Halloween Bento #16 For The Family

Happy Halloween!!! Today we decided to spend the day at Legoland and let the girls "Brick Or Treat" before the actual neighborhood Trick Or Treating event. So while I did not have a ton of time to make super fancy lunches to pack along today I did manage to squeeze these out before running out the door.

C Lunch

Ghost pb&j with peanut butter pretzels, mini cranberry & pomegranate muffin.

Grapes, sliced strawberries, carrots, quail egg o'lantern and a purple potato flower.

M's Lunch

Cat pb&j with peanut butter pretzels, mini cranberry & pomegranate muffin.

Grapes, sliced strawberries, carrots, hummus, quail egg o'lantern and a purple potato flower.

Daddy Lunch

Roast Beast and Pastrami sami, parm pita chips, grapes, carrots and two (because he's special like that) cranberry/pomegranate mini muffins.

Mommy Lunch

Pastrami & cheese in a soft potato roll, veggie crunchers, quail egg o'lanterns, black grapes

carrots, hummus and a mini muffin.

This is one of the new boxes I found at Marukai last week. It seemed so big after I filled it but it fit great into my Easy Lunch Boxes cooler with daddy's lunch.

Cinna-Mummy Wrapples

I was visiting Lick -A-Plate yesterday and saw these awesome treats and knew I had to make them for today's lunch. She found the recipe from Better Recipes. So I made them to pack along as a dessert after lunch and let me just say not only was it wicked easy to make...it is so delish!! I think these are a perfect alternative to baking a whole pie if you have company over, and easier to eat. This is defiantly become a dessert staple in our home!

This post added to What's For Lunch Wednesday Week 23 and Sweet Sunday!!

Growing Up Halloween

One of the best things about Halloween and frankly all the holidays is being able to look back on the previous years and see how your kids have grown up. Today as I went through the past pictures it hit me like a ton of bricks just how much my girls have changed.

- - - - - - Halloween 2007 - - - - - 

C (2 yrs) was a Pirate..arrrrrg

M was 3 months old

 -- - - - - - Halloween 2008 - - - - - 

Ciera (3 yrs) was a princess

M was 15 months old

- -- - - - -Halloween 2009 - - - -- - 

C (4 yrs) was Cinderella and M (2 yrs) was Little Red Riding Hood

- - - - -  - Halloween 2010 - - - - -- 

C (now 5 yrs) is Barbie Fashionista

M (now 3 yrs) is Snow White

And if that wasn't cute enough and you need another dose, checkout the Hello Kitty Witch I carved yesterday afternoon!

 M 's Smily jack, C's Scary jack and my Kitty jack carved last week.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!

Halloween Bento #15 - Jacks Family

Today C has a party at school so she did not need a lunch but M still did. So for her I made a family of jack o'lantern sami's with Veggie Crunchers in the main box. These veggie crunchers from Trader Joe's are awesome! They are real sliced veggies that are vacuum cooked and are so tasty. Sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, taro and green beans! The girls think they are getting some cool chips but really they are eating veggies they normally wouldn't touch. In the second box is grapes, baby carrots with hummus and a pumpkin baby bell cheese.

All this is packed into my new bento box I got while on my birthday shopping spree at Marukai Tuesday. The cool thing about this too is that it matches the awesome new box and accessories I just got from Deb at Hapa Bento yesterday! Last week I won her consolation prize for her giveaway. With all the wonderful stuff she sent me, you'd link I won the grand prize! Thanks again Deb!

Mommy Bento #16

It's been awhile since I have posted a mommy bento, frankly I just haven't had the time for myself.  Yesterday was my 35th birthday and I guess I am still in the "me" mode...lol

Regular long grain white rice decorated with a nori flower. Left over Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence with steamed yellow cauliflower. In the bottom tier baby carrots with hummus and the most delicious cupcake with homemade raspberry butter cream frosting courtesy Muffin Tin Mom. 

