Bento #36 "Quiche me you fool!"

Today's bento is a larger version of my mini quiches. Usually I bring out my mini muffin tin and make the cuter version, but laziness set in and I used the bigger square pan. The results were just as good if not better.
Bento: Steamed rice, furikake (in bear container), grape tomatoes, tangerine and quiche.
In the quiche I used ham, green onions, chopped steamed broccoli, mozzarella, monterey jack and cheddar cheeses.

Bento #35 Another Sub. Sammie

Hi everyone. Hope all is well. Didn't make any bentos yesterday, my husband told me not to. Come to find out, his "saimin" lunch wasn't enough. Next time he says, "don't worry about it", I'm not listening to him.

Here's tomorrows bento.

Top: cucumber sticks, grape tomatoes, green seedless grapes, and Biko (sweet sticky rice)
Bottom: ranch dressing, sub. sandwich with tuna salad and cucumbers.

Bento #33 Submarine Sammie

Hi everyone..hope all had a good weekend as we did. Saturday we were invited to a birthday party of one of my long-time friend's son, who happened to be turning 7. Although my little one is only 1, he was still very interested in what the "big boys" were doing. He was very observant the whole time, watching all the big kids beat the heck out of the pinata and jumping up and down in the bounce house. All in all, it was good fun and we had a great time seeing old friends.

So now that all the chaos had died down, back to bentos we go. I started off the week with something simple, but yet trying to satisfy my husbands requests.

Here we have a submarine sandwich with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and slices of ham, turkey and pastrami. I also added sliced strawberries and green seedless grapes. I also included the usual veggie box, which is not shown. I'm a little worried it won't be enough, but I'll soon find out this afternoon. Till next time........................

Bento # 32

Well I'm back from all the birthday/dedication maddness. Planning a party/event for a 1 year old is hard work. But it was well worth it. Baby Evan had a great time and so did his mom and dad. We were able to catch up with friends and family, which was great. Can't believe our miracle baby is already a year old...seems like it was yesterday when I found out I was pregnant, and now here we are celebrating his 1st year of life. Here are a few pics:

And as a wannabe baker, I made the Giant cupcake cake and the other cupcakes myself. Frosted the majority of the cupcakes with my goddaughter, Adrienne, helping out with the mini cupcakes. I also made the cupcake stand myself, with the idea and inspiration from the internet.

Pretty much most of the guests were impressed and couldn't believe I did it myself. But yeah, I'm pretty proud to say I did it!

As far as bentos are concerned, I admit I pretty much slacked off for the past couple of weeks. I totally apologize to my husband Steven and my son Tim. I did start back this week...started on Wednesday with this bento:

I haven't made this meal in over 3 years, I couldn't believe how much someone could miss a pork chop, lol. This was one of my go-to meals when we were on our own. So simple but with sophisticated taste. (thank you to my friend Lisa who showed me how to make those yummy beans!)

Main bento box: steamed rice, sliced pork chop loin and red beans (puerto rican style)
Veggie box: baby carrots, grape tomatoes, black olives, cucumber slices with ranch dressing Snack bag: red and green seedless grapes

Till next time.................

M.I.A. & Bento #30

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post, and I've been so busy planning for my little one's 1st birthday that I've been so exhausted to post up bentos. I admit being a little negligent on the bentos...even going on strike a couple of days, lol (blame on the hormones, I guess). But anywho, I'm back!

The hubby and I decided we needed to go on a diet, together... So I've got bentos for myself, too. Only difference is mine are mini and mostly fruit and veggies, thus far. I figured I can do without the carbs for a few days.

Here's the bento for the boys.

I included tuna, round vegetable crackers, banana half, yellow plums and sliced cantaloupe.

This part of the lunch I started doing the 2 weeks I was M.I.A. This little container is great for platters like this, since I can place a dip in the middle and close it shut with its own cap. And being that the container only cost a dollar makes it even better. (purchase at Target in their dollar section.) No sauce running all over the place. My hubby says lunch isn't the same without his "veggies". I'm so glad he likes eating like this, makes it easier for me.

Till next time, happy bento-ing!

Bento #29 BBQ Bento

Since today was my eldest son's birthday, my parents decided to barbecue. Actually, grandpa barbecued and g-ma, myself and the baby stayed inside (too, hot). So of course there was plenty of leftovers...so why not put it into tomorrows bento.
Included in the bento: steamed rice, bbq chicken, pork belly, steamed yam leaves, roasted corn and double chocolate fudge walnut brownie.
Till next time.............

