Mickey Mouse Themed Food

4 Mickey food ideas

I often eat dinner at my friend’s house with her family so I thought it was about time I made food for them. I invited them for lunch and made the parents and kids Mickey and Minnie Mouse themed food. We had our own Disney party for lunch! I made Mickey shaped bread, Mickey shaped quesadilla, Minnie Mouse mashed potatoes, Mickey sandwiches, and Mickey Mouse ears tortilla chips. It was fun and delicious!

Mickey Mouse Bread Cheese

I made Mickey Mouse bread brushed with cocoa for the father.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Mickey ears shaped bread with a mixture of cocoa powder and a little sugar rubbed on top before baking, raspberries and blueberries

Top Right: Broccoli

Bottom Right: Cheddar cheese (cut with Mickey shaped cookie cutter), blackberry

Mickey Mouse Quesadilla

This is the Mickey shaped quesadilla lunch I made for the 9 year old daughter. I created a template because I did not have a cookie cutter large enough.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Raspberries and blackberries

Bottom Left: Carrots and green bell pepper (cut with Mickey cookie cutter)

Right Side: Black bean and cheddar quesadillas (2 on top of each other), salsa in Mini Dippers

Minnie Mashed Potatoes

I made this lunch for the Mom (my good friend). I borrowed her Mouse Ears silicone muffin mold to shape the cheddar mashed potatoes.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Minnie Mouse Cheddar mashed potatoes (I spooned the mashed potatoes in the silicon muffin cup and then refrigerated, it was very easy!), I used a bow pick to make it look like Minnie, broccoli

Top Right: Chocolate covered pretzels, some with red sprinkles

Bottom Right: Clementine (drew Mickey with food coloring markers)

Mickey Minnie Mouse Sandwiches

This is the fun lunch I made for the 7 year old daughter.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Mickey and Minnie peanut butter sandwiches on wheat bread (I used cutters and stampers similar to this), chocolate covered pretzels, ranch dip (in blue container)

Top Right: Cucumber and carrots

Bottom Right: Watermelon (cut and stamped with same cutters as I used for the sandwiches)

Mickey Mouse Tortilla Chips

Since it was a Mickey celebration, I made extra food for all to enjoy (more of the chocolate pretzels, and some Mickey mouse ears homemade tortilla chips. I cut flour tortillas with a Mickey cookie cutter, brushed olive oil on each side, sprinkled with salt and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.

It was enjoyable to make 4 different themed lunches in the same day and to have fun company for lunch!

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Taurus Bento Lunch

Taurus Zodiac food

Next in my yearly series of Zodiac symbols in food, is Taurus.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Rice, peas, corn, diced tomatoes, Parmesan cheese (made and used stencil)

Top Right: Cucumber

Bottom Right: Grapefruit

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Titanic Themed Lunch

titanic lunch

Today is Titanic Remembrance Day, on April 15, 1912 the Titanic sank. Other than cutting the cheese quesadilla in the shape of the Titanic, this lunch is very easy to make.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: Cheese quesadilla with food marker details, blueberries

Bottom Left: Popcorn (air popped)

Bottom Right: Radish

Not Pictured: Greek Yogurt

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 1 Comment

Pecan Day Cookies

Pecan Cookies and Milk

Today is National Pecan Day so I am sharing some cookies I made for my husband to take to work.

I baked these Crispy Praline Cookies. I made half of the batch without chocolate chips and half with chocolate chips.

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Trio of Bird Themed Food

Bird Themed Food Ideas

This trio of bird themed lunches came about because they were planned bentos to enter a contest. I only ended up entering the first one in the contest but I thought I would share all of them here.

Nest and Bird in Woods

This came about because I wanted to make a birds nest out of peanut noodles. The rest of it just happened.

Container: LunchBots Trio

Top Left: Angel hair pasta with peanut sauce, cucumber, lettuce

Top Right: Pistachios, flour tortilla, food marker details

Bottom: Grapefruit, feta cheese, lettuce

Hummingbird Pesto Pizza

I guess that technically this is not pizza because it does not have cheese? But I think you can have pizza without cheese. I made several versions of this hummingbird pizza, some with cheese and some without.

I had the homemade walnut pesto sauce in my freezer. It was labeled 2012. I made it that year from basil in my herb garden. I once heard at a herb workshop that you should not freeze pesto with the cheese and should add it afterwards. I froze it with cheese and it tasted fine after a few years and I did not get sick.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Hummingbird shaped pizza dough with pesto sauce

Top Right: Alfalfa sprouts nest with Cheddar cheese eggs (I did look up the color of hummingbird eggs but it did not work artistically with this bento so I used orange.)

Bottom Right: Strawberries with dried blueberries attached with spaghetti (they are supposed to be flowers)

Above Box: Post Great Grains Bar Undone Granola Snack Mix

Bird Bread

I think that this one is funny looking. I made the beak stay open the same way I made this alligator (with aluminum foil in it’s mouth while baking).

Container: Book Bento Box

Contents: Homemade bird shaped bread, dried blueberry, broccoli, peanuts in shell, green pepper, sweet potato

I hope that you enjoyed viewing this trio of birds as much as I enjoyed making them!

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon

I enjoy working with nursery rhyme and fairy tale themes. When I showed this to friends from Japan they were confused and did not know the significance. They did not know the nursery rhyme. They said if there was a rabbit and the moon it would have made sense to them. Culture is fascinating to me.

Hey diddle diddle, The Cat and the fiddle, The Cow jumped over the moon.
The little Dog laughed, To see such sport, And the dish ran away with the Spoon.

Container: Book Bento Box

Contents: Black beans, Cheddar cheese, mashed potato, white potato, grapefruit, yellow and green pepper

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 8 Comments

Marbled Easter Eggs

marble egg tree

My niece and I have a tradition of decorating blown out eggs for Easter. Each year we try a different technique but keep with the blue and white color scheme. For this year (our 5th time) we experimented with 4 types of marbling techniques.

Year 1 – Paper Cut-out

Year 2 – Simplified Ukrainian

Year 3 – Quilling

Year 4 – Ribbons

Year 5 – Marble. We tried Crayon, Nail Polish, Oil and Dye, and Shaving Cream techniques.

Crayon marble egg

My favorite of the four techniques was the crayon one. We changed the water several times to make sure it was hot but it is easy and fast technique with beautiful results. My niece made small crayon pieces with a vegetable peeler. She used Periwinkle, Sky, Blizzard, Blue-Green, and White crayons.

Nail Polish Marble Egg

The nail polish technique was very smelly. The house stunk for awhile afterwards. At first we were not sure if we liked the technique so we only made two. I liked it better after it dried.

Oil and Crayon Marble techniques

The oil and dye technique was subtle in our color scheme. It is the egg in the left of the above photo. The egg to the right is the crayon egg.

Marble White Blue Oil Dye

This is the oil and dye technique with a white egg.

