bentos 77 & 78

These photos turned when I uploaded them. Oh well. These bentos are definitely similar as you can see.

Bento 77 on top:  cucumber coins, a plain mini chocoloate cupcake, mozzarella cheese chunks, 1/2 of a banana, and rice and bean chips.

Bento 78: cucumber slices, monterey jack cheese chunks, a mini pb and chocolate cupcake for dessert, 1/2 of a banana, rice and bean chips, and a almond granola bar.

In other food news this week: I have been baking batch after batch after batch of chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter frosting. I'm trying to come up with the perfect recipe. So far I've found the perfect cake. It's a dark chocolate fudge. The pb frosting I am not happy with yet. Last night's version came out more like a fondant. It was basically a peanut butter cup in cupcake form. So far the peanut butter frosting recipe I posted is the best so far. My reason for so much baking is I want to own my own bakery someday and I need "perfect" recipes, you know? HF takes them to work so other officers and dispatchers can taste test them. They aren't much help. Each batch gets a "these are the best cupcakes ever!" result. I enjoy making their tastebuds happy however.

Also, I've been spring cleaning my kitchen. Reorganizing cupboards, getting rid of things I no longer use, organizing recipe binders, and menu planning.

We are beginning to harvest our garden and do lots of weeding. I will take pics soon so you can see our humble garden.

And lastly, my almost 2 year old son has been wreaking havoc around the house. I found dark brown food handprints going down the stairs to the basement one day, and the next it was Tapatio handprints, including nice thick smears on the carpet steps. In an effort to exert his independence, he refuses to be uncivilized any longer and demands a fork or a spoon when he eats. I would say he gets about 10% of the food in his mouth. He has also excelled in climbing. His newest discovery is the bathroom cabinet above the toilet. He can climb up there and explore inside the cabinets. He discovered that he does not like the taste of deodorant, but he does enjoy exchanging toys for toiletries. This morning I found a zhu zhu pet inside in exchange for q-tips. While this is the stuff memories are made of, my days are filled with very messy cleanups and laundry as you can imagine. But he does get an A for effort.

agua de pepino or cucumber cooler

You might have noticed that I like to make drinks. This is something that HF loves drinking during the hot summer months. I grew up in Southern California and was able to eat/drink lots of amazing Mexican food and as I raise my own family, I am finding that a lot of this food has made its way into our traditions and habits. I love it. Reminds me of good times and good friends. HF lived in Tucson, Texas, and New Mexico for a time and developed a taste for Mexican food as well. Our four year old son, Luke, loves this drink as well as you can see above.

If you look online, you will see that this drink can be made a number of ways. Some people put lime or lemon juice in theirs, some leave it out. This is simple to make and really does feel refreshing in the summer.

Agua de Pepino

3 cucumbers, peeled and chopped (I happened to use English cucumbers)

3 qts. cold water

1/4 cup sugar, or more to taste

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

Puree the cucumbers with 1/2 cup of water using immersion blender or food processor. Strain, using cheesecloth or a sieve to reserve just the cucumber "juice" and discard the pulp. Pour into large pitcher. Add lime juice and sugar. Adjust lime juice and sugar to desired preference. Chill and serve over ice.

menu plan: week of July 19th

for menu plans and submitting your own, go to orgjunkie

MONDAY  leftover tamales (these were a hit!) :: Rice and Bean chips :: agua de pepino

TUESDAY  spanish tortilla :: sausage :: fruit

WEDNESDAY  curried chicken legs with carrots, rice, and lime

THURSDAY  White-Cheddar Corn Chowder :: watermelon

FRIDAY  Pesto Pizza :: salad with cherry tomatoes from our garden

SATURDAY  chicken teriyaki burger with grilled pineapple (also from last week- yum!)

SUNDAY  Steamed Kalbi (Korean recipe from a friend-recipe to come)

bentos 74, 75, and 76

All of these bentos were for HF to take to work this week. Taquitos cut in half to fit, little container of salsa, a grapefruit, segmented, and put in a heart-shaped silicone baking cup, and a coconut cream pie slice for dessert.