Bento #28 Birthday Bento

Today is my eldest son's birthday. Timothy turns 19 today. So I dedicate this bento to him. Although in our culture, we usually have pancit (for long life) as a birthday dish, I didn't have the patience or time to prepare all the veggies, etc. So I made the next best thing that I thought he would like, oh and the hubby too. Fried rice! I hardly make fried rice, usually it's for Sunday breakfast...and even then, we're always in a hurry to get out the door for church. And normally it would be garlic fried rice and not this fancy stuff that I whipped up.
So here we go: Special fried rice (chinese sausage, scrambled egg and scallions), baby carrots and bell peppers, double chocolate fudge walnut brownie, and a chocolate birthday cupcake topped off with a mini-pinwheel!! Happy Birthday Timothy!!!

Bento #27 Another Mini Bento

This bento, is what I call a semi-lazy bento. I had pre-made the quiche and the mini siaopao (in filipino) or what the Hawaiians call manapua. But I did cut up the peppers, so that was some prep-work.
So included in the bento is mini quiche (ham, cheese, chives), mini manapua (steamed bun w/ chinese bbq pork), cereal bar, 2 Baby Ruth bars, juicy cherries, and baby carrots/red bell peppers.
Till next time....................

Bento #26 Another Mini

This is Tuesday's bento. Something light again since the weather is still in the upper 90's.
Included are mini quiche. Made with ham, cheddar cheese and chives. So simple and done with none other than Bisquick mix. I added juicy cherries and crudite of baby carrots, cucumbers and grape tomatoes. Also included is hummus. For dessert there is a Baby Ruth bar and an Okayo chocolate creme wafer.

Bento #25 and another for G-Ma

Hope all had a wonderful weekend. For us here in SoCal, we faced 3-digit temps. So we kept cool by doing the mall thing, and I guess everyone and there mama had the same idea too. We started out by having lunch, and yes, no bentos. We had burgers, fries, and icy sodas. Walking around the mall was good. I saw a few interesting bento box finds, although I think too pricey for me. (I blame it on Marukai 98, lol) At Old Navy there was a double decker sandwich box, the upper deck could easily hold a sandwich, and the bottom had divided sections...but priced at $5.99, I could wait. Then at Morning Glory (kinda a Sanrio store), they had the typical HK stuff, but still too much for my liking. I thought that would end my bento browsing until I walked into a random asian store. At the far end of the store they had a small bento display, and lo and behold I saw with my own eyes a bento in the shape of a hamburger and another of a sandwich. But $12.99 is still too much for even a kitchy thing like that. (And I'm sorry no pics of these great finds..I know I could kick myself.)

Edit: I was able to find pics on the web of the hamburger and sandwich bento, since I'm sure you're all wondering what I'm talking about, and no, I haven't lost my mind!!

Pretty cute, huh?!! Just not sure if the hubby would be man enough to pull this out at breaktime, lol. But then again, it wouldn't stop him either if he was starving and the food is in that box!

Ok now back to the bento, so now that the weather is not letting up at all, I felt that another "light" bento was in order. Here's what I came up with:

Included in the bento is egg salad (in the blue container), country white bread toasts, juicy cherries, baby carrots/cucumbers and hummus dip. I also included Okayo chocolate creme wafers. A seperate container of yellow watermelon and honeydew was also a part of the bento.
G-ma also requested for a bento, but a small one. Here is what I came up with:
Cherries, country whitebread toasts, and a container of egg salad.

Well, till next time...............

Bento #24 Teri-wings

Well...its TGIF! Another week of bentos done, can't believe I've done 24 bentos so far. My family thought I would give up after 1 week. But needless to say, I enjoy doing it. And as I see the boxes coming home empty, the happier it makes me feel and more fulfilling a task it seems to be. I wanted to do something special for the men...and as they were smelling this as I was preparing their bentos, I could sense I made a good decision.

Friday's bento consists of bbq chicken wings, onigir, crudite of baby carrots, cucumbers and red bell pepper strips, and cherries. Also included but not shown, was a small container of kimchee and chocolate cream wafers.

Happy weekend and till next time..................................

Bento #23 plus an extra Bento for G-Ma

This is Thursday's bento. It was fairly easy to prepare since the men aren't into the cutesy thing too much. At least everything gets eaten though, although the husband is letting me know that I could add a few things here and there. Meaning to say, he loves everything, he just wants more. I said "More? Even with the salad ?" and he said "Yes!" So, more it is!

The bento includes: corndog muffins, "fishy" egg, crudite of baby carrots, cucumbers and grape tomatoes. And cherries. Salt/pepper in green bird container. And I did include a romaine salad with tomatoes and ranch dressing.