Shaving cream marble egg

The shaving cream technique was the favorite one for my niece. You need to let the shaving cream dry overnight and then wipe it off. It has a slight odor but not a bad one in my opinion.

Egg shaped bread and butter soup

We enjoyed a simple meal of Potato and Cheese Soup with a Pesto Oil Drizzle and Egg shaped rolls with egg shaped butter.

Marble egg chocolate egg garnish

Dessert of course was marble cake. I used the recipe in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. We garnished with fresh whipped cream and a mini Cadbury Chocolate Egg.

4 types marble easter eggs

Here are all four types in an egg carton. I accidentally broke one of the nail polish ones when I added the ribbon hanger. I use doll needles because they are long enough to easily go through the egg. My niece and I divided these eggs between us.

I look forward to whatever technique we will do next year.

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Easter Themed Lunch Food

Easter Food Collage

This year I have 6 new themed meals for Easter. I had fun with Easter Egg shaped food, chicks, and an English Muffin lamb.  See here for other Easter themed food.

Easter Egg Shaped Stuffed Bread

I often make and share shaped bread. For these Easter egg breads I stuffed them with a cube of mozzarella when I shaped them.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Stuffed mozzarella Easter Egg bread, lettuce

Top Right: Almonds

Bottom Right: Raisins

Chick with Woven Egg lunch easter food

I wove thinly sliced carrot and then cut it with an egg shaped cookie cutter. Then I carefully transferred it to my bowl. It was easier to make than I expected and fun to eat.

Container: Kokeshi box

Top Tier: Tea bag

Left Tier: Rice and green peas, egg shaped woven carrot, cheese chick

Right Tier: Radish, grapefruit, Vans Blueberry Walnut Granola, alfalfa sprouts

Chick Bento Lunch

I consider this one unsuccessful but it makes me laugh. The chick’s eye and too much of the color green are what I think is the problem with this one. But perhaps you can adapt some of the ideas to better use.

Container: Wooden box purchased in Kyoto at Bento&co.

Contents: Broccoli, turmeric rice, candy eye, radish, sugar snap peas, apple, alfalfa sprouts

Lamb English Muffin Lunch

I made this cute lamb with a cookie cutter and English Muffin. Inside the Lego box is Peanut butter to spread to make a sandwich.

Container: Book Bento Box

Contents: Angel hair (yarn), kiwi, broccoli, carrot, English Muffin (lamb) alfalfa sprouts

Easter Egg Cheese Lunch

A simple cheese garnish can make a meal special. I placed cheddar cheese egg shapes on top of my macaroni salad (made with Greek yogurt).

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Macaroni salad (Green yogurt, green pepper, carrot), Cheddar cheese with food marker details

Top Right: Blueberries

Bottom Right: Romaine lettuce

Easter Stamped Sandwiches

My Mom sent these Easter Egg Cookie Cutters and Press from Williams Sonoma as an early Easter present. They made wonderful sandwiches.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Stamped Easter Egg Sandwiches – Peanut butter on wheat bread, celery

Top Right: Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies

Bottom Right: Rabbit shaped melon

I hope that you now have some ideas for making your Easter food cute. Please share if you make something.

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Hedgehog Shaped Bread

Hedgehog shaped bread themed food

I made this hedgehog shaped bread meal for my nephew for lunch at home. My nephew added the almonds after I baked the bread.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Hedgehog bread with almonds and food marker details, cheese sticks

Top Right: Cantaloupe hedgehog, blackberries

Bottom Right: Snow peas

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Waffle Day

Waffle Quesadilla Lunch

Today is International Waffle Day so I have a lunch quesadilla waffle and a dinner or dessert waffle with ice cream and fruit. I got the idea for the quesadilla waffle from here.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheddar cheese quesadilla made in my waffle maker

Top Right: Baby carrots

Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with frozen raspberries

Waffle Day Dinner

I made this waffle with ice cream and sour cherries for my husband. I think that he would be happy if there was a waffle day every week.

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Muffins for Lunch

Fruit Muffin Lunch

Today is my husband’s birthday so I made a special lunch for him. He loves muffins and fruit so it was a natural choice.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Fruit muffins with streusel topping (I used Welch’s Antioxidant Fruit Blend of frozen fruit which contains strawberries, blueberries, sweet cherries, sour cherries, and blackberries)

Top Right: Cashews

Bottom Right: Raspberries

Above Box: Peach Yogurt

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Aries Bento Lunch

Aires Zodiac Food

Next in my yearly series of Zodiac symbols in food, is Aries.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Lettuce, radish

Bottom Left: Blueberries, raspberries

Right Side: Penne pasta with a little butter, Parmesan cheese, orange Cheddar cheese Aries symbol

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Happy Snail Bento Lunch

Snail bento lunch

I had fun making and eating this Happy Snail lunch. The snail is mashed potato with these eye picks and spinach details. I used a cookie cutter from the Ikea Woodland set to make the snail shape. Since I don’t like nori, I used spinach instead to detail the snail’s shell. As usual, I enjoyed drawing on pistachio shells.

Container: Wooden box purchased in Kyoto at Bento&co.

Contents: Broccoli, orange cheddar mashed potatoes, spinach, chickpeas, spiced tomato sauce, pistachios with food marker details, blueberries

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 7 Comments

New York NY Bento Lunch

New York Bento Lunch

I don’t live in New York City but I live in New York State and decided that this would be a fun theme for a lunch.  Also I had the Statue of Liberty cookie cutter. I made the Statue of Liberty from a tortilla that I baked with a little olive oil and cinnamon sugar.

Container: LunchBots Trio

Left Side: Statue of Liberty – flour tortilla with olive oil, cinnamon and sugar, Raspberries, blueberries

Top Right: Lettuce, homemade poppy seed bagel,  Cheddar cheese

Bottom Right: Radish, baby zucchini, apple, broccoli

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Macaroni and Cheese Lunch for Teen

Mac and cheese stuffed peppers teen lunch

My oldest nephew turned 18 this week! I made this lunch for him to take to school on his birthday. His school has a microwave for students to use so I put the raspberries in a silicone cup so his fruit and chocolate were easy to remove before heating. This is a big meal as I added pasta around the peppers. For a smaller appetite you can just serve in the peppers. But since I made it for a teenage boy I provided a large portion of pasta.

This was my first time stuffing peppers with pasta, in the past I used rice. I had some for my dinner and enjoyed it.