Yesterday was the best day. Both girls were in school so I got to go shopping by myself! Joann's, Michaels and even some bento shopping at Marukai Value. Later hubby came home and surprised me with my present...a membership to a local cooking school!!! I know awesome right? I am so excited..eeeekkk! Then to top off my already wonderful day, I was taken out to dinner by my darling hubby and beautiful girls and then surprised to find out Muffin Tin Mom and her family was joining us...yay! Apparently our hubbies had been scheming all week behind my back...lol It was an awesome surprise and we had the most fabulous time.

$75 Gift Certificate Giveaway From CSNStores.com

It's time for another awesome Giveaway from CSN Stores! As you know CSN Stores has everything from contemporary coffee tables to fantastic fitness equipment and my most favorite store to shop from...cookware!


This month CSN Stores is offering one of my readers a $75 gift certificate that you can use in any of their over 200 stores.


To enter all you have to do is be (or become) a follower. So simple right? Please leave a comment  and make sure to include your email address so I can easily contact you if your the winner!


Extra Entry:
Leave a comment telling me what you might think you will buy with your 75 bucks! Personally I really want to get the Zojirushi Rice Cooker! 

Can you believe I do not already have one..crazy I know! So what would you buy?




Giveaway is open to US and Canada ONLY. Giveaway closes Nov 3rd 2010 at 11:59pm. Winner will be chosen via Random.org on Nov 4 2010 and a post will follow.




Disclaimer: I was contacted by CSNStores.com to run a giveaway. I received no products or money and any opinions expressed are mine and mine alone and are unbiased.

Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence with Gratin Dauphinois

Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence with Gratin Dauphinois

(Chicken Sauteed with Herbs and Garlic, Egg Yolk and Butter Sauce with Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese and a Pinch of Garlic)

Sunday night for dinner I made two recipes from Julia Child's Mastering The Art Of French Cooking Vol One. You saw in a previous post the awesome two book set I got from my uncle as an early birthday gift, so ya know I have been dying to cook from it. I always cook a well balanced meal for my family however normally it is a semi homemade meal. There's usually one or two things from a box or a can and not that that is bad by any means (as long as it's not junk), but I want to really learn how to cook. How to cook like my great grandmother and grandmother used to before overly processed foods high in preservatives hit our store shelves.

So that is just what I did. I made dinner completely from scratch, even taking it so far as to brake down my own chicken...Dexter aint got nothin on me! I followed her recipes to the T and was becoming more and more excited by the prospect of dinner as it cooked. I even made a Hollandaise for the chicken....never done that before...yay me! I know there are plenty of mama's in the US still making dinner from scratch, using family recipes that have been handed down throughout the generations, but I got away from that. Now i'm coming home.

The meal was amazing! Tender juicy chicken with a creamy, silky sauce. Even my picky eater girls both asked for more sauce...floored me! My hubby who does not like scalloped potatoes...now does. I just had a win win day and everyone cleaned their plates!

Halloween Bento #14

C's Lunch

Owl sami with grape & mini coco chip eyes and cheesy wings and feathers. Veggie straws, baby carrots, watermelon flowers and owl sugar decorations round out todays fun lunch.

What's For Lunch Week 22. Stop by and see more awesome mom created, kids love, lunches!

Sweet Sunday - Pretzel Stick Candy

Spiders 

Bats with moon and clouds (supposedly)

Pumpkins

Giant Rat

Skeleton

Wrapped all nice and pretty waiting to be eaten

It's another great week for Sweet Sunday at My Sweet Creations! Today we I made some pretzel stick candy. I bought a Wilton Kit from Michael's a few weeks ago and have been waiting to try it.  I have to say it was a little tougher than I thought it would be. Mine defiantly do not look like the ones on the box but they are oh so yummy! It was a fun thing to try and I think with a better paint brush and patience next year they will look even better.

