Bento Boxes

So, I have been reading about Bento boxes and I really want to start making them for Bella sometimes. I think it would be a lovely surprise to have cute little lunches shaped like characters when she opens up her box. I first saw some I liked on pinterest and saved the blogs to my favorites, then I got a couple of books from the library as well. I tried making her a cute lunch for Valentine's day before I got the books, but she forgot it so she ate it the next day. At least she is as forgetful as I am so we have patience with one another.

Here is her Valentine's lunch. The cups are heart shaped. There are crackers, bell peppers, and tomatoes to dip in a red container of hummus. A red box juice, and granola with strawberries. To keep the cups from moving around I used a babybell cheese because they are red, and this box has a red lid.

Also, speaking of Valentine's Day, remember that box I helped Bella create? She ended up winning the prize for most beautiful Valentine's box! So proud!

In the Kitchen

One of my favorite things about cooking something big is when I put on an apron. My aprons were all sewn by my great, great grandmother. I love the history and feeling of interconnectedness of wearing her things.

Today I have found a new recipe for marshmallow fondant, will be making some of that and gumpaste. My little girl will be 9 this week and I have promised her a Pippi Longstocking cake.

Here are a couple of sites that helped me a lot in this quest:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/7427/easy-gumpaste-recipe

And here is a picture of the cake that  is acting as my inspiration:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kagekonen/2778195560/

I will share more as the journey progresses!

Menu Monday, What to Eat?

Welcome to my first ever Menu Monday! Let's see what my family is going to eat this week! I do all of my menu planning and grocery shopping only twice a month, so this shouldn't be too hard for me. All i have to do is type out what I already have planned, right? We will see.

Something I like to do is plan on certain days to make extra meat and then turn the meat into something else the next night. This saves time, money, and food. You will notice I did that this week with the pot roast, and again with the chicken.


Monday

Breakfast: Raisin bran crunch

Lunch: Grilled Cheese and tomato soup

Dinner: Biscuits
Gravy

Snack: low fat laughing cow cheese and almond wheat thins

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: black beans, rice, and corn

Snack: almond wheat thins, apple sauce

Dinner: Orange Chicken
Crab Rangoon

Wednesday

Breakfast: Low Fat Dark Chocolate muffins

Lunch: Quesadillas, peas

Snack: oatmeal, applesauce

Dinner: potatoes, carrots, pot roast I also add a package of onion soup mix and a can of beef broth to my pot roast.


Thursday

Breakfast: Low Fat Dark Chocolate Muffin

Lunch: PB & J, milk, orange

Snack: Oatmeal, applesauce

Dinner: Burritos made from leftover pot roast - Burrito meat

Friday

Breakfast: Low Fat Dark Chocolate Muffin

Lunch: Turkey Sloppy Joes

Snack: almond wheat thins, applesauce

Dinner: Baked potatoes, green beans, Sticky Chicken

Saturday

Breakfast: Low Fat Dark Chocolate Muffin

Lunch: Turkey Sloppy Joes

Snack: oatmeal, oranges

Dinner: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo made with leftover sticky Chicken
Alfredo Sauce

Sunday

Breakfast: Low Fat Dark Chocolate Muffin

Lunch: leftovers

Snack: oatmeal, applesauce

Dinner: Manicotti with Marinara Sauce

So, that's what we are eating this week. How about you? Got any tips for saving time or money in the kitchen you would like to share? Have a great recipe? Feel free to comment, I would love to hear it!

Christmas Around the World - Japan

In continuing with our Christmas around the world theme, my daughter made some beautiful temari Christmas ribbon ornaments.

First I took a Styrofoam ball, a hot glue gun, and some red embroidery floss.

I wrapped the floss around the ball, using the hot glue gun only at the beginning and end of the string.

After that my daughter decorated the balls using ribbon which she attached with straight pins, and glittery string which we "sewed" in and out of the ball using a large needle at an angle.

Finally we attached an ornament hanger at a spot where the ribbon was very secure.

We got this idea from the Expedition Earth curriculum at Confessions of a Homeschooler.

My son also used the preschool ideas for Christmas from her site this week. He really enjoyed them! Here is a picture of his ornaments with clothespins on them:

You can find all of this curriculum at <a href="http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com"><img alt="coahbutton" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4539688748_8098ff340c_o.png" width="150" height="150" /></a>

Another thing we did this week was make candy. We do it every year, but we didn't make nearly as much this year as we did last year. This year we made peanut butter fudge, regular fudge, cherry mash, and molded chocolate. Here are pictures from the peanut butter fudge:

You can find the recipe we used here: Easiest Peanut Butter Fudge

Here is a picture of the cherry mash

We used the recipe on the back of the bag of cherry chips, so I don't have that one for you.

Anyways, I have more stuff from our Christmas week to post tomorrow. I know I am super behind, but I still want to share all of the fun stuff we did and I have some adorable pictures coming up that I can't not post! I hope everyone had as great a Christmas as we did!