Also featured for the first time is my new EasyLunchBoxes Urban. These easy and convenient containers now come in three color sets: Classic, Brights, and Urban.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Raspberries

Bottom Left: Dove Sea Salt & Caramel Dark Chocolate

Right Side: Three Cheese Macaroni Stuffed Peppers

Not Pictured: Granola bar and almonds

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Bear in the Woods Bento Lunch

Bear in Woods food

I had these bear cookie cutters and decided to use them with rice.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: Cooked Nishiki rice, soy sauce, food coloring (face details), broccoli, carrot

Bottom Left: Blueberries, melon

Bottom Right: Post Great Grains Bar Undone Granola Snack Mix

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 5 Comments

6 Saint Patrick’s Day Lunches

Cute Food St Patrick's day

Last year I shared 7 St. Patrick’s Day lunches including some old ones. This year I created new cute food for St. Patrick’s Day. I love making cute shaped food for any holiday or occasion. This food includes a shamrock, Claddagh ring, Irish flag, Leprechaun, sheep, and a tortilla chip in the shape of Ireland.

Shamrock Hand pie food

This was a simple but satisfying meal to make and eat. I made the hand-pie with pie crust, a shamrock cookie cutter, cooked broccoli and cheese.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Broccoli and Cheese Shamrock hand-pie

Top Right: Pistachios with little shamrocks drawn with food safe marker

Bottom Right: Kiwi

leprechaun cheese

Recently I have enjoyed garnishing with  cheese art. I made a mermaid, fox head and now this leprechaun. I was inspired by this coloring page. My leprechaun has a deep wrinkle on his face (crack in the cheese) but I think that it adds to his character.

Container: Book Bento Box

Contents: Quinoa, Broccoli and Cheese Casserole, white and orange Cheddar cheese, food safe marker

Ireland Country Shape Food

I am not sure how successful this is but I tried to make a Ireland country shaped tortilla chip to top this Mexican rice meal.

Container: Wooden box purchased in Kyoto at Bento&co.

Contents: Lettuce, rice, black beans, tomatoes, onion, cheddar cheese, tortilla cut in the shape of Ireland and browned in a frying pan with cooking spray.

claddagh ring food

When brainstorming new Ireland / St. Patrick’s day themes to try this year, I remembered the Claddagh ring. The fingers turned out a little strange but I still like it.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: Cheddar cheese quesadilla with food marker details

Bottom Left: Sugar snap peas

Bottom Right: Green grapes

Irish Flag Snack Food Idea

I made this little Irish flag themed snack for my husband. I wanted it to be different than this Irish Flag so we came up with different food he would eat in green, white, and orange.

Container: Small divided snack container

Top: Sugar snap peas, cauliflower, orange cheddar

Bottom Left: Ranch dressing

Bottom Right: Green grapes

Sheep stencil food

The stencil is supposed to be a sheep and her lamb.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Broccoli

Top Right: Mandarin oranges

Bottom: Quinoa with Parmesan and hot paprika (I used a stencil to create these sheep)

What are you making for St. Patrick’s day this year?

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Monkey Mashed Potatoes Lunch

Monkey Mashed Potatoes

Originally this mashed potato lunch was supposed to be Curious George but it does not look like George to me. Maybe it is because of the color or that I forgot his ears. But I think it looks like a cute monkey. I served this meal to my husband.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Monkey – Cheddar mashed potatoes with cheddar face and food safe marker details, spinach

Top Right: Cashews, banana Runts candies

Bottom Right: Raspberries

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 3 Comments

Polar Bear Bread Lunch

Polar bear lunch

I made this Polar Bear themed lunch for my 10 year old nephew on a day he stayed at my house. I don’t think that it looks like a Polar Bear but it looks like a bear.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Bear shaped bread with chocolate details (after baking), cheddar cheese sticks

Top Right: Snowflake shaped apple slices (dipped in water with lemon juice to prevent browning)

Bottom Right: Popcorn (snow)

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Hinamatsuri Pizza Craft and Toast

Girls Day Pizza

This year for Hinamatsuri (Girls Day) I made pizza, toast and mason jars filled with candy. Even if you can’t get traditional sweets you can make your own cute gift. My Girl’s Day label template is at the end of this post.

I made these Emperor and Empress Pizzas with my 16 year old niece. Actually I was the mean Aunt who came up with the idea but gave my niece an almost impossible task of making it. But I think that she did a great job and they turned out cute.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Emperor (pizza crust, mozzarella and orange cheddar cheese, spinach, carrot [baton]), Empress (pizza crust, mozzarella, tomato sauce, spinach, carrot [fan])

Top Right: Strawberries

Bottom Right: Popcorn, mint M&M’s

Girls Day Toast

I made this Hinamatsuri themed toast by writing with chocolate. I was inspired by this.

Hinamatsuri Candy Gift

I made these little snacks for my two Japanese language students (both girls are in high school). Since I am in the United States and do not have easy access to Hinamatsuri candy, I used mini mint candy in three colors. Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day) colors are pink, white and green but I used pink, yellow and green. I put a layer of green candy on the bottom, yellow in the middle and pink on top. The label has the date of Hinamatsuri (March 3) and Hinamatsuri written in Japanese. It also includes clip art of the emperor and empresses.

hinamatsuri treat label

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Easy Lion and Lamb Themed Food

Lamb Lion Easy Shaped Food

If you are making macaroni and cheese for lunch or dinner, why not decorate it to look like a lamb or lion. Just be careful because if you put the decorations on hot pasta they will melt (but it could be part of the fun).

Since I like lambs I make a lot of lamb themed food and crafts. Of course I had to make a lion and lamb themed meal to celebrate the beginning of March. I know that these are not the best but they were easy, fast, and fun. Cut out shapes from thin sliced cheese (I used cheddar and cookie cutters but you could use a knife), and decorate with food safe markers or food coloring and a toothpick.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Melon with Lamb and Lion picks

Bottom Left: Sugar Snap Peas

Right Side: Lion – (Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, thinly sliced cheddar cheese, food safe marker) Lamb – Wegmans Shells and White Cheddarthinly sliced cheddar cheese, food safe marker) broccoli

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Make Ahead Dinners

Make Ahead Dinner ideas

My husband works long hours and often comes home late. For those days I like to have dinner in the refrigerator for him to heat up. Here are five make ahead meals. These can also be leftover for lunch meals.

Twice Baked Potato Dinner

Twice baked potatoes are a frequent request when I ask my husband for meal ideas. I made this meal so the potato could be taken out and heated in the microwave.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Orange

Bottom Left: Peppermint candy

Right Side: Salad with lettuce, radish, carrot, twice baked potato with cheddar cheese

Salad Dinner

This meal includes several of my husband’s favorites: salad, tapioca pudding, and citrus with mint sugar. This entire meal is meant to be eaten cold.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, hard boiled egg, carrot, mozzarella cheese

Top Right: Tapioca pudding (after I made it, I put it in my EasyLunchBox to cool).