Did you make something sweet and tasty this week? Stop by My Sweet Creations and link up or pop in and visit some other super sweet blogs!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Yesterday we spent the day at Bates Nut Farm thanks to my girl Chelsea of Someday I'll Learn. She told me about this place and we decided to explore it instead of heading to Julian like planned. This place was amazing..and HUGE! So much to do and see we spent over 4 hours there and am pretty sure we didn't see or do all that there was. If you are in SoCal I highly recommend popping over to Bates Nut Farm your family will have a blast and if you have a dog bring him/her along. It was awesome to be able to bring Sookie, poor thing usually gets left out of family events so I was terribly pleased when I saw on Bates Website that she could come too!

I was also up to a little sewing last week in preparation for the pumpkin patch. I was not planning on doing Halloween outfits this year, but while visiting Joann's I saw it on sale for 50%...sigh...that is my weakness...fabric sales! Plus the fabric was just so cute together I couldn't resist. I am so happy I did it, their outfits really made our pictures pop and more festive.

Waiting for hay ride....

Working the maze, Sookie wants to know what's going on over yonder...

M found a seat..

Pumpkins pumpkins everywhere..

The girls first pony ride...

Ending to a great day.

No Butter Chicken Over Rice with Roti

No Butter Chicken over Rice with a Roti on the side.

Mixture that is inside the Roti.
Cauliflower, fresh ginger, cilantro, and coriander.

Thursday night was another culinary triumph in my house. As usual browsing around the Cooking Channel I found an episode of the Spice Goddess with  Bal Arneson. With a title like that you know the flavors have to be amazing. I became very interested in trying her recipe for No Butter Chicken and Roti. The chicken dish I was totally down for, no problem...but the Roti..umm I have never made bread before by hand let alone tortillas. There is a first time for everything right!

I do not own a rolling pin nor have I ever had to flour a board but I made my Roti mixture, dough and then went for it. P.S. my rolling pin came courtesy C. I used her little 8 inch (handle to handle) wooden rolling pin from her kitchen set...LOL It was quite a sight to see but it work fabulously! My Roti's did not turn out nice and round like Bal's, they looked more like Naan but I did it!

I made a few changes to both recipes. For the chicken I used 1tsp ground Cumin, 1/4 tsp Tumeric (this is why my chicken does not look as yellow as her's) and instead of low fat yogurt I used plain Greek Yogurt. For the Roti mixture I replaced the minced Green Chile with 1tsp of Red Pepper Flakes and using my mortar and pestle I ground Coriander seeds. I also used Yellow Cauliflower for extra pop of color. To the Roti dough I added 1/4c ground Flax Seeds.

The chicken was a big hit with everyone, the flavors and smell from that dish is unbelievable. The sweetness of the brown sugar marry's well so with the Garam Masala spices up front and then you get a little kick of heat on the back end. The Roti on the other hand...not so much. I should  have had a lighter hand with the fresh Ginger since I really never use it. The girls and hubby are not used to the flavor so it was overwhelming and "spicy" to them. All in all we had a wonderful dinner, I learned some new techniques, used spices that are new to me and my family has become more interested in trying new things. Success!

Halloween Bento #13

C Lunch

Finally found a large bat cookie cutter yesterday at Joann's. I actually was kind of surprised that in my big drawer of cutters I didn't already have one...lol So C has a batty sami with googly eyes made from cream cheese and mini choco chips, salami and cheese baby bats, watermelon flowers (I know not very scary but that the shape the girls wanted when I was cutting it up), yellow cauliflower, baby carrots and grape tomatoes.

Hello Kitty House..So Cool!

Wow, could you imagine if this was your home? I wonder what the inside looks like if the outside is so detailed. This picture comes from a Tweep I follow susan_teo. I saw her profile picture and just had to share it with all you HK fans!

Just found the answer to my question! The house is in Taiwan and here are a few pictures of the inside...p.s. you can apparently rent this home according to Apartment Therapy.com. 

