Playing With My Food

Weeknight Roast Chicken

2012-11-24T11:21:00.001-08:00

This was a revelation to me. I had never roasted a chicken before. I started this post back in September when I actually cooked this particular bird, but I have done it since then too. It is so easy! I got my recipe off of The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. (Sometimes I think I would like to be Ree Drummond when I grow up - she cooks the most amazing things, takes beautiful photographs, and has

Pizza with the Super Peel

2012-10-13T10:07:00.002-07:00

Making homemade pizza is a lot of fun. If you haven't ever tried it, you should! First you make the dough, knead it, let it rise, punch it down and roll it out. Here is what I put in this crust: 2 cups of all-purpose flour 2/3 cup very warm water 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt 1 tsp active dry yeast herbs and black pepper to taste I got that recipe here and the author, S. John Ross

BBQ Chicken Bento

2012-09-23T14:20:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned how I love this time of year? Fresh veggies from my friend's and family member's gardens are pouring in to my kitchen. The little tomatoes below are compliments of my sister-in-law. Thanks! This bento contains: white steamed rice grilled chicken mini cookie cup BBQ dipping sauce black & white sesame seeds (garnish) The little "cookie cup" was made while I

Waffle Bento

2012-09-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

You ever have those mornings where nothing sounds good? Yeah. Thursday was one of those mornings. I told myself, "You don't have to pack a bento. Just grab whatever sounds appetizing." The only thing I could come up with was waffles. So I stuck two in a plastic bag. But then, how was I going to bring my toppings? This is the resulting mini bento: It contains: peanut butter

Look, Ma: No Rice!

2012-09-19T21:44:00.001-07:00

If you haven't jumped on the bento bandwagon yet, I am guessing you don't want to eat rice everyday. Or, you run through fast food for dinner on a regular basis, and don't have any extra McNuggets to make into a cute bento. Fear not! There are other options. I present for your consideration, today's bento: No leftovers, no rice. A ham sandwich, some veggies and a little bit of hummus.

Baked Tacos

2012-09-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

So, last week I went to a Damarle at Home party at my friend Triann's house. We ate the most delicious tacos, and saw how easy the product is to use, and how there is virtually no clean up. I took the catalog home, and kept seeing this picture. I am at a very impressionable age. So this is what we had for dinner. I even borrowed a Damarle cupcake tray from my friend Ann to give it a

Bento Simplified

2012-09-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Now that you know how to pack a bento lunch, I'd like to convince you how simple it really is. Repeat after me: Bento is easy! It really is. If you are a person who eats dinner -and- owns a container to store leftovers in You can make a bento lunch! First step, eat dinner. I went with Pineapple Pork Chops and rice: Second, pack your left-overs in a container. To

How To Pack a Bento Lunch

2012-09-17T18:41:00.001-07:00

After a number of my Facebook friends teasing me that I should come over and pack lunches for their children, and one indicating she was interested in starting to do this herself, I figured I would put together a simple "how to." Now, please know that you can use whatever foods appeal to you and your children. For this little demo, I will try to stick pretty closely to the 1/3 carbs, 1/3

Easiest Meatballs - Step by Step

2012-09-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

If you have been around my blog for a while, you may remember the post I did about Porcupine Balls. These are a quick meatball you can whip up on a school night, and they are sure to be a crowd pleaser. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce (BBQ or ketchup, perhaps) or just eat them plain. I love to cook with a blog right in front of me showing step by step, so here are a few photos

Ho-hum Bento

2012-09-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Not sure what it was about my lunch this morning, but I really just wasn't liking the way it turned out. But I am trying to post consistently, so I will show it to you anyway: This is one of those things where I have to wonder what made this lunch different than the past few. I am using pretty much the same colors/ingredients - so why am I not thrilled? Looking at the pictures, I

Colorful Leftovers Bento

2012-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today's bento looks like this: A little less childish, but still kinda whimsical. This bento contains: brown rice porcupine meat balls roast chicken lettuce red pepper black pepper sprinkles grape tomatoes carrots Here it is all packed up and ready to go. Happy bento!

Fish Bento

2012-09-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

This morning, my lunch looked like this: This bento contains: roast chicken fresh rosemary brown rice onigiri cajun spices & nori accents carrots grape tomatoes broccoli a plum red grapes a strawberry I felt that yesterday's strawberry was a missed opportunity for a big grin, so I made that happen today. Oh, and that plum is out of my co-worker Janelle's garden. Thanks, Janelle!