Chicken salad sandwich on a French hamburger bun, 2 nectarines, cherries, carrots, and a cup of sweet and salty nut mixture. It has yogurt covered raisins, cashews, peanuts, and pretzel pieces.

Tuna on whole wheat (it's a local made bread. just 5 ingredients- stoneground wheat, honey, yeast, salt, and water), cantaloupe, cucumber slices. What's not pictures is that I included a chocolate peanut butter cupcake, a yogurt cup, and a string cheese. I don't remember what this container was called. Maybe snapware? But it stacks on top of each other and snaps on the sides so they stay in place. The lid on top also snaps in place on the side. It's a very handy dandy size for grownups.

I've been bad. . .

There is a well known gourmet bakery in our city that has amazing cupcakes. I get them whenever I have an excuse. Well, my absolute favorite is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup cupcakes. The combo is to die for. I am not a frosting person, but somehow this lady has managed to create a delightful peanut butter frosting that in large amounts does not make you sick. It perfectly compliments the chocolate cake. Instead of me going in to the shop, I wondered if I could make my own that would taste just as good. The verdict? Just as good, maybe even better. I wasn't very hopeful that this would happen, and so when it did, I looked at the remaining cupcakes and knew that I had to act fast. I sorted them onto plates and delieverd them to friends and neighbors because I knew that I could eat the whole lot easily in one day. I really only had six one, okay?

The only thing I will do differently next time, if there is a next time, is change the cake recipe. I have yet to find the perfect chocolate cake recipe. There's always something not quite right. This one was still good, but I will just say to use your favorite chocolate cake recipe. When I figure out a good one I will post it. If you have one, I would love to know what it is!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes

make your favorite chocolate cupcakes, using cupcake liners. Let cool. While cooling make the fluffy peanut butter frosting:

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup smooth peanut butter (we used Adams all natural)

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. milk or heavy cream

tiny splash of vanilla (1/4 tsp.)

Beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add milk 1 Tbsp. at a time and then vanilla. Beat for 2-3 minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of bowl. Spread a generous amount on cooled cupcakes. Top with chopped Peanut Butter Cups. I didn't have a frosting bag to make the frosting look pretty and professional piled on top, so I just plopped it on there and spread it a little with a knife.

If you love peanut butter and chooclate, then these will make your eyes roll to the back of your head in ecstasy. Or maybe that's just me.  This was also a very easy recipe for the kids to help with.

mpm: week of July 12th

for more menu ideas go to MPM at orgjunkie

MONDAY  Beef with Broccoli :: rice :: cantaloupe

TUESDAY  brinner:  whole wheat pancakes :: sausage :: eggs :: orange juice

WEDNESDAY  chicken teriyaki burgers with grilled pineapple :: sweet potato fries

THURSDAY  attending a potluck BBQ

FRIDAY  pita pizzas :: salad people (I got this book from the library and they have great ideas for making people out of fruits and veggies for the kids to eat)

SATURDAY  leftovers day

SUNDAY  crockpot tamales

bento 73

pirate's booty snack, Lorna Doone shortbread cookies, watermelon wedges, and Apple and Gouda Chicken sausage. This is in the Laptop Lunch box.

bento 72

This is a traditional bento box. It stacks and there's a separate lid that goes over the bean soup portion. This is white bean and pesto soup with strawberries and a roll.

 I actually made this one for HF to take to work. He eats smaller meals now, but more often. So this was dinner for him, but he also needed 2 additional meals for a regular shift. So I also included veggie chips, more fruit, raw vegetables and a sandwich.

bentos 69, 70, and 71

chocolate muffin, blueberry muffin, peanuts in the shell, apple with checkered cutouts, cheese flowers next to apple.

strawberry slices, apple slices, turkey rolled up and sliced in thirds, veggie chips.

chocolate muffin, apple, carrot sticks, cheese cut in flower shape, and goldfish crackers.

lime cream slush

So I was totally sucked in by Sonic's 1/2 price drinks during happy hour. There are only two things that I really love there. The Cranberry Limeade and the Lime Cream Slush. But, since I am married to "Dave Ramsey", I had to nix the happy hour escpades. Well, whaddya know. I figured out how to make me a home made lime cream slush and cranberry limeade. It definitely goes in the dessert category for me, but it tastes so good during these hot summer days, that I want it all the time.