Bottom Right: Grapefruit and orange with mint sugar

Pasta and Broccoli Dinner

This falls under not his favorite but food he will eat category. Anyway, I think that he appreciates my having made something for him.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Penne pasta with butter, Parmesan cheese, cooked broccoli

Top Right: Grapefruit

Bottom Right: Garlic bread

Potato Gratin Dinner

Potatoes and cheese are two popular ingredients here. I also added fruit and vegetable. This entire meal can be heated in the microwave. Applesauce is great warm!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Potato and cheese gratin

Top Right: Cooked broccoli

Bottom Right: Applesauce with cinnamon

Pasta Beans Corn Tomato Cheese Dinner

This one was actually for me as my husband won’t eat black beans. I love having a healthy meal prepared ahead of time.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Penne pasta with chopped tomatoes, black beans, corn, and Cheddar cheese (I did not use this recipe but it was my inspiration)

Top Right: Strawberries

Bottom Right: Broccoli and carrots

I hope that this gave you some ideas. What do you like to make ahead for dinner and have waiting in your refrigerator?

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 1 Comment

Cheesy Fox Bento Lunch

Fox head lunch

I love this cookie cutter I received from my sister for my birthday last summer. I used it to make a fun garnish for this meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Fox – Gouda, white Cheddar, food safe marker, quinoa with broccoli and cheese (see recipe below)

Top Right: Coriander carrots (see recipe below)

Bottom Right: Green grapes

Quinoa, Broccoli and Cheese Casserole (6 servings)

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed in a fine sieve
2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Bring 3 cups water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Stir in the quinoa, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skilled. Add the onion and saute until golden. Add the broccoli and about 1/4 cup water. Cover and steam until the broccoli is just a little more than tender-crisp, 5 to 7 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cooked quinoa with the broccoli mixture and half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled, shallow 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese. Bake until the top is golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Coriander Carrots (4 servings / serving size 1/2 cup)

1 lb carrots,sliced
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ground coriander
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup water

Saute carrots in oil in nonstick pan until golden.

Add coriander, lemon juice, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer until carrots are tender-crisp. Watch this carefully; carrots burn easily if the heat is too high.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Pisces Bento Lunch

Pisces Pizza

Continuing in my yearly series of Zodiac symbol lunches, here is Pisces.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Homemade pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and cooked spinach Pisces symbol.

Top Right: Green grapes

Bottom Right: Mini sweet peppers

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 1 Comment

Flower Bread Lunch

Flower Bread Lunch

I had some leftover dough when making other shaped bread so I made this flower.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Flower shaped bread with food marker details, lettuce with mushrooms and mozzarella cheese, cherry tomato on flower stem pick

Top Right: Holiday Skittles

Bottom Right: Orange with flower and ladybug picks

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Year of the Sheep Bread Lunch

Sheep bread lunch

2015 is the Year of the Sheep. Of course I had to make sheep shaped bread. I was surprised that I have not done it before but I did make sheep shaped cinnamon rolls.

If you are interested in making sheep shaped food (sweet and savory) I have a Pinterest board.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: Sheep shaped bread with food marker details, cheddar cheese stick, spinach

Bottom Left: Cherry tomatoes with sheep pick

Bottom Right: Kiwi

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

4 Valentine Themed Lunches

Valentine's Day Meals Collage

This year I have four new heart / Valentine themed meals. My niece made one of them. I have a large collection of heart and Valentine cookie cutters and enjoy using them.

Heart Onigiri Lunch

After I made the heart shaped rice, the rest of this meal came together with food I had in the house. I had defrosted frozen sour cherries because I used some for individual sour cherry cobblers (my husband’s favorite).

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Heart shaped rice balls, sour cherry juice and sour cherries, baby romaine

Top Right: Sour cherries and ricotta

Bottom Right: Tomatoes and feta

Captured Heart Valentine Lunch

My 16 year old niece made this lunch. She cut the lettering out of carrot and dyed the spaghetti brown. She was inspired by a sculpture one of her Uncles made for her Aunt.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Pasta with a little butter, carrot, red bell pepper, dyed spaghetti

Top Right: Hershey kisses

Bottom Right: Red grapes on skewers

Cupid Heart Lunch

I have a Cupid cookie cutter that I wanted to use so I made a Cupid quesadilla.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cupid – cheese quesadilla with food marker details, lettuce with shredded carrot and sliced almonds

Top Right: Heart shaped York Peppermint Patties

Bottom Right: Apple slices cut and stamped with this cutter (dipped in lemon juice and water)

Hearts lunch

I had fun using my collection of heart cookie cutters to make this snack type meal for my husband.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cucumber, Cheddar cheese, peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, radish

Top Right: Strawberry yogurt with heart sprinkles

Bottom Right: Heart shaped York Peppermint Patties

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 1 Comment

Two Savory Chocolate Lunches

Choco dusted breadstick beet hummus

I wanted to try to use chocolate in savory dishes instead of sweet. Today I have two lunches that include savory chocolate.

In the first meal I used a cocoa chili rub on top of homemade bread. It had a subtle taste. I also made beet hummus for the first time. I am not sure if I will make it again. It tasted alright but I could not get over the color. I am accustomed to hummus not being red. But the fresh vegetables with dip for lunch was refreshing so I need to revisit this idea.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Breadstick with Cocoa Chili Rub, broccoli, celery, snow peas, radish

Top Right: Beet hummus with beet garnish

Bottom Right: Grapefruit

Rice with Mole Sauce

I made a chocolate mole sauce and served it with rice, cheese, and cooked frozen vegetables. The garnish is carrots cut into heart shapes.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Basmati rice with cheddar, vegetables (green beans, rainbow carrots, and red pepper), and a mole sauce to taste (see recipe below).

Top Right: Kiwi

Bottom Right: Snow peas

Mole Sauce (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe for Cheesy Rice and Bean Strata)

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup minced onion
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 (25 ounce) jar marinara sauce
2 tbs unsweetened cocoa

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, chili powder, and oregano. Saute 2 minutes. Add marinara sauce; cook over low heat for 30 minutes; stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa.

Store remaining sauce in an airtight container in a refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months Serve with any Mexican meal.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | Comments Off on Two Savory Chocolate Lunches

Setsubun Oni Pizza

Oni Setsubun Pizza Lunch

In honor of Setsubun (bean throwing day) in Japan, I made this Oni Shaped Pizza lunch.

Setsubun is generally celebrated on February 2 or 3. It is a custom for a family member to wear an Oni mask and other family members throw beans at him. They say, “Demons out! Luck in!”.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Oni pizza with tomato sauce, mozzeralla cheese, spinach (nose and mouth), orange and white cheddar details, food safe marker for eye

Top Right: Red grapes

Bottom Right: Edamame (soybeans in the pod)

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Happy Groundhog Day

Groundhog Bento Lunch

Happy Groundhog Day!

