Bentos #115-119... Priorities. I has them.

We're looking at... 6 months?  About?  Sounds right anyway.

I didn't stop packing myself healthy, delicious, in-your-fast-food-face lunches.  I just stopped writing about them.  I got really busy and really stressed.  Blogging is the thing that fell by the wayside.  Well... one of the many things.

I don't know that I'm having less stress now.  I'm working two jobs.  I worked 83 hours just last week.  Thankfully, that doesn't happen too often.  Usually I'm closer to 55 hours.  And, of course, there are other things besides work.

But here we are.  Here I am.  And here are some bentos that were here.  Until I ate them.

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Curried turkey tenderloin and broccoli.  This was accompanied by a few pieces of fruit.

Homemade gyoza, a frozen onigiri, and strawberry slices.

This one was from a long time ago... It has pasta with grey squash, peppers, and ground turkey... probably with Johnny's Garlic Seasoning.  It also has blackberries, pomegranate, kiwi, persimmon, cucumber slices, and a babybel cheese.  The thing I really remember about this bento is that I had it during a rehearsal and the dance company director declared, "You love yourself."  She seemed to be taken aback a little by the fact that I, or anyone, would take such care packing a lunch for themselves.

This one has the same stuff as the one above, plus a couple of grapes.  

This is what I had for lunch today... baked red potato with sharp cheddar, a pan-fried zucchini (the first one from my container garden this year!), turkey 'lil smokies, grapes, and cucumber spears.

*****

I've had guilt for the past six months about never hosting a certain two giveaways.  Please forgive me for not doing this earlier...

We're going to start with a Lock'n'Lock giveaway!  In celebration of winning the most awesome Lock'n'Lock prize ever with a review on this very blog!

What am I giving away?

A green Lock'n'Lock Mini Lunchbox!  It comes with a bag and a set of chopsticks.  I wrote a review here.  The review, by the by, is the one with which I won an awesome prize from Lock'n'Lock, which I used a part of for this giveaway, and other giveaways to come. :)

The basic requirement is that you be an official blog follower, which is as easy as hitting the 'follow' button on the sidebar.

There are two ways to enter:

1.  Leave a comment on this post about... something interesting.  Which is more than I've done for you in the past 6 months.  It can be about your own lunch.  Or your dog.  Or your new couch.  Or your priorities... Whatever.  Leave me a comment.

2.  Post about this giveaway on YOUR blog.  And then leave a comment here with a link to your post.

That's it!  It's easy!

I will choose the winner using random.org on July 5th and announce it here.  (I thought about doing it the 4th, but between running a 10k and whatever awesome gig I manage to pick up by then... it's not going to happen.  So the 5th it is.)

Bentos #111, #112, #113, #114... You know my greatest fear with this blog?

It's that I'll spell 'Scrumptious' wrong.  I have a mini panic attack every single time I type that damn word.

Anywho.  I had a lovely, busy week.  It started with a load-in of 'The Nutcracker' on Monday morning.  Bright and early.  Or maybe just early.  And definitely not bright.  The Covey Center actually does at least three 'Nutcrackers' every year.  And they start before Thanks giving.  And by the beginning of December, we all want to start pegging the 'Waltz of the Flowers' dancers with airsoft beads.  Not because they're not good dancers, or we dislike them in anyway.  But that song gets going through your head...

They actually loaded out on Wednesday night.  By which time I had 36.75 hours for the week.  This didn't stop me from taking a freelance gig on Thursday and Friday.  Because I get bored when I'm not working.  And I need the money.

My first issue is that I need some massive dental work done.  ... I look like a hobo right now.  Due to unfortunate circumstances, I need an implant and a few crowns.  And those babies aren't going to be cheap.  But, you know, then my face will be fixed and I'll have, to quote my oral surgeon, 'a movie star smile to go with my movie star eyes.'  Yeah.  He totally said that.

And then I found out last week that I need new tires on my truck.  Something about them being so cracked around the sides that they don't want to top off the air in them for fear they'll explode.  ...I love my truck, but I really should have taken a better look at it before I bought it...  Truck tires aren't cheap, although I may go to the Pick'n'Pull to see what I can dig up.

