Puzzle & Penguin Mini-Bento

I have felt pretty close to death for a couple of days!  I hate being sick!  Anyway, I finally cooked tonight...I'm sure my hubby was happy!  I made a big pot of ham/veggie/misc soup...the best!  We are having that for lunch tomorrow.  I made each of us a little breakfast/snack bento to munch on throughout the day.  I bought 2 new sammie cutters from Wally World.  They are CUTE!  I got the puzzle one and a penguin duo!  I hate Wally World but was there checking out a phone deal someone had told me about.  Out of stock - go figure!

Each has a mini penguin sammie and 2 puzzle pieces - filled with....wait for it....COOKIE BUTTER!  YUMMO!  The penguins each have a flower sprinkle for the eyes.  The chili pepper is made from a Trader Joe Fruit Leather.  The ABC cookies are also from TJs and are quite tasty!  Hubby has organic white cheddar mini cracker sammies and a tiny Fruit Stripe packet!

 

 

 

 

 

Cookie Butter: Trader'Joe's Product Review

As promised, a post on Cookie Butter.  Whenever I go to Trader Joe's, which I LOVE, I make it a point to try something new....every time.  There have been a couple of flops, but there have been FAR more YUMS!!  Rich is in LOVE with Cookie Butter.  It is $3.69 a jar.  Best way to describe it is a consistency a tiny bit thicker and "tackier" than Peanut Butter with almost a gingersnap flavor in the background.  You can use it just like you use Peanut Butter.  Our fave so far is to simply roll out a piece of bread and spread a thin layer of the butter on.  We then roll it up.  It's very tasty!  I purchased 2 more jars tonight!  It was funny because we had used about 1/3 of the jar when Rich started panicking over running out!  LOL

Try it out and let me know what you think!  I gotta warn you though...it IS QUITE addictive!!

**Note...I am in no way affiliated with Trader Joe's nor did I receive any form of compensation for saying the positive things about the product!  We just love it!

Helpful Tips!

I read an article recently at TipHero that has some really good info!  I'm going to include my faves below!!

• To create hangers that will support silky and wide-necked tops, just use a hot glue gun to make zigzagged patterns on the tops where the clothes would hang.
• To make leftover pizza extra crispy and yummy, reheat it on a skillet on the stove instead of in the oven.
• When you have green onions, submerge the white ends into a glass of water and put them in a sunny window. You'll be able to grow more quickly.
• Dawn gets any grease stain out, even after it has gone through the dryer!
• Use vinegar and crumpled newspaper to clean windows with no streaks. 
• Coca-Cola is a great toilet cleaner.
• Make your own microwave popcorn- just place  1/2 cup of corn kernels into a brown paper bag. Fold the top over two or three times  and pop it into the microwave on high on your popcorn setting.  Or if yours doesn't have one of those, pop it in for three or so minutes and stop when the popping noise slows to every 1 or 2 seconds.

"Bentoing" - Getting my Feet Wet!

So, I have been growing increasingly interested in creating Bentos for Rich and my lunches.  I have started by doing a few here lately.  I will NEVER have as much time to spend on them as some bloggers have.  I admire their work, though!  Here are a few that I have created...

This first one was created for Rich to take for breakfast/lunch.  I made this one the designated "cold" one and the one below this one the "hot" one.  I figured he could have some of the cold one for breakfast and the rest with his hot one for lunch!

The main compartment has:  Cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and yellow peppers cut into various shapes (stars, flower-type deals, and hearts).  The little green container beside it has some ranch.  It is a repurposed playdoh container!  He also has some crackers in a muffin cup along with cheese and ham.  I couldn't resist the heart pick!  The smallest side compartment is an orange fluff thingie that I LOVE...he's not a fan...it came home!  More for me!  Beside it is some vanilla yogurt with fresh berries!

This is his "hot" one.  It has skewers with leftover pork tenderloin and mandarin oranges.  Weird combo, but he LOVED the broccoli casserole I made so he has some of that as well.

This is actually my breakfast/lunch for tomorrow.  In the main compartment I included a fajita-sized ham and cheese wrap, a skewer of fresh blueberries that I picked this evening, a boiled egg, and a "cookie butter" roll-up.  More to come on the Cookie Butter later...Rich is officially obsessed with it!  The small compartment holds 2 strawberries also picked tonight and some orange fluff.  I topped it with a few flower sprinkles.  :)

This is Rich's breakfast/lunch for tomorrow.  The main compartment has the same things as mine with fresh veggies replacing the boiled egg.  In the smallest compartment, I included 3 Mexican Meatballs in a muffin cup so he can take them out and nuke them if he wants.  Those things are a favorite and SO easy!  The other container has peach yogurt topped with berries. 

This lunch made me giggle and hubby smile!  I will say, Rich is a trooper!  He deals with my little obsessions very well...he even bragged about this to his boss who couldn't have cared less!  I named this "Under the Sea"...yeah, not very original but it's the first thing I thought of when I made this!  It is just dyed Ramen (I had a craving) with a little of the packet seasoning as well as my own twist.  I added some fresh herbs and black & white sesame seeds.  I topped the noodles with sauteed shrimp with garlic and herbs.  He liked it and I agree that it was quite tasty!

So, there you have it!  Laugh is you may, but it's kinda fun!  Let me know what you think!  Maybe I'll actually start posting regularly and get some more followers!  LOL

Another Bento Giveaway!

Mama needs some Bento tools and I'm broke!  Check out THIS BLOG for some cute ideas...and to enter the contest!

Bento-Crazy!

So, I have recently began getting into Bento-making!  I am NOT good at it but it's sure fun to try!  Times like this I wish I had a kid or two!  Thankfully, I have the best hubby in the world that allows me to use him as my experiment.  Afterall, he does get lots of yummy grub!  Today he proudly showed his boss (who couldn't have cared less) his "sea" of blue noodles with sauteed shrimp "swimming" in it!  He's awesome!  I'll post pics of my creations when I remember to take them!

Anyway, I don't have much in the way of bento-making "stuff" yet.  So, I have been reading various bento sites and came across a cool giveaway!!  Check it out!  FUNBITES GIVEAWAY!

O Magazine Offer!

If you like O Magazine, here's and offer to get a years worth for $10!  Click HERE for more info and to subscribe!  Just thought I'd pass along a deal!