Tuesday's Bento

2012-09-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

Call it childish if you will, but I love having a lunch that smiles at me when I open it. My windowsill is certainly getting more attention lately than it has for a while. This bento contains: porcupine meatballs tater tots red pepper broccoli grape tomatoes carrots lettuce/spinach red grapes a strawberry black sesame seeds nori This is a large strawberry and huge grapes.

Squirrel!

2012-09-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read my blog way back when, you may remember my dog, Dioji: This bento was made with him in mind. The lower tier has a dog and the upper tier, a squirrel. This bento contains: brown rice onigiri turkey slices egg broccoli almonds red pepper & sunflower seed "collar" food coloring / sesame seeds accents brownie mixed nuts Here is the dog: Here is the

First Friday Bento

2012-09-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hooray for making it to Friday! I work in a middle school, and the first week back can be a killer. A student once asked me, "Did you cute your lunch today?" Yes, today I did. This bento contains: spaghetti topped with parsley, garlic and cajun spices chicken my husband grilled, seasoned with a flavorful baja citrus marinade broccoli florets red pepper decorated with black sesame seeds

Colorful Veggies

2012-09-06T21:30:00.001-07:00

So, the last time I posted a bento on this blog was in 2010. Occasionally I will bring my lunch (or part of my lunch) in bento form, I just haven't been good about photographing and sharing. So, for the second day back to work, I decided to do a little bento for myself. I brought an individual sized hummus along too and dipped the veggies in that. Contents: red pepper broccoli

Playing With Our European Food

2012-08-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

This summer, my husband and I took the trip of a lifetime and toured around Europe. We did the Railpass thing with our backpacks, and even stayed in a few hostels along the way. But the main thing that really stood out to us was the food. We had a great time trying all the local specialties and enjoying the sometimes novel presentation of favorite foods. Take a look at a few snapshots from

Homegrown Goodness

2012-01-31T08:22:00.000-08:00

I have been playing with my food again. Here is a picture of the main part of my lunch today. Sprouted beans on a bed of steamed rice: I will dish up some spicy cajun vegetable soup over it, and it will be both filling and yummy! I love eating something that I have grown right here in my kitchen. Doesn't get much fresher or more local than that, eh? And here is another thing that I am

Chocolate Peanut Butter Acorns

2011-11-23T11:25:00.001-08:00

So, a little over a month ago my aunt Jackie posted a link to her Facebook page. I've been wanting to do these little guys ever since: Today, I finally got my chance. I assembled the three ingredients: And got to work unwrapping those Kisses. Now, I should point out, that this is not a milk-free recipe. But it was so cute, I had to do it anyway. As a side-note, you may

Crispy Homemade French Fries

2011-11-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

So, I wanted to make up some homemade french fries for my friends the other day. I went to my trusty blog (which mostly functions as a handy recipe book, these days) and searched "fries." Unfortunately for me, it turns out I never did that post I meant to about how to make the perfect, crispy, delicious batch of homemade fries like I thought I had. So here it is now, for all of you (and me,

Peanut Butter Frosting

2011-08-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

I've decided that my attention to domestic activities appears to be in direct relation to the amount of time I spend alone in my home. When my husband is home, it rarely occurs to me to try a new recipe or scrub down all the walls. But when he isn't here... I begin to fill my time in Suzy Homemaker ways. Today while he was at work, for example, I decided to try making some cupcakes and

Ice Cream Sculpture

2011-08-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Our favorite dessert place to go to is Ice Cream Renaissance. So when my husband signed his contract for his new job, we decided to go there and celebrate. We ordered an "Indecision" for him and they brought him this fantastic two-toned ice cream sculpture in the shape of a bear with "congrats" written in chocolate syrup.We snapped a picture before digging in. They also have a nice variety of

Dining like a Princess

2011-07-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

By far the most fun I've had with my food this summer was all the delightful offerings on the Alaskan cruise we just went on. We did formal dining for the majority of our meals because it is easier for me with my food allergy. But who doesn't love a five course breakfast, right?Here we are in the International Dining Room before dinner one evening.Here is Bryan humoring me by posing with one of

Bacon-y Reprise

2011-07-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

This year for fourth of July the Bacon Explosions were back by popular demand. They were so popular last year, in fact, that we made four this year! If you haven't tried this yet, I highly reccommend it. See here for step by step instructions. Yum!

Summertime is Coming!

2011-06-19T21:18:00.001-07:00

I am so excited that grilling season is here again! My husband is amazing at the grill. Here is a quick snapshot of dinner:I made red roasted potatoes in the oven while he was working the above magic.Happy grilling!