I made this meal for my husband to heat up (in the microwave) for dinner on a night that he came home late. He loves sauteed mushrooms. I choose applesauce as the fruit because he likes it warm.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Groundhog – Nishiki rice shaped in plastic wrap, brushed with soy sauce, eyes and nose (dried blueberries), teeth (cheddar cheese), mushrooms sauteed in butter

Top Right: Applesauce with cinnamon

Bottom Right: Boiled zucchini with toasted pine nuts

Another Groundhog Day meal

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 3 Comments

Aquarius Bento Lunch

Aquarius lunch

This year I am planning to make each of the Zodiac symbols into a lunch somehow. Since it is January I am starting with Aquarius. I made a paper stencil and sprinkled hot paprika over my quinoa that is mixed with a little butter and Parmesan cheese.

For each month’s Zodiac symbol I plan to make the symbols in different ways. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Quinoa with a little butter and parmesan cheese, hot paprika

Top Right: Red grapes

Bottom Right: Edamame (soybeans in the pod)

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Penguin Awareness Day Pizza Lunch

Penguin olive paste pizza

Today I have penguin pizza in honor of Penguin Awareness Day. Over a year ago I tried to make penguin pizza with sliced olives but I did not like how it turned out. The olives shrunk and slipped. This time I made olive paste. I am happy with how it looked and although I don’t normally eat olives on pizza it was a nice change.

Last summer I made a traditional penguin pizza for a day at the zoo. I enjoy using cookie cutters to shape pizza dough into cute shapes. If you try this make sure to use enough flour so the cookie cutters do not stick to the dough.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Penguin shaped white pizza (cookie cutter) with olive paste and mozzarella cheese

Top Right: Fish (cookie cutter) shaped carrots, penguin (cookie cutter) cucumber

Bottom Right: Blueberry yogurt with snowflake sprinkles

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Mermaid Bento Lunch with Templates

Mermaid Bento Lunch

I considered making a mermaid bento for a long time. Today I finally have one to share. I made her out of Cheddar cheese. She is a bit strange looking but I like her. I am sharing templates in-case you want to cut your own similar mermaid out of cheese. But for a better looking mermaid please see this link.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Quinoa with black beans, (I used more bell pepper than the recipe called for), I cut the mermaid pieces from white and yellow Cheddar and used small dots of cream cheese to hold on her head and shells. I dipped toothpicks in gel food coloring for her face and belly button.

Top Right: Green and red grapes

Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with blue sprinkles

Mermaid template  I used a heart cookie cutter for her face and the shells are a cutter from this set.

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 10 Comments

Deer in Snow Covered Woods Bento Lunch

Deer Snow Covered Tree Bento Lunch

I love using these deer cookie cutters I bought in Japan last year. The cookie cutters and the idea of snow covered trees was the inspiration for this lunch.

Container: LunchBots Trio

Top Left: Tortilla deer browned in a frying pan with cooking spray, lettuce blend

Top Right: White Nishiki rice with broccoli and Parmesan cheese (snow covered tree)

Bottom: Cherry tomatoes, green olives, feta

Condiment Container: Ranch dressing

 

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Bagel Doughnut Lunch

Bagel Doughnut Lunch

My 10 year old nephew loves bagels and chocolate so he requested this bagel lunch that looks like a doughnut. I melted some chocolate chips in the microwave and spread it on top of the bagel. He helped by adding some sprinkles.

This was my nephews idea but I did see something similar before at Mamabelly.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Peanut butter sandwich on a bagel with melted chocolate chips on top and some sprinkles

Top Right: Carrots

Bottom Right: Clementines

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 5 Comments

350 Calorie Meal Ideas

350 Calorie Meals Collage

These meals can be enjoyed for breakfast or anytime. Most of these were packed for a meal on the go and many are easy to put together. (The calories in these meals range from 240 calories to 373.5 calories). The Fruit & Nut Bar and Raspberry Muffins can be made ahead and stored in your freezer.

Fruit and Nut Bar Breakfast

Fruit and Nut Bar Breakfast

The Fruit & Nut bar in this meal requires time to make and bake but it freezes well. I freeze it in individual portions.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit and Nut Breakfast Bar with dried apricot, cherry, and blueberries (230 calories)

Breakstone’s Individual 4 ounce Cottage Cheese (90 calories)

Apple (26 calories)

Total: 346 calories

Fruit & Nut Breakfast Bar (8 servings)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
6 oz mixed dried fruit, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 large egg
1/4 cup apple juice concentrate
2 Tbsp canola oil
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Add dried fruit and walnuts.

In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, egg, apple juice concentrate, and oil.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and gently mix in the wet ingredients until blended.

Coat a 9 x 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in pan.

Bake 45 – 50 minutes until browned and toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Slice into 8 equal servings. Individual portions freeze well.

Potato and Cheese Breakfast

Potato and Cheese Breakfast

This meal is easy to make with an extra baked potato from dinner. I put the sliced potatoes and cheese in silicone cups so I can heat it in the microwave but keep the other items in this meal cold.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

6 oz baked potato, sliced (165 calories)

1 oz shredded mozzeralla cheese (80 calories)

Plain Green yogurt (90 calories)

Strawberries (20 calories)

Total: 355 calories

Egg Muffin Walnuts Breakfast

Hard Boiled Egg, Raspberry Muffin, and Walnuts Breakfast

My husband loves fruit muffins so this breakfast was for him. Muffins can be baked and stored in the freezer for a fast breakfast.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffin (142 calories)

Hard boiled egg (78 calories)

0.7 ounce Walnuts (130 calories)

Total: 350 calories

Ricotta Tomato Italian Bread Raspberries Breakfast

Ricotta, Tomatoes, Italian Bread, and Raspberries Breakfast

This red and white meal has a lot of cherry tomatoes and raspberries and was filling.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

60 grams Italian Bread (162 calories)

123 grams Cherry Tomatoes (22 calories)

1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese (108 calories)

1 cup Raspberries (65 calories)

Total: 357 calories

Hummus Pita Clementine Breakfast

Hummus, Pita, and Clementine Breakfast

I like to keep mini pita in my freezer for a quick meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

2 Mini Mini Pitas (140 calories)

Individual Hummus (130 calories)

Clementines (70 calories)

Total: 340 calories

Apples Cheddar walnuts breakfast

Apples, Cheddar, and Walnuts breakfast

I find fruit, nuts, and cheese to be a satisfying meal.

Container: LunchBots Trio

182 g Apple (95 calories)

1oz Cheddar cheese stick (100 calories)

25 grams Walnuts (164 calories)

Total: 359 calories

avocado tomato bread

Avocado, Tomato, and French Bread Breakfast

I like avocado but do not buy it very often. This was a different breakfast for me but sometimes I like to mix it up.

Container: LunchBots Trio

1 cup diced Avocado (234 calories)

Tomato (22 calories)

30 grams French bread (81 calories)

Total: 337 calories

Quaker Real Medleys breakfast

Quaker Real Medleys Oatmeal Breakfast

This oatmeal was a fast breakfast that could be stored in my pantry. It was easy to cook in my microwave.

