Bentos #105, #106, #107, and #108...

I think it's funny... I started needing bentos again at work.  And so I started making them.  But I was so out of the habit of blogging about them that... well... here we are.  With a bit of a catch up post. 

The bit of an update is this... My comp hours are still up around 100.  It was finally decided at work that it would be impossible to just try to send me home.  So we sat down and figured out a plan that would slowly bring my comp down to an acceptable level.  We'll see if that works.  Related to you... that should mean I'll need a decent amount of bentos over the next couple of months.

Also related to you... I told you about winning the LocknLock review contest!  I'm still uber excited about it.  I haven't received my prize yet, but when I do, that'll mean a giveaway for you guys as well.  Because if I didn't have a blog, I wouldn't have written that review in the first place.  This giveaway is in addition to the 3000 views giveaway that will hopefully be happening in the next couple of weeks.  So... keep those in mind!

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A lovely bento, consisting of a brown rice onigiri, turkey meatballs in a sweet soy sauce glaze, and steamed cabbage.  Also cucumbers, yellow tomatoes, a babybel cheese, Italian prune plums, and hummus.  I put sliced carrot flowers over the hummus to dress it up, and also to help keep the hummus from making a mess.  Works every time.

Egg fried rice with peas, carrots and cucumber with hummus, a yellow tomato, a babybel, and an Italian prune plum.

A meatless bento...tri-color rotini with ICBINB and Johnny's Italian Seasoning with broccoli.  Also figs, yellow tomatoes, a babybel, pickled sweet peppers, and a few mini Reese's cups.

What the salad?  Right.  I ate this and everything.  There were TWO heads of romaine in my basket this week and I vowed to at least attempt to eat it.  So I dug out this awesome salad bowl that's been gathering dust in the corner, and here we are.  To top the salad, I have tomatoes, kidney beans, sharp cheddar, and FF Thousand Island Dressing in the center container.  I also had a bag of tortilla chips at work to crumble in.  And for desert, I have a turtle and a couple of sweet and low candies.  

How much salad do you think I can eat this week?  I'm not exactly sure, but I think I've got enough for 3 more of these... I might die.

Not a bento... miss me?

I haven't had a need to pack bentos for the past few weeks.  Hopefully you'll see a few next week.  But.  I just had to tell everybody...

I won the review contest at LocknLock!  You know what that means!  I won the entire set of Cookplus Fruits pans.  Which I've been drooling over for ages... and a gift certificate!

Why should you care?  A giveaway, of course!  More details will come soon.  But.  You know... fun!

Bento #104... Finally... some downtime.

My show is open.  Finally.  I've got about 120 comp hours to burn down now.  I was going to take the train to San Francisco.  (It sounds fun.)  But try as I might, I can't convince myself that I can afford it right now.  Maybe in the spring...  I'll probably end up going camping for a few days here and there.  And catching up on some projects.  Like my motorcycle.  And the '49 Dodge sitting in front of my apartment that needs tires.  Maybe I'll even deep clean my apartment.  Maybe.

Anywho.  This is a bento from a dress rehearsal.  I don't remember which one.  I was just happy to have it.

It has an onigiri from my freezer upon which I sprinkled some furikake, some of the chicken patty things, and I filled it in with frozen peas.  (I was in a massive hurry...)

The other container has two Italian prune plums, a handful of Thompson grapes, cucumber rounds from my planter, two tomatoes and a strawberry (also from my planters), and a babybel cheese.

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I think I've written about a giveaway in all of my last few posts... and there's another for you.

Not Exactly Bento is giving away an awesome Lock'n'Lock box, a sports bottle, and a collection of Tony Chachere's spice mixes to a lucky reader.  Check it out here.

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Just a reminder that I'll be hosting a giveaway of my own once the guest counter reaches 3000.  So keep reading and watching!

Bento #103... Better

3 Musketeers opens tomorrow.  You know what that means?  I'm averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night.  I'm still awake now because I'm needing to unwind from that rehearsal.  It went well.  It's a good show.  And I think it will make people happy.  But damn I'm tired.

I spent way more time on this bento than I should have.  But I really needed to focus on something just for me for a little while...

There's a bit of a leftover remake to this one.  I made the little chicken patty things with leftover chicken from Sunday dinner at my parents' house.  Recipe will follow, providing I can still see the screen when I get that far...  Along side the cute little chicken patties, I have broccoli and an onigiri from the freezer stash.  I'm getting the hang of using those things.  This one I was able to just pick and munch.  There's also a bottle of potsticker sauce for the chicken patties.  

The other layer has a nectarine, carrots, hummus, a few grapes, and a babybel cheese.  I love and adore babybels, but I won't buy them anywhere other than costco, because I refuse to pay a lot for them.  So this is the first one ever to make it to a bento.

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Chicken Bites

1/2 chicken breast, cooked.

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Mrs Dash.  Whatever kind you feel.

2 heaping tablespoon flour (I used wheat)

Water until sufficiently moist.

You could also add shredded zucchini and carrots to this.  And I bet it would be amazing.  I'll have to try it once my new Salad Shooter gets here.

Anyway.  Shred the chicken.  Mix the ingredients.  The batter should be moist, but not runny.  Heat a frying pan over medium heat.  Put small dollops of the chicken mixture into the lightly greased pan.  Slightly flatten.  Cover.  Cook for 3 minutes or so.  Flip.  Cover, and wait until cooked through.  Maybe another 3 minutes.  Serve with yummy sauce that you love.  I love potsticker sauce.

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There's yet another bento giveaway happening!  This time over at Bento Monsters.  Do I need a new box?  Signs point to no.  But it's so cute!

Also, Casa Bento is giving away a bento box on facebook!  Just follow the instructions here to enter.

Bento #102...

I almost decided not to post this one.  I was in a hurry.  And it's not as balanced or as pretty as I usually try to make them.  And then I said to myself, "You know what, self?  Just take the picture and get over yourself!"  So I did.

The back box contains a turkey sausage cut into three sections.  I tried using a cutter to put a shape in the end, but this sausage doesn't behave the way a hotdog does when heated, so the effect was lost.  The sausage is surrounded by a garden fresh summer squash, and the other side has a freezer onigiri that I didn't even have time to microwave and get the plastic wrap off.  (As a side, after I microwaved this one, I put a little bit of pressure on it to reform.  It held together quite well!)

The other layer has a nectarine, green grapes, and an Italian prune plum.

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I'm planning another giveaway!  My little counter is at about 2500 visitors right now.  When we get to 3000, we'll have some fun!

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On a related note... while you're waiting for my giveaway, hop on over to Not Exactly Bento to check out a giveaway that's happening right now!  There's $50 LocknLock coupon up for grabs!