The quantities aren't exact, but for one serving, I did the following:

1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt (I think this would work with any kind of vanilla ice cream or ice cream substitiute)
1/2 cup limeade (I used simply limeade)
1/2 cup ice pellets

Blend together until slushy, adding more ice or limeade to taste. I thought it was an exact copy of Sonic's Lime Cream Slush.

great aunt eddie's coconut bread

Another weight gainer. This bread is incredible. It is soft, moist, and just the right balance of flavor. The special thing about this recipe however, is that it's from my great aunt Eddie. She is also the person behind another favorite recipe of mine. I guess it's safe to say that Aunt Eddie knows her sweet breads. If you love coconut, you will adore this bread. I modified the recipe a little bit. I replaced the buttermilk with almond milk (and 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice) and next time I might try coconut milk in place of the buttermilk, although that might make it too coconutty. Oh, and don't bother trying to find pure coconut extract. It doesn't really exist. This bread makes 2 large loaves. I made these in 4 miniature loaf pans. That was pushing it. I would do 5 next time.

Aunt Eddie's Coconut Bread

4 eggs

2 cups sugar (I used organic

1 cup oil

2 tsp. coconut extract

3 cups flour (I used white whole wheat)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 tsp. salt (I used a little less than 2 tsp.)

1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup almond milk with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice)

1 cup flaked coconut (I used shredded)

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two large bread pans (9 1/4 x 5 1/4). In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, and extract. Sift together the flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Beat in alternately the buttermilk, coconut, and walnuts. Bake for 1 hour. When almost finished baking, make the glaze:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. coconut extract

In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, water, and butter to a boil. Remove from heat and add the coconut extract. Mix and pour over warm bread. Let stand for one hour before removing from pans.

mpm: week of June 14th

Link your menu plan to mpm at org junkie!

MONDAY
Taco Soup

TUESDAY
breakfast for dinner :: biscuits and egg gravy :: fresh fruit :: sausage

WEDNESDAY
Black Bean Burgers :: Spring Salad

THURSDAY
orange sesame ribs

FRIDAY
White Bean and Pesto Soup

SATURDAY
MIL here :: pizza night (homemade tonight) :: salad

SUNDAY
Father's Day :: meatball subs (one of HF's favorites)

possible desserts this week:
Aunt Eddie's Coconut Bread (recipe to come)
pecan shortbread cookies

pani popo

Do you need to gain 10 pounds in 1 day? Then look no further! Have I got the solution for you. It's called Pani Popo. It's Polynesian coconut bread. Or dessert, as we like to call it.

This week we have been enjoying lots of recipes with coconut. I think I associate summertime with coconut. But this bread recipe was perfect for today. It was rainy and cold, and these were perfect right out of the oven. There are a number of ways to make these, but I usually opt for the easiest and quickest method possible. It is only 3 ingredients.

favorite sweet bread dough from scratch, or Frozen Rhodes rolls

1 can of unsweetened coocnut milk (found in the Asian aisle of any grocery store)

1/2 cup sugar (we use raw organic sugar. think of me saying that in an ultra snooty tone of voice)

Place 15-18 frozen rhodes rolls in a 9x13 casserole dish. Thaw accoding to package instructions. I always do the speed method. While dough is rising, you will mix together in a small bowl the can of coconut milk, and 1/2 cup of sugar. When the dough has doubled in size, you will pour the coconut milk mixture over the rolls and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Spoon creamy coconut mixture from the bottom of pan over the top of the rolls when serving. Best served warm.

bentos 65, 66, and 67

3 taquitos cut in half, cheese cubes, mini carrots, cup of grapefruit segments

bran muffin, margherita pizza, grapefruit segments, mini carrots, little cup of peanuts

I couldn't get this picture to turn the right way. Anyway it's a tomato chopped with a teaspoon of ranch drizzled over the top, a sheepherder bun, mini carrots, and some cheese cubes.