As I was finishing up, the grandma saw me and said "Oh you can pack me some too!" I informed her I didn't have enough muffins, but would make her something else she could take for work. And here it is.

I made her a pita sandwich of tuna salad (in blue container) with romaine lettuce and tomato slices. I included the same crudite as the men. I added a "heart" egg and cherries for dessert. I also added a bottled water since she forgets to hydrate herself when she's at work.
Ok this has been along one, so, till next time............................

Bento #20 The Missing Bento

I just realized I was missing Monday's bento lunch...it must have been the heat, my brain cells being "fried". Anyway better late than never.

This lunch consisted of onigiri, steamed hotdogs, a fishy egg, a mini banana (found this at the 99cent store, can you believe it) and veggie skewers of cucumbers and grape tomatoes.

Bento #22 Light and Somewhat Healthy, lol

Due to the hot weather we've been having lately, a light bento was in order. The stuffed biscuits were inspired by Pikko of Adventures in Bentomaking. She gave me the idea for these. So easy to make and used the Pilsbury biscuits as the dough. I added a little bit of an eggwash for color. Not bad for my first time using this recipe, thanks Pikko.
The bento includes 2 ham and cheese biscuits, watermelon and honeydew melon slices. Cucumber wedges and grape tomatoes with ranch dressing in the small container. And for dessert, a mini chocolate cupcake.

Bento #21 Teriyaki and Cupcakes

Here is Tuesday's lunch. I've been trying to get creative and the juices are flowing, but I've been feeling the aftermath of taking care of a teething baby...and well, I think my brain cells are shot. (I forgot to take the plastic wrap off the onigiri)
Included in the lunch are 2 onigiri, beef teriyaki (placed in xs glad cups, so sauce won't spill all over the place), veggie skewers of cucumbers and grape tomatoes, and for dessert, a mini chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.
Till next time......

Bento Haul

I know, I know. I promised I wouldn't do another bento haul for quite awhile, but the hubby offered to drive to downtown today, so how could I pass up the opportunity. So we had a family adventure to downtown Los Angeles, visiting the fashion district (the Santee Alley to be exact) and of course, Little Tokyo.

We had a great time walking around the city and seeing all the sites. Even the little one enjoyed himself.

In Little Tokyo, I visited Tokyo Gifts, Sanrio and the Tokyo Japanese Outlet. Unfortunately, it was all another disappointment. Tokyo Gifts had no bento stuff whatsoever. Sanrio obiviously only had Sanrio items, but its the same as any other Sanrio store at the local malls, nothing too exciting. Tokyo Japanese Outlet had more bento items than its location at the Santa Anita Mall, but I was looking for accessories, and well, I was out of luck. I did purchase 3 items, but nothing too exciting.

As you can see, I purchased the fish and car egg molds, colorful picks and my first hot dog mold/cutter (a crab). In my opinion, I still prefer the Marukai 98 store. More selection and better prices. I've got one more place I'd like to try, the TJO in West Los Angeles on Sawtelle. But that'll have to wait.

Here are a few more pics from today's adventure.

Here I am trying to look for the stores...as you can see it was pretty busy. The lunch crowd was working its way through the village.

These are my two sons, Timothy and Evan Kalei.

My sons with my husband, Steven.

Oh, and one of the best parts of the adventure: ice cream mochi. These 2 little gems are chocolate, but I had also tried strawberry. They were both very good. Not too sweet, very light in texture. It hit the spot, especially since the heat was working its thing on all of us. Will definitely come back for the mochi and maybe try one of the restaurants as well.

Till next time.............

Bento #19

Sorry late posting this...my laptop is acting up, so had to use the hubby's netbook. Anywho here's Friday's bento.
Two onigiri on a lettuce leaf. A veggie flower for color, used tomato wedges, zuccini and a black olive. For the entree there is 2 ukoy, it is a shrimp fritter made with flour, bean sprouts and grated kabocha squash. The little green bird holds sweet chili sauce for the ukoy. Not shown is a small side car of a chocolate chip cookie bar.
Till next time.....

Bento #18 Fish and Dogs

Here's Thursday's bento....no real inspiration for this one. Just stuff we had around. I promise to make something more interesting next week.

So here we go: two onigiri (steamed rice triangles) with a shoyu fishy, two fried tilapia filets, and some steamed hot dogs. I decided on the hot dogs to try and be creative, so I scored them and boiled them a bit. It really did the trick, by the look of them you would think they were two mini dogs instead of one cut in half. I'm getting the hang of this bento thing...just need more ideas, lol.

Till next time......

