M Bento

"And now we return to our regular scheduled bento-ing..." It's been a while since I've posted any alphabentos on the blog. There's been quite a few wonderfully delicious interruptions. First, there was the Olympic Torch and the Olympic Rings - Take a Guess, followed by the Olympic Rings Reveal. Also wedged into February was Valentine's Day. Lastly, I followed up with some Olympic sports - Ice Hockey, Curling, Figure Skating and Snowboarding. What a busy few weeks!

So for now, I'm back to posting about what I call "alphabentos". In case you're new here (please tell your friends about my blog!!), I am working my way through the alphabet, making a bento lunch for each of the 26 letters. Here's how I began bento-ing. I hope to be an inspiration to you! You too can create a fun, delicious & nutritious lunch. Okay, enough about that. Moving on to the Letter M lunch.

The previous night, I whipped up Meatloaf and Mashed potatoes for dinner. After serving up the portions for my family, I reserved enough food for the next day's bento lunches. Then - and only then - did I allow seconds. I mean, I make a terrific family-recipe meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and my growing-like-weeds-kids know it. If I don't reserve some food for the next day's lunches, there might not be any leftovers!

Rolling up slices of Muenster cheese, I tucked these orange-rimmed "cigars" into a corner by the meatloaf.

On the second tier of the M bento, I placed Mandarin oranges and Melon into a silicone cup; this keeps the fruit juices from soggifying (yup, I just made up a word) the Mushrooms next door.

Lastly, for dessert, I added a silicone cup of Monkey bread, which is basically cinnamon-sugar, pull-apart bread. For sake of ease, I used a store-bought monkey bread from the freezer section; honestly, it was just alright, but it did the trick. I see that Pillsbury has its own Monkey Bread recipe. Click on the link, and you will be salivating in seconds. I sure wish I had used that recipe! Oh well, next time.

So if you decide to make your own alphabento, I'd sure love to know about it! Look for a more comprehensive list of M foods to be posted later this week. Maybe your first alphabento could be the Letter M!