making your own carrot juice blends

I actually don't have my own juicer, but borrow one from my neighbor because she hardly ever uses it. I juiced about 10 pounds of carrots and ended up with two of these large mason jars. Once you've juiced your carrots and any other fruit you may want to use for blending, this is how you start. This is for 1-2 servings.
Start with 1 Cup Carrot juice

½ C Pineapple juice
½ C Apple juice

Add different juices and play around until you find one you like the best and adjust to desired level of sweetness. Other juice options are:
½ Cup orange juice, pear, strawberry juice, grape juice, grapefruit juice, mango, peach, berries, the combos are limitless.

If you are not a fan of the carrot juice flavor, pineapple juice covers the flavor. If you want to add more veggies to your carrot juice, the most popular additions are 1-2 celery stalks, 1/2 of a fresh beet root, and/or 4 inches of seedless cucumber. Some people add fresh grated ginger, but I don't like that..

bentos #63 and #64

cantaloupe, veggie straws, cucumber wheels, and a jam sandwich with cheddar cheese flower on top

bran muffin with cheddar flower on top, peanuts, veggie straws, and cantaloupe

These were made in the sassy baby mealtime on the go feeding set. I saw them at Burlington Coat Factory for about $5 a piece so I bought 3 of them. They really are handy dandy for bento making. Works for all three kids. But probably too small for HF.

mpm: week of June 7th

for more menu ideas, visit orgjunkie every monday.

MONDAY

B:  steel-cut oats with apples and pecans

L:  spinach salad

D:  fly off the plate pancakes :: chicken apple sausage :: almond milk

TUESDAY

B:  same as Monday :: steel-cut oats with apples and pecans

L:  quesadillas :: cucumbers :: grapes :: chocolate milk

D:  Pesto-Chicken Italiano

WEDNESDAY

B:  blueberry-banana muffins (Jillian Michaels)

L:  chicken caesar wraps

D:  Black Bean Burgers

THURSDAY

B:  grapefruit :: avocado on toast

L:  pioneer woman's veggie bagel sandwiches

D:  HF's 32nd birthday (he's in Alabama though) :: eat out with kids

FRIDAY

B:  grapefruit :: avocado on toast

L:  smoothies :: trail mix

D:  pizza night :: vegie delight from Papa Murphy's

SATURDAY

B:  cold cereal

L:  pb and j's :: veggie chips :: orange smiles

D:  leftovers day

SUNDAY

B:  these scrumptious Bran Flax muffins via handcuffed heart

L:  toast and jam :: veggie chips :: orange smiles :: banana slices

D:  fillet mignon (thanks to Costco) :: watermelon :: baked potatoes

orange poppy seed bread

I made this orange poppy seed bread this weekend and it was to die for! Making the orange "magic" dust is totally worth it. The only thing I might do differently next time is cut the almond extract down to 1/2 teaspoon in both the batter and the glaze, instead of the 1 teaspoon for each that it calls for. But I'm not an almond extract fan. So it would be more powerful to me than to others perhaps. This is my favorite bread right now. I think about eating  it all the time. Obsess much? Recipe from here. And of course, her bread is more beautiful than mine. I don't know how to get it not to crack down the middle and sink. But it all goes to the same place. My stomach.

fajitas

My mom made fajitas at least once a week growing up. I thought it was disgusting! Onions and peppers? I would rather die than eat onions and peppers. Well I don't know how it happened, but the things that I hated eating growing up, are the very things I crave and eat often now. They have become my comfort foods. Fajitas are one of these. Except I never make them the same way. I'm always searching and tweaking to come up with the perfect flavor. Right now, I'm pretty happy with what we've come up with. This is from McCormick’s Garlic Lime Fajitas Recipe Inspirations package. I'm kind of an herb and spice snob and don't like certain things dried like onions and garlic and cilantro. I've included my notes in blue.

