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.

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

Onigiri lunch

I love rice. The minions, not so much. I have tried coloring it, cute rice molds, sweeter filling, fried rice of various types and so on. I once even made Rice a Roni and molded it! Still no luck. Apparently they believe that rice has no place in their bento boxes. Yet if I serve fried rice at dinner, most of the time they will eat it. Little ones are strange.

Today's lunch is hand formed onigiri (rice ball) with a filling of 5 spice pork and mushrooms. In between the two pieces I have raw broccoli. One of the onigiri has strawberry ears. Yes, the top fit on over the ears!

The bottom level consists of curried eggs with celery, grapes, and strawberries.

Mama Bento #4

All 4 minions and the Elder are ill. They have recurring fevers and slight coughing. Several of them have gotten ill. I am making sure to keep them hydrated. I really hope I don't get it too. Because of this, no minion bentos till they are eating again. Right now we are just giving them whatever they will eat.


I love this little bento box. I wish I had the others in the series. The only place that has them at the moment wants way to much for them. Since I am the only one eating, I decided I would go back to onigiri and sushi. I love them. You can make very simple ones pretty fast.

The onigiri is filled with canned salmon with some lemon juice. I have a band of nori going around it to help keep my fingers from getting sticky. I then have grape tomatoes and seasoned mini portabella mushrooms.

The bottom tier is sushi filled with avocado,  cucumber, carrot, and canned salmon. Below that is raw carrot coins.

Mama Bento #3 sushi and ramen noodles

2 things I love a little to much, Sushi and spring rolls. I am out of fresh greens and rice paper, so sushi it is!

I made sushi with avocado, canned salmon, and match stick carrots. Also I have some mozzarella cheese,  green olives, and tomatoes on cute little picks. Believe it or not, you do not need one of those sushi rollers. Mine was lost in the move to this house. Since then I have used waxed paper to roll it. I know some people use plastic wrap. Just extend your thumbs out as you roll to help push the center and make sure it rolls tight.
The bottom tier is made of ramen noodles, yellow pepper slightly cooked, and mushrooms. This pack is from one of my coveted mini stock pile. There are no Asian stores where I live. The closest Asian market is about an hour away. So when I do go (with little ones in tow) I try to pick up plenty of things to try out, as well as the sauces, fresh vegetables, and fresh noodles I can only find there.

One thing I noticed with most of the instant noodle packs I get at the Oriental market, there is always a fat or oil pack with it. Sometimes a separate soy sauce or vegetable packet too. This one happens to have soy sauce. I also noticed that they have a slightly different smell, even without the packets added, than the ones we have here like Top Ramen or any of the other brands. Not that it is bad, it's just different.

I do wonder, what is the difference between exporting quality and normal quality? Do I really wish to know?

Today's bento is the only other bento I have had for a long time. This one is about 2 1/2 years old. I also got this from Bento TV. The original sticker on top wore off. This one is not dishwasher safe. So I turned off the heated dry and sent it through the dishwasher anyway. One day I will regret doing it.

I wish I could find another one like this bento. It is simple and for some odd reason Pork Chop wants it half the time. I know better than to give the minions 2 very different bentos at lunch though. That is why you see so many that are either the same or nearly the same size and shape.