Quaker Real Medleys – Blueberry Hazelnut Oatmeal (270 calories)

10 Hazelnuts (90 calories)

Total: 360 calories

Cream Cheese Berries Tortilla

Cream Cheese, and Berries Wrap

This may have been my first time eating a wrap for breakfast. I ate this with the berries still slightly frozen. It was fun to eat.

Large tortilla (200 calories)

1 cup mixed frozen berries (80 calories)

1 ounce 1/3 less fat cream cheese (70 calories)

Spread cream cheese on a large tortilla, add berries, roll up, and cut.

Total: 350 calories

Polenta with Beans Breakfast

Polenta with Beans Breakfast

I love polenta but usually make it myself. For this meal I used prepared and packaged polenta that I bought in my grocery store.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

1 serving Polenta with tomato and white beans (188.5 calories)

Breakstone’s Individual 4 ounce Cottage Cheese with paprika (90 calories)

Apple (95 calories)

Total: 373.5

Polenta with Tomatoes and Beans (makes 4 servings)

1 pound prepared polenta (80 per serving)
14.5 Can of Diced Tomatoes (18.5 per serving)
15 ounce can white beans (90 per serving)
Nonstick cooking spray
Seasonings (optional)

Slice polenta into 1/2 inch slices. Put on a cookie sheet with cooking spray and aluminum foil and broil until lightly browned.

Heat tomatoes and white beans (and seasonings if desired).

Serve on top of broiled polenta.

Disclaimer:

I am not a nutritionist. I planned these meals based on previous knowledge and internet research. Since many sources have varying nutritional information for the same item, I do not guarantee the calorie counts.

For many of the recipes I used my food scale to weigh items. If you care about calorie counts I recommend buying a food scale. If you do not have a food scale, you can make the meal in the same container I used. You can then reference my photos for food quantities when making your meal.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 7 Comments

Christmas Breakfast 2014

Christmas Breakfast Table Dad

My family often makes fun of me and says that I never make the same thing twice. But over the years our Christmas breakfast menu has held constant. Yes, this year I wanted to swap out the Pig Scones for a different Christmas themed bread but my family protested so I made the scones. I am not sure how Pig Scones became a Christmas tradition for my family but I guess it is here to stay.

Our Christmas breakfast 2014 was enjoyed by my Mom, Dad, brother, husband, and myself.

Menu:

Pig Scones – see recipe below

Shaped butter –  soften butter and spread in candy mold, freeze, remove from mold when firm and store in the refrigerator

Roasted Potatoes with a Dijon Dip – see recipe below

Citrus with Mint Sugar – I used pink grapefruit and clementines and omitted the pomegranate

Coffee, Juice

Christmas Breakfast 2014

I am an early riser. I have been a morning person since I was a small child. This breakfast takes a little bit of work but I enjoy spending quite time in the kitchen on Christmas morning. The citrus does take time to peel and remove the membranes. You could do this the night before but I prefer doing it in the morning so it is fresh. This year my husband asked me to make twice as much of the mint sugar so I made a huge bowl of citrus.

Pig Scones

Pig Scones

Pig Scones (I am not exactly sure of the original source but Holiday Cooking 1992)

2 cups flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
8 ounces sour cream
1 egg yolk

Stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center.

Mix sour cream and egg yolk, add all at once to dry mixture. With fork stir until moistened.

Turn dough onto floured surface. Kneed gently. Pat dough into 1/2 inch thickness. Cut 10 circles with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter for the heads. Shape extra dough for ears and make small circles for the snouts. Pinch to attach ears and snouts to heads. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Make jowls with a knife or spoon.  Add dried blueberries or dried cranberries for eyes.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or lightly browned.

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes with Dijon Dip

Peel and dice russet potatoes. I do enough for my pan. While I am working I keep the diced potatoes in a bowl of water. It ends up being a lot but these disappear. Melt 1 stick of butter and mix with potatoes (drain the water if they were soaking in water) in oven safe pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour or until fork tender and brown. You may need more or less butter depending on how many potatoes you roast. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dijon Dip

Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with Dijon mustard to taste.

Christmas Breakfast Plate

Christmas Breakfast Plate

I took this photo of my filled breakfast plate outside on my side porch.

Santa Candle Holder

Santa Candle Holder

I am guessing that most families don’t have Pig Scones and Santa on the same table but my family does. It was a delicious breakfast enjoyed by all and we look forward to it every year.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 7 Comments

Happy New Year 2015 Lunch

2015 Quesadilla Lunch

Happy New Year! Today I have a simple cheese quesadilla meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese quesadilla with 2015 cut out with small cookie cutters

Top Right: Green olives with pimentos on frilly toothpicks

Bottom Right: Celery with bourbon blue cheese (I used less bourbon)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 3 Comments

Top 14 Bento of 2014

Top 14 Bento 2014

Keeping with tradition I am happy to share my favorite bento from the year. It was difficult picking only 14.

Momotaro (Peach Boy) story

peach boy bento lunch

I made this lunch as part of a series of Japan travel photos and bento I made at home after the trip. The meals were inspired by my photos and memories.

Buddha Quesadilla

Buddha lunch

This is another lunch inspired by my trip to Japan in 2014. I made this Buddha quesadilla lunch for my niece. I smile every time I see this photo.

Miyajima

Miyajima Bento

This is the third bento inspired by my trip to Japan to make this list. I love the simplicity of this lunch.

Canada Goose

Canada Goose Lunch

I made this lunch for a hike with my nephews at a nearby nature preserve. It stands out for me as one of my better bento from the year.

Dragonfly

Dragonfly Lunch

This is another lunch I made for the hike at the nature preserve. It was incredibly simple – made with a cookie cutter but I thought it was beautiful.

Snow Globe

Snowglobe Bento Lunch

I was delighted when I found this cookie cutter and knew that I needed to use it to make lunch. It is another simple cookie cutter lunch but I loved it.

Taco Salad Flag

Taco Salad Flag Lunch

I made this for my 17 year old nephew as part of 14 Fourth of July themed meals.

Fireworks

July 4 Fireworks

My niece came up with the idea for this meal. Maybe you did not know it was fireworks until I told you but I love how this turned out.

Babar

Babar Lunch

After making this Babar out of mashed potatoes I was so delighted I had to share it immediately with my Mom and husband. If I had to pick one favorite from the year it is this one.

Fox in the Snow

Fox in Snow Bento Lunch

Another simple cookie cutter lunch but it was a delight to make and eat.

Pumpkin Calzone

Jack-o-lantern calzone lunch

This was another one that made me smile a lot. Why eat a regular calzone when it can be cute like this?

Onigiri Faces

Onigiri Face Bento

I made this simple more traditional Japanese bento for my niece.

Bunny Sandwiches

Bunny Sandwiches Bento

Sprouts make perfect grass for these sandwich bunnies. Also this year I had fun decorating pistachios.