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Marinate: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup each lime and orange juices (I've used lemon juice in place of the lime and it was still good)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic (I used 3-4 fresh cloves, pressed)
1 teaspoon dried minced onions (I used 1 Tablespoon fresh white onion, minced)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro leaves (I used 1-2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced)
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
(a couple shakes of chipotle chili pepper)
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (I use red, yellow, and green, or a bunch of the mini sweet peppers)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I always use a big yellow Texas Sweet onion. I really think sweet onions make all the difference, but that's just me)
8 flour tortillas (8-inch) (these are really good on corn tortillas as well)

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Mix juices, oil, all of the spices and salt in small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add remaining marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.

2.  Cook and stir chicken in large heated skillet on medium-high heat 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet. Add bell pepper, onion and reserved marinade; cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender. Return chicken to skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. (I always have to cook my chicken much longer than the directions say to make sure they are done)

3.  Spoon chicken mixture into warmed tortillas. Serve with assorted toppings, if desired. (We serve it with sour cream, avocados, salsa, and lime wedges)

steel-cut oats with apples and pecans

This is from Jillian Michaels' Master Your Metabolism Cookbook. I've been eating it for breakfast every morning this week and I LOVE it. I included a link to this recipe in the previous menu plan monday, but I want it here for future reference.

steel-cut oats with apples and pecans
1 cup almond milk
1 cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats
2 apples, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 1/2 teaspoons organic maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar
1/3 cup chopped pecns or walnuts, toasted*

In a medium saucepan, combine the almond milk, 1 cup water, and the oats. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

While the oatmeal is cooking, in a small saucepan, place the apples, cinnamon, 1./2 teaspoon of the maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon water. Cook over medium heat until the apples are softened and the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the pecans and cover to keep warm.

Stir the apples and nuts into the cooked and rested oatmeal. Divude among four bowls. Drizzle 1 teaspoon maple syrup over each bowl and serve. 

*to toast pecans: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the oven until fragrant and lightly golden., 2 5 to 6 minutes.                                                                                                                                                                       

bento #62

This is in a new bento box called Snapware. It's kind of like a lock & lock but a little deeper I think. It works great! This bento is pepperoni and tomato thin crust pizza cut into pieces, carrot coins, apple slices with lemon juice to keep color, and 1/2 of a blueberry muffin and 1/2 of a banana muffin. I've  been making lots of muffins lately. The kids love them for any meal or any snack.

spring rolls

I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the entire package so you know what it looks like, but this is rice paper, or spring roll wrappers. You can purchase at any Asian market most likely.

They are thin and hard, but very delicate. Once you wet them in water for 2-3 seconds, they become almost transparent, soft, and filmy. This makes it easier to roll up burrito style.

These are the ingredients I used: green bell pepper, chopped lettuce, chopped mint (mixed with lettuce), bean sprouts, shredded carrots, fresh basil, and bean thread (a kind of noodle).

chicken with a teriyaki marinade.

This is all on top of a rice wrapper, but you can't really see it. Pretty, huh.

A close up of the spring roll all wrapped up. I'm still working on my wrapping technique.

You can get really fancy and put leaves of cilantro, basil, and/or mint so that when you roll it up you see pretty, whole green leaves showing through. That was too hard for me. . .

There are endless possibilites what to put in these, but here are the basics:

Rice wrappers for spring rolls

1 pound chicken breast, cooked and diced

2 ounces rice noodles (vermicelli)

1 cup chopped lettuce

2 Tablespoons Thai Basil, chopped

2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1 Tablespoon mint, chopped

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup shredded carrots

Boil vermicelli for just 3-5 minutes, or let soak for 20 minutes. Drain. Chop and prepare all ingredients and place in rows on a tray. Fill a pie pan with water. Soak a rice wrapper for 3-5 seconds (the package will tell you how) and place in front of you on a clean work surface. Place a small amount of chiken on lower half of rice wrapper. Then place equal small amounts of the remaining ingredients on top of chicken. Fold like a burrito (package will also show folding instructions). Let rest a few minutes under damp cloth while you continue to roll the others. These are best eaten right away and do not make for good leftovers. Eat with your favorite peanut dipping sauce. I like this one: Peanut Love Sauce.