Halloween Bento #12

C Bento

M Bento

Witches hat and mini black cat pb&j sami's. Baby carrots and hummus or M, cherry tomatoes for C, grapes and a maple leaf cookie. Today was a short day for the girls so I didn't have to pack a large lunch, more of a snack  :)

I was starting to run of out shape ideas for the girls sami's and then I went to Joann's and saw their Wilton stuff was 40% off..wahoo! Bought some more cutters so at least I have a few extra ideas...lol

Greek Yogurt Sundae

This is now my new favorite after school snack! Yesterday I made some cranberry pecan granola bars (using Shannon's recipe). The mixture was a little more dry than normal so because of that after it cooled I realized the outer 1 inch was crumbly granola. What could I do with this?

I then remembered a post on Michelle's personal FB page a dessert she had made with sliced banana's, caramel and chocolate chips. It looked delish and I thought that would be a wonderful addition to the granola, but it was still missing something. Vanilla ice cream was my first thought, but darn if we didn't eat it all the night before. What else could I use? Greek yogurt! I still had plenty of plain yogurt left over from the lamb recipe I had made a few days prior.

So I layered it all.....plain Greek yogurt first topped with sliced banana's then sprinkle the granola and mini chocolate chips and finish with a caramel drizzle. AMAZING!! This is a wonderful recipe for a quick breakfast, yummy snack or even a healthier option than a ice cream sundae. Give it a try, I know you will love it!

Taco Stuffed Shells

We love taco night although if hubby had it his way every night would be taco night. Last night I decide to try something different. This was a recipe I used to make way back in the day and always enjoyed it. For some reason life got in the way and I forgot about it...until last night. It's so simple I really do not even need to give the recipe, the picture pretty much shows it all...but I will.

1 box Large Pasta Shells

2 lbs ground beef

2 packages Taco Seasoning (I like Ortega)

Shredded Cheese

Finley chopped lettuce

Diced tomatoes

Diced Red Onions

Preheat oven 350

Boil your pasta shells for about 12-13 minutes. Do not over cook your pasta, al dente is perfect for this dish.

Crumble meat in heavy skillet until cooked. Drain fat. Add taco seasoning and follow instructions on package.

Grease bottom of a 9x13 with cooking spray to prevent shells from sticking. Stuff each shell with a large spoon full of seasoned meat. Top seasoned meat with the shredded cheese. Place in oven and cook until cheese is melted.

Let cool for a minute or two and top with your favorite taco toppings. We use lettuce, tomatoes and red onions.

It does not get easier than this and it's something the whole family will love! 

It's My Birthday...Almost!

Okay so my birthday might actually not be until next week, but in my house I get to have a birthday month. Isn't that more fun than just one day? For the past week or so I have been showered with awesome prizes from my awesome family..and I am so excited!

I have been dying to buy Susan's books since I first started following her blog and my BFF Sharon from Mama's A Mess knows me all to well. She sent me along with some other awesome bento stuff these TWO books for my b-day. Wahoo!

I have not seen these two books yet but my Grams found them at Boarders Books. The recipes in both books are super delish and the pictures of the boxes are awesome. Can not wait to dive into cooking with them.

My uncle sent me the two book set of Julia Child's Mastering The Art Of French Cooking. I am so excited by this. Who doesn't know who Julia Child was. Her amazing sense of humor and what she did for woman at home and in the cooking industry as well as one of the first TV cooking stars. Her kitchen is at the Smithsonian for pete's sake. I already have my first recipes picked out that I will be making this weekend. Stay tuned!

The Cinnamoroll box and Hello Kitty Lunch box I actually bought for myself from Sanrio.com. I couldn't help it, they were on sale!!

How AWESOME are these! Once again my BFF Sharon strikes again. She found these awesome pre cut nori shapes! Just what I needed. I do not have too many punches nor am I very skilled (yet) at nori cutting so these are perfect and so cute!

They even had Pokemon shapes! I can not wait to use these!