Pie Crust "Cookies"

I made an awesome Peach Pie the other day to take to my Mother In Laws for lunch and I had some dough left over so I decided to make something with it.

It was a flaky food processor crust recipe so I just kept it in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it (the next day).  I rolled it out on a lightly floured sheet of wax paper and I used my new cookie cutters to get as many shapes out of it as I could.

After I rolled it out and cut the shapes (before I lifted out the shapes) I used a rubber spatula and spread a little butter on the shapes and then sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar.  Put them on a non greased cookie sheet and cook them at the temperature that is suggested for the pie crust. 

They don’t take very long to cook, I just kept checking mine after about 6-7 minutes.  You can tell when they are done.  Just cool them on a wire rack and enjoy!

The kids had fun with these and only one of the kids didn’t like them…probably the same one that didn’t like the pie!

Bentos Day #11 & #12

Here are lunches for the past few days.

Bailey’s

She has PB sandwich strips, half of a tangelo, baby goldfish, teddy grahams and Halloween marshmallows.

Colton’s

He has BBQ Meatballs, half a tangelo, teddy grahams and Halloween marshmallows.  He didn’t eat the teddy grahams and she didn’t eat the marshmallows!

Day #12

Bailey’s

She has PB roll ups, mini saltines, teddy grahams, grapes and a fruit roll.

Colton’s

He has ham rolls, cheese cubes, grapes, marshmallows and fruit roll.

Now for something new…an adult Bento!  It’s for Jake’s lunch tonight at work and I made all of it myself!

He has Asian style noodles with veggies, pork gyoza and lemony chicken tenderloins.  He has some stuff on the side as well, but I only have the photo of the good stuff!

I am patiently waiting for UPS to get here with my order from Ichiban Kan.  I ordered a bunch more bento boxes and bags and the belts for the ones we have that I forgot to get before.  I should also be getting my stuff from e-bay too, probably tomorrow of the next day.  So you should  be seeing new bento boxes in the posts to come!

Pork Gyoza

How yummy do those look?  This is the first time I have made anything like this.  I have done egg rolls in the past, but I really really like these better even though they are a bit time consuming.  Here is how I made them.

Pork Gyoza

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/4 head of red cabbage (maybe not traditional, but I like it better), cut out core and chop up
• 1 big carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 10 oz. pkg wonton wrappers
• 1/4 cup water

In a heated (medium to medium high) wok cook the pork in the sesame oil before the pork is cooked add the onions, carrots, and cabbage along with the garlic and ginger.  When the pork is cooked through add the egg and let it cook completely stirring to mix it all up.

Place about a Tbsp (a little less) of the pork mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper and seal it up using a little water on your fingertips.  I went with the crimped edges, but there are several ways you can do it.  Just make sure it’s all sealed in the wrapper.  Since it takes a little while to make all these I put them on a baking sheet covered with wax paper and I covered them with a damp dish towel so they wouldn’t get dry.

Heat the Tbsp of oil in a large skillet.  Place the gyoza in and cook them on each side about 1 min.  Some people only cook the bottom, it’s totally up to you.  I cooked them on each side.  Place water into skillet and reduce heat. Cover and allow gyoza to steam until the water is gone.

I didn’t make a dipping sauce for them, but you can if you like.  I just put a little salt on them when they were done.  They are really good leftover, just pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds and they kind of re-steam.  I think they will freeze well too, but I haven’t tried that yet.  I only ended up making the gyoza with 1/2 of the pork mixture due to time issues, but I put the rest in the refrigerator and I am going to make the rest of them up this evening.

I made a batch of Asian style noodles with vegetables and had these along side and they were delicious!

Bentos Day #9 and #10

Actually it’s not day 9 and 10, but it’s the 9th and 10th bento posts, so I am calling it that!  Last week was a busy week and I ended up not taking pictures every day and some days were just boring so I didn’t take pictures!

So here they are…

Bailey’s

 

She has PB Roll-ups, baby goldfish, a few Panda cookies, fruit snacks and cut up pears.

Coltons

He has BBQ meatballs, baby goldfish, pears, fruit snacks and marshmallows.

**Note to self…Cut up pears are not good Bento fare…they were nasty and brown by lunchtime and neither of the kids ate them and they were even more nasty by the time they got home!

Day #10

Bailey’s

She has a butterfly PB sandwich, baby goldfish, chocolate teddy grahams and mandarin oranges in her her new (not leak proof) LPS side car.  I used the silicone cup in it and it works perfectly as long as she doesn’t tip it sideways.

Colton’s

He was being difficult today and didn’t want to take anything but meatballs, so we ended up with only one tier today.  He has the BBQ meatballs and grapes and I threw in a few Halloween marshmallows.