Lily of the Valley

ELB Lily of the Valley

This lunch was part of a series of flower themed lunches. I actually had a negative comment on this one on Pinterest. A person assumed that cute lunches were only for kids and that if we teach kids not to eat toxic plants we should not make lunches that look like them. I made this lunch for myself not a kid and I was pleased that she thought it looked so good. It is cream cheese and chives.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing my favorite bento from the year. Please be sure to subscribe to my blog by email if you want to see what I make in 2015.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 3 Comments

Christmas Cookies 2014

Christmas Cookies 2014

I like to make many different types of Christmas cookies it but does take a lot of time including cleaning up the kitchen afterwards. Many years ago I started making cookies that did well in the freezer so I could make batches over a few weeks but serve many different types at once. I frost before serving.

I assembled this cookie tray to send to my husband’s business. I still have more in my freezer for the next time I want to make a cookie tray.

  • Reindeer Spice Cookies (I made my own frosting with confectionery sugar, butter, and milk) I frost them before serving.
  • Peanut Butter Munchies These cookies take a little bit of effort but it is worth it! I put the cookie dough and filling on separate sheets of waxed paper to divide each into the 32 portions.
  • Coconut Macaroons This is my first year making this recipe. I ended up making them the day before assembling this tray. The leftovers are in the freezer but I have not tested how they freeze yet.
  • Pumpkin Pecan Tassies My husband loves these and requests them every year.
  • Sugar cookies I frost these before serving.

What types of holiday cookies do you make?

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 4 Comments

Reindeer Hash Brown Potatoes

Reindeer Hash Browns

I made these Reindeer Hash Browns because one of my friends is hosting a cute reindeer snacks party (round-up) and I am not one to miss out on cute food parties.

The first time I tried making these I used reindeer shaped metal cookie cutters that had narrow legs. It was very difficult to pack in the potatoes and it was a mess. Luckily I found a reindeer cookie cutter in my grocery store that had fat legs. I tried making the hash browns again with this cookie cutter and it worked out great. It would have been easier if my cookie cutter did not have a handle but you could probably cut it off with tin snips if you were going to make a lot of these.

Reindeer Cookie Cutter

I only made one reindeer hash brown with this cutter. I was pressed for time and decided not to stay up all night testing different ways to make reindeer shaped hash brown potatoes. Although it would have been delicious and memorable. So if you try this and have advice please share them in the comments.

Instructions:

Peel and shred potato (I used a box grater). You could also try buying frozen hash brown shredded potatoes.

Heat a small frying pan with oil. I sprayed my cookie cutter with cooking spray but I don’t know it it is necessary.

Pack enough shredded hash brown potatoes into the cookie cutter so it holds it shape but not too much that it is difficult to get the potatoes in the middle cooked. You will need to experiment and get the feel for it if you are not accustomed to making hash browns. I removed the cookie cutter after packing it with shredded potatoes.

I cooked the hash brown at medium heat and did not move it until I could tell that it was browning. I also pressed down with a spatula because I was afraid it would fall apart when flipped. It did just fine! Cook until both sides are brown and the middle is cooked. You may need to reduce the heat to give the middle enough time to cook.

If you want it to look like Rudolph put a dot of ketchup for the red nose.

So whether you are making these for Christmas breakfast or for a Frozen themed breakfast, let me know if you try these.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 5 Comments

Ho Ho Ho Holiday Bento Blog Hop

Snowman Quesadilla food for lunch

Today I am joining some Bento Bloggers and Friends on a Holiday themed bento blog hop. Since we already had quite a bit of snow this year, I ended up with a Frosty themed lunch and snack.

My 10 year old nephew did all of the amazing drawing (food safe markers) on the snowman shaped cheese quesadilla and he ate this lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese quesadillas with food safe marker details

Top Right: Snowmen shaped apples dipped in water with a splash of lemon to prevent browning

Bottom Right: Snowman doughnut – purchased mini powdered doughnut, added mini chocolate chips and carrot for nose

Snowman Bagel

I wanted to make something else in the snowman theme so I made this fun snack. Thomas bagel thin with cream cheese, dried blueberries, and a dried apricot.

Please click on the button below to see what Jackie of Loving Lunches made to share with you.

BBF-BeMerry-Mint

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food, Uncategorized | Tagged | 12 Comments

Hanukkah Shield Lunch

Hanukkah Shield Food Lunch

I am not Jewish but I have an appreciation and interest in world cultures and religions. I made these Hanukkah lunches last year. This year I wanted to do something different so I looked at my Hanukkah cookie cutters for inspiration. It was not immediately apparent to me why there was a shield cookie cutter in my cookie cutter set. After researching it for awhile I found this activity and explanation. Hanukkah is the celebration of the Maccabees winning battles. They returned to Jerusalem and brought the Temple back to its Jewish roots of worship. My shield and Star of David represent this.

My 10 year old nephew ate this quesadilla lunch for lunch at home.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese quesadillas, shield –  blue food coloring and water applied with a dedicated paint brush, lettering – food safe marker

Top Right: Dreidel shaped green bell pepper

Bottom Right: Clementines, pistachios

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Poinsettia Lunch

Poinsettia Lunch

Today is Poinsettia Day so I made this simple Poinsettia themed lunch. It was easy to make and delicious.

Question: What are the second and third most popular Poinsettia colors? (answer is at the end of this post)

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Toasted Thomas’ English Muffins with cream cheese, mint leaves, and strawberries

Top Right: Cauliflower and Red Bell Pepper

Bottom Right: Air popped popcorn and Jolly Ranchers candy

Answer: white and pink

Poinsettia facts

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Gingerbread Man Bread

Gingerbread Man Bread Lunch

I don’t know why I made a Gingerbread man without a face. Looking at this photo afterwards I almost did not publish it.

This was a very simple but well received meal. My shaped bread meals tend to be popular with the people who eat them.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Gingerbread Man shaped homemade bread (french bread dough) with cinnamon

Top Right: Gingerbread Men shaped yellow bell pepper

Bottom Right: Red grapes

Not Pictured: Mini Dippers with cream cheese

Gingerbread Man Face Bread Lunch

This is not the dried blueberries I probably would have used but I think it looks better.

Face or no face? Which version do you prefer?

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Christmas Ornament Lunch

Christmas Ornament Lunch

I am starting to decorate my house for Christmas so I made an ornament themed meal. Today I will probably start decorating my miniature trees. I have collected the Hallmark Miniature Ornaments since I was a kid.

I make a lot of lunches with cheese quesadillas. They are a popular food with everyone I make lunches for, the ingredients keep for awhile in my refrigerator, and they are versatile for making cute shapes.

This was my first time using a plunger stamp cookie cutter with apple slices. It worked great. I dipped the apple slices in water with a splash of lemon juice to prevent browning.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Christmas ornament cheese quesadilla with food marker details, spinach salad, toasted slivered almonds

Top Right: Christmas tree apples (made with a tree similar to this).