Oh.  And Christmas is coming.  And I already started getting gifts for the entire clan, so I can't back off and just get them family gifts now.  It's too late.

This week holds another 'Nutcracker' for me.  And NIMS training, because if something goes down around here, my theatre becomes the morgue, and I a morgue attendant.  Ew.  And hopefully a bit more freelance work over the weekend.  Busy, busy... but that's how I like it.

*****

For your enjoyment... or mine... I guess... I've packed turkey meatballs with broccoli and two onigiri from my freezer stash in the one layer, and carrots, hummus, cucumbers, blackberries, and kiwis in the other.

My basket last week contained cabbage, so I figured I'd make some Irish cabbage and noodles.  Which is what I did.  Just stir-fried cabbage with onion and peppers over egg noodles.  And then... I was out of Polish sausage.  And all I had that I could quickly top it with was some stir-fried beef.  Two flavor profiles that do not mix.  Lemme tell you...  Also I had lots of cucumber, kiwi, and blackberries.

This one contains a really good fall rice casserole thingy.  Apples, onion, peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg and sausages... It's such a good mix.  I've got it coupled with roasted delicata squash.  The other layer has kiwi, strawberries, cucumber, and a babybel cheese.

Last Sunday my little brother, who is a really good cook when he actually does it, made spinach manicotti.  Which is what that cheesy mass covered in carrot flowers is.  I've also got carrots and hummus, blackberries, and kiwi.

Bentos #109 and #110... My LocknLock prize came!

For some reason, nobody ever knocks on my door when I can actually get the door.  I'm either in the bathroom or shower, or I'm not properly dressed... I live by myself.  I don't have to be 'decent' all the time...

So when the fedex guy knocked, I was in the midst of getting ready for work.  I dug around for a second to find my robe, ran a brush through my wet hair, and rushed to the door.  There was no one there when I peaked through the window.  I'm usually not fast enough to catch whoever it was that knocked.  But there, sitting on my tiny stoop, was a giant box.  It blocked the entire doorway.  I knew what it was.  And I couldn't bring myself to leave it out there...  So I opened the door, checked to make sure there was no one around, and awkwardly dragged it into the house with one hand.  Awkwardly.

And then I called and told the guy I work with that I was going to be late.  I have my priorities.

So I unpacked it all.  And I took a picture for you.  Or at least tried.  Poe chose that moment to come and see what was going on...

I gave Poe a treat to keep her out of the way for a moment.  And took the picture.  

See how shiny the lids are?  Like mirrors!  Yes.  That's me with a camera.

The prize was the whole set of Cookplus Fruits pans from LocknLock.  There are 2 saucepans, 3 casseroles, and a stock pot.  They feel really heavy for their size.  Which I take as a good thing.  At some point in the near future, I need to do the fudge test.  It's my experience that a crappy pan won't turn out a decent batch of fudge.  So I'm picky with my pans.  Fudge is important to me.

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The fact that I have now received my prize means it's time for a giveaway!  Check back in the next couple of days!  Or... become a follower.  Because you have to be a follower to participate in any of my giveaways anyway.  Might as well get a jump on it. ;)

*****

And... here are the bentos!

This one is another taco salad.  But without torilla chips.  I've got kidney beans, tomatoes, sharp cheddar, soy nuts, and Thousand Island dressing for the salad that's hiding under the tray, and a couple of Dove chocolates for dessert.

I found a honey poppyseed dressing that has no sugar added.  But there's a problem... Honey poppyseed dressing should be sweet...  Next time I pack the dressing, I'm going to add some honey myself...

So.  Kidney beans, sliced grapes, soy nuts, and the dressing to dump on the salad.  And a babybel cheese and a turtle for my desert.

I didn't manage to eat all the salad last week.  I have enough for another lunch.  And I picked up my basket yesterday, which had, and will almost always have, more lettuce.  If I can get do three salads in this week, I should be good!

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!

*****

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!