I am waiting on a BIG order from Ichiban Kan to be delivered on Wednesday and then I ordered a few cute things off e-bay and then I have to cut myself off.  I will have at least 15 bentos then and more than enough bags for all of them.  This is what I ordered off e-bay

That is for Bailey.  I ordered her an LPS one to match the new little dish that I got, but the girl ended up not having one left so she refunded my money.  I like this one better and I think it’s better suited to carry lunch in.

This one is for me…!

I am having a thing for skulls right now and until I get a job I have NO idea when I will use it, but I needed it!!

I have a few recipes to post as soon as I get them written up.  So be on the look out for those.  This week will be much less busy so I have more time.

Bentos Day #7 and 8

I am a little behind on the bentos so I am going to play catch up today and then I have a few recipes to post soon too.

Here is day #7 lunches

Bailey’s

She is using the Tenmari 2 tier.  As soon as IchicbanKan comes back online I am going to place another order.  She has a heart shaped sandwich, chickadees, 1/2 of a tangelo, strawberries and a fruit strip.

Colton’s

He has BBQ meatballs, 1/2 a tangelo, marshmallows and a fruit roll.

Day #8 Lunches

Bailey’s

She has PB sandwich strips, mini saltines, kiwi, grapes and strawberry koala cookies.  She ended up coming home from school sick this afternoon so it wasn’t all eaten.

Colton’s

He has leftover chicken with BBQ, cooked carrots, grapes, marshmallows and chocolate koala cookies.

Have a great one!

Bentos Day #6

Here are today’s bentos, they are all starting to look the same! I did go to the store today so I have new fruit and stuff, the basic stuff will probably be the same until I can get my picky kids to start eating better!

Bailey’s

She has PB roll ups, mini saltines, grapes, fruit snacks and snow peaches.

Colton’s

He has BBQ meatballs, mini saltines, grapes, fruit snacks and snow peaches.

I will be back later with a fun recipe!

Bentos Day #5

Here are today’s bentos.

Bailey’s lunch

I used the double tier Tenmari for her lunch today.  She has PB roll-ups on Halloween picks that I found at Walmart the other day.  She also has Chickadees, grapes, fruit snacks and Snow Peaches (apparently these are a cross between a peach and a plum…who knew? They taste good though).  She also wanted to take water.

Here is Colton’s

 

He has BBQ meatballs, grapes, snow peaches and fruit snacks in the blue Clickety Clack bento.  He has apple juice to drink.

One of my favorite dinners

This is one of my go to dinners when I am here at night when Jake is working.

I have a big salad, I usually only use a Butter Mix and Baby Spinach mixed in.  I put some croutons and a sprinkle of Italian Blend cheese and my favorite Raspberry Hazelnut Vinaigrette dressing.  Then I have my most favorite lemon chicken.  Here is how I make it.

Lemony Chicken

• Boneless skinless chicken (I use a thigh, it’s not as dry and I think it tastes better and it comes in a smaller portion!)
• lemon juice (I just use bottled, it tastes just as good and stays fresh longer)
• cornstarch
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

I cut my chicken thigh into strips because it cooks faster then I put it in a bowl and splash a little lemon juice on it, stir it around a little bit and let it sit.  While it’s sitting, heat up a skillet with a little olive oil, about medium heat.  When the oil is hot take a little plate and put some corn starch and salt and pepper on it and dredge the chicken in it.  Cook the chicken, turning until it’s done, it will be golden brown.  When the chicken is done leave it in the pan on the heat and splash a little more lemon juice.  Stir it around and let it coat all the chicken, it will thicken a little.  Remove from heat and set the chicken on paper towels or a brown paper bag (it’s what I use).  Enjoy, it goes perfect with my salad!

For my serving size this is the WW point value with one chicken thigh (6.5).

Bentos Day #4

Here are lunches for today.

Bailey’s

She had circle PB sandwiches, mini saltines, grapes and fruit snacks.

Colton’s

He had ham and cheese, mini saltines, grapes, fruit snacks and vanilla wafers.

They are getting a little monotonous, I think I am going to look for some new things when I go grocery shopping today.

Bentos Day #3

I am a little behind!  I wasn’t feeling well yesterday so I didn’t even up load the pictures until today.

Here are the day 3 bentos.

Bailey’s lunch

She had mini saltines, PB sandwiches in the shape of a halloween cat and a circle (full moon!) and Hello Kitty Fruit snacks.

Colton’s lunch

He had BBQ meatballs, half a roll, grapes, fruit snacks and a couple vanilla wafers.

They both had Apple Juice boxes too.