Yes, I know it would look better if it said 3 bites. Sadly, I am still missing some of my letters. My E is also missing. I used an F to make my E today.

You think the underpants gnomes have switched to swiping cookie cutters?







The not so great kite idea.

Can you tell it is a kite? No? That's ok. Clark could. Tyke thought it was a pirate ship and Porkums could care less. He was to busy eating. Initially Tyke did not feel like eating, but when Clark mentioned apples, he changed his mind.

The kite is made out of wonton ravioli (better than it sounds) with a filling of chicken, cheese, artichoke and spinach. Only Pork tried it. The string is made from some turkey bacon I needed to use up. To the left there is tri colored pasta and sauce, raw zucchini, carrots, apple slices, and blueberries.

Jellyfish and the pasta field

I have to say, looking back, I wish I would have made a cheese Spongebob. *sighs* Maybe next time. My little Miss Colonel Sanders was interrupting my not so creative juices with her cries to be the center of attention. Yes, 2 month olds can be very needy. Good thing they are so cute. I suppose I could have put her in a sling. Only I am sure she does not enjoy food being dropped on her. Or not yet anyway. I am sure she will once she can gum real food. Mama makes a mess when she is playing with her bentos. That is why I have a dog though. The dogs job is to clean up anything I may drop.



This is the maiden voyage of my Gerber Mealtime Organizers I picked up at Walmart the other day. Please see my previous post for my review on them.

Anyway, back to the bento and less about my issues. Today's meal consists of tricolor pasta with spinach (you can barely see it) and butter. There is a baby sausage crab sitting on some zucchini. The jellyfish are made from the baby sausages cut in half and whole wheat thin spaghetti. 

To the left of that is some unsweetened applesauce with the letter "C" made out of blueberries. Above that is yet another one of those yummy energy balls (which the minions still think are cookies) and some of the Kraft 3 cheddar cheese blend.




I used one of my silicone cups in this one. I think this will be the last time I do so. From now on, only paper cups. Pork was ever so kinda and gave the cup to the dog to clean when I was not looking. Needless to say, I no longer have a cup. Also I have decided that I "need" a nori punch. Making small eyes is just to much work for me.

Boy and Elephant

Bologna boy and "B", with a peanut butter sandwich elephant, cheese "3" and "E", Pasta salad, pear slices (running under boy and elephant), Blood Oranges, and grapes.

I think my cell phone takes better pictures than my camera.

The pasta salad was left over from the night before. There really was not enough left over for an adult, but perfect amount for 2 little boys!

The letters and numbers are random in case you were wondering. Both of them can count to 20 or beyond and know their ABC's. So now I am teaching them to recognize letters and numbers. What better way than to incorporate them into lunch! Food makes everything fun.