Bento #17

This can be called a brunch bento. "Why?" you say, because it is based around the 3 muffin-sized quiches that I made/experimented with. And who doesn't like quiche for brunch. These quiches are filled with cheddar cheese and smoky ham. In the small orange container is butter for those who like things extra rich.

In the side car are chunks of sweet white nectarines and juicy honeydew melon. I also added a romaine salad with cucumber slices and tomato wedges. There is bacon bits to sprinkle on the salad and ranch dressing in the tiny squeeze bottle. Oh, and I can't forget, a Baby Ruth for dessert.

Till next time......

Major Bento Accessory Haul !!!

Well since we didn't go the beach for the holiday weekend...always too much traffic and people, and we still wanted to get out the house to unwind, I asked the husband if we could take a trip for a bento haul. He agreed, so off we went with the little one to ....Marukai 98 plus Store. Located in Gardena, California, this store is part of the Marukai Japanese Supermarket chain. We do have a Marukai market 5 mins. away, but not too much bento accessories. I had done some research online and found on Yelp information about this store and many good recommendations, so I had to try since I was so disappointed by the Tokyo Japanese Outlet store in Arcadia.
And let me tell you, I was not disappointed at all! First off, let me warn you, items are not all $0.98. I know, false advertising, but $1.25 to $1.89 for non-food Daiso products is not bad either. Let me tell you, I was in heaven when I got to the aisle that had all the accessories, I think I even did a little dance! Anywho here's the haul:

All the items, minus 3 snack items, totaled $31.78. Can you believe it!! I could have easily spent $40.00 more, but I was on a budget and , ahem, the husband was with me. But he did say after that I totally scored, since I spent $9.79 last weekend on only 3 items. And they even had one of same items for only, get this, for $1.89. (that was the egg molds) I mean I really felt like kicking myself when I saw it there at Marukai.
Here are a few items up close:
30 Assorted short picks $1.89

Ciao 9-piece Animal Spoons $1.89

Ciao Mayonaisse Food Containers $1.89

Ciao Sauce Containers $1.89

Monkey Mayonaisse Container $1.89

8-pc Animal Fork/Spoon $1.89

6-pc Sauce Container w/ dropper $1.89

Ciao Food Cups $1.89

Rice Mold-2pc $1.89

Sushi Rice Mold $1.25

Ciao Furikake Shaker $1.89

20-pc sauce bottles $1.89

See what I mean, such great deals. I've seen a lot of these items online for at least $2.99, plus shipping. I will definitely be going again, but not for awhile. Here's the address for others who like to take a peak at this store:

Marukai 98 Plus 1360 West Artesia Blvd. Gardena, California (310) 516-8160

Till next time...............

Bento #16 Skewer Crazy

Well, the long holiday weekend is over and my rest from making bentos is finished. Back to the grind again and trying to figure out what to make these men for lunch. Luckily I had a little inspiration since I had a major bento haul on Saturday (see next post). So excited to use my new gadgets and accessories, like a kid on Christmas morning, lol.
So we have steamed rice triangles, using rice molds of course. Served along side a cute bear container of furikake. The husband said that was a good choice cause the furikake kinda lost its luster from melting on the rice the night before. (He never said a thing before!) Next there is bbq beef, satay style. Not so much thai tasting, kinda has a spicy kick to it. Good nonetheless. And for dessert, strawberry and honeydew melon skewers, with a little pink bunny and yellow fish pick for decor.....till next time!

Bento #15 "Mediterranean" Style

This is the bento I made for the men today. I was inspired by the homemade hummus that I finally got to try. It took me a long time to find tahini. (Tahini is a sesame paste, one of many main ingredients in mediterranean dishes) The hummus was very easy to make, a just put all my ingredients in the magic bullet, and let it rip.

The pita sandwich contains iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and my version of beef kabobs. And I spread hummus on the inside of the pita pocket and on top of the beef.

I also added fresh sliced strawberries. (Look how red and juicy they are. So sweet, too.) Lastly, a sidecar of colored goldfish.
Till next time........

Bento #14 "Filipino Style" with Side Car

Tomorrow's bento lunch is a plethera of filipino party favorites. (all thanks to my mom who was in a fancy mood and made the wonderful dishes) There is pancit, a noodle dish made from rice sticks, pork, chicken and shrimp. Garnished with celery, carrots, and cabbage. Steamed rice. Lastly, chicken and pork adobo. A stew-like dish of chicken and pork braised in soy sauce and cooking wine.

Then my husband started tinkering in the kitchen...next thing I knew he came up with this snack bento. My part is the little side car at the top.

It is three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into shapes using cookie cutters I found at the Dollar Tree over the weekend. The little side car is steamed edamame with toasted walnuts.
Till next time......