Bottom Right: Carrots with ranch dip (in small container)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Holly Themed Lunch

Holly Themed Lunch

Caution: While it is safe and fun to eat holly shaped food, actual holly leaves and berries can be toxic.

This week my garden club worked with holly and other fresh greens to make holiday table arrangements. We sell arrangements and wreaths at our annual fundraiser. I only have one holly bush in my yard. It does not have berries. I am not sure if it is a female or male holly bush but I would need both in my yard to get berries.

You can make simple holly shaped food using cookie cutters. (Cookies cutters are not only good for cookies!) I used two different sizes for this light lunch. It would also make a fun snack.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Holly shaped cheese quesadillas with food safe marker details

Top Right: Pomegranate seeds

Bottom Right: Cucumber cut into holly shapes

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Snow Globe Bento Lunch

Snowglobe Bento Lunch

Recently I found Holiday Double Sided snow globe and snowflake cookie cutters at Target. I knew that I needed to make lunch with the snow globe. Since I thought that my readers would be just as excited I searched for a link but I could not find one on Target’s website. But the snow globe is included in this set.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Snowglobe almond butter sandwich on wheat bread, raw broccoli

Top Right: Clementines

Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with colorful sprinkles

Linking to:
Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 13 Comments

Gingerbread Houses and Bento Lunch

A-frame Gingerbread House Candy Cane Roof Front

This year my 10 year old nephew and I each made Gingerbread houses for a contest in my town. Rules: they need to incorporate a candy cane, they can’t be larger than 12 inches by 12 inches, only the base can be non-edible, and it can’t be a purchased kit. The 10 years and younger category is the only category that can have adult help with making the dough, baking and assembly. My Dad cut two bases out of plywood for us. We covered them with heavy duty aluminum foil. They are very sturdy. Today I will bring them to the library for display and judging. I am a little nervous about transporting them.

Gingerbread Recipe: I used this recipe because it uses butter. Originally I thought about using Crisco Shortening but I read that it does not work the same since becoming healthier so I opted to take the safer path and use butter. I had used this recipe in the past and it is very easy to work with. I made the dough two days before and baked and assembled the houses one day before we decorated them.

Frosting Recipe: I did not want to deal with cracking and separating eggs so I used this recipe which uses Meringue Powder. It hardens fast and in general holds well (except for the regular sized candy canes on the roof line).

Candy Cane Theme Gingerbread House Front

This is my nephews house. He drew a sketch of what he wanted it to look like and what materials I would need to buy. He did a great job and was happy when it was done!  We used the Wilton Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Set to cut the pieces. We did need to change one part of his design because the regular sized candy canes with a round peppermint candy on top of them would not stick to the house. They kept on falling off several hours later. So we used miniature candy canes and attached the round peppermint candy behind it.

Gingerbread House Another View

My nephew used spearmint leaves candy as foliage around the house. The roof is frosted and has miniature M&M’s on the top.

Gingerbread House Candy Cane Back

We were not sure how these will be displayed and if people will look at the back. My nephew chose to keep the back of his house simple. I like it! His hands got a little tired but he did a great job piping the door and windows on the house.

Gingerbread House Gingerbread Man Sleigh Close

He made a gingerbread sleigh out of gingerbread scraps that he cut to size. He used a small gingerbread man cookie cutter for the man. He glued miniature M&M’s for mittens. Miniature candy canes are the sleigh runners. Square gum became the front walkway.

Gingerbread House Front Fence Close

I purchased bags of the large peppermint sticks at the Dollar Tree. He used them with gumdrops for a fence, to trim the house and walk, and to make the large front doors. Miniature M&M’s are the door knobs.

A-frame Gingerbread House Back

This is my entry for the 19 and older category (the first photo in this post shows another view of my house). I decided on an A-frame style house because I never tried this type before and I liked the large roof. Also when I was growing up my Grandparents had an A-frame house as their summer home. I used the roof pieces from the Wilton Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Set and created two triangular pieces. I was a little off with my templates so one side is raised up with some gumdrops (my husband’s idea) and a lot of frosting is on the roof so you can’t see the gap between the two pieces. I crushed candy canes and added them to the roof. This photo actually shows the back of my house.

A-Frame Candy Cane Roof Front Side

This is the front of my house. I made a balcony out of gingerbread scraps and lined it with PEZ candy. I did not know if the judges wanted a literal interpretation of the candy cane theme so in addition to crushed candy canes on my roof, I used them as little fences in the back and front of my house. I used red, green, and white rock shaped candy for my front and back walks. Small red candy lines my front and back doors. I used two peppermint candies for the chimney.

A-Frame Gingerbread Back Close

This close-up of the back of my house, shows the gumdrops I used as foliage and the sugar ice cream cones I used for trees. I tinted some frosting green and it was very easy to make these cute trees.

Gingerbread House Candy Cane Roof

My nephew had fun crushing the candy canes for me. We put them in a large Ziplock bag and he used my marble rolling pin to crush the candy canes. It made a lot of noise but it smelled great and he had a good time. I made a mess while putting the crushed candy canes on the freshly frosted roof (I had wax paper underneath and tilted my house but candy cane pieces went everywhere including on my floor). But I am very pleased with the look.

Gingerbread House Lunch

I know, this is very simple and not the best looking gingerbread house lunch since it is monochromatic and not colorful and fun. But we left the color and creativity to our gingerbread houses. Also on a busy day of decorating, it was a easy lunch to make. I actually made two versions of this (mine had a lot of scraps).

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Gingerbread house Cheddar cheese quesadilla with food marker details, candy canes. I used a cookie cutter similar to this but you could easily cut the quesadilla to your desired shape.

Top Right: Carrots and green bell pepper cut into candy cane shapes with a mini cutter

Bottom Right: Gingerbread men shaped apples cut with a mini gingerbread man cutter, I dipped them in water with some lemon juice to prevent browning

We had a fantastic time making our gingerbread houses and I look forward to seeing the other entries in the contest. We already are winners for spending time and creating edible art together.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Crafts, Food | Tagged | 9 Comments

Snoopy Lunch for Schulz Birthday

Snoopy Heart Bento Lunch

In honor of Charles Schulz birthday, I have a Snoopy themed bento. I made this for my 12 year old nephew for dinner at home. I am thankful that my nieces and nephews of any age enjoy eating my bento meals. I enjoy sharing my love of cute food with them.

This also happens to be my 500th post! It is difficult to believe that I have created so many. I am thankful to my readers for encouraging me along the way.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Snoopy – mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese, spinach details, red bell pepper heart, Woodstock – mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese and yellow food coloring, spinach details, Hee! Ha! – mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese, carrot letters

Top Right: Raspberries

Bottom Right: Brazil nuts

Linking to:
Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 6 Comments