Homegrown Lettuce in Recycled Milk Jugs

Last week, on my Letter R lunch post, I told you that I picked homegrown lettuce from our milk jug garden on our back deck. Today, I want to show you how to do it. It's pretty easy, and your kids will love watching the seeds sprout and grow. Plus, you can't beat the freshness and delicious taste!

Here's what you will need:
Several empty, rinsed-out milk jugs - I saved mine for a few weeks before this project.
An exacto knife.
Seeds - lettuce, spinach, salad-y type stuff.
Dirt - I used a potting soil mix.
Small shovel.

First step, turn the milk jug on its side, with the handle facing down. Using the exacto knife, an adult should cut off the side, which is now the top, since you laid the milk jug down. (Please know that I was careful, even though the pictures don't necessarily illustrate that. It is very hard to cut and take pictures at the same time!)

This is what it should look like when you are finished. Not professional nor perfect nor Pinterest-worthy, but it gets the job done. Ya know?

The next step is VERY important. Turn the milk jug upside down, and poke holes or X's in the bottom. This allows excess water to drain, preventing a build up of mildew within your container. Eww, we don't want that.

Now, flip your milk jug back over, and fill with dirt or potting soil. Kids will love to help with this step!

And the kids' most important job: adding the seeds, and covering them with dirt.

Give your newly planted seeds a shower. I mean it: really drench the container.

In a few weeks, your homegrown, milk-jug lettuce will be ready to be picked for a dinnertime side salad. Can't get much fresher than that!

Try it out at home, and send me pics of your gardening prowess!

"Thank you" on Memorial Day

To those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom - thank you.

To their families who lost a loved one - my sincerest condolences and my deepest gratitude.

From those who fought in the Revolutionary War to gain our country's independence, to those who have fought to protect our freedom ever since - thank you.

We are the land of the free, because of the brave.

Letter R Alphabento: How-To

Today, I will demonstrate step-by-step directions on how to recreate this Letter R Bento.

Here are the ingredients that I used: Ritz crackers, Ranch dressing, Romaine lettuce, Red bell peppers, Roast beef deli slices, Radishes and Red Raspberries.

These are the non-food items that I used: two-tiered bento boxes, circular silicone baking cups, mini silicone baking cups and condiment containers.

Thirst, place romaine leaves in the bottom of both tiers of the bento box. Then add two silicone cups to the top tier.

In one of the silicone cups, add a handful of raspberries.

Next, roast beef roll-ups. Fold each roast beef slice in half, and then in half again, creating a long strip of roast beef. Beginning at one end, roll up the roast beef; it's similar to rolling up a cinnamon bun. Place roll-ups into the bottom portion of the bento.

Add the red bell pepper strips, wedging them into place next to the roast beef roll-ups.

The Ritz crackers go into the other silicone cup in the top tier. Make sure to not overfill the cup with crackers; you don't want to make cracker crumbs when you put the lid on!

Add a condiment container full of Ranch dressing, as a dip for the veggies.

Lasty, throw in a few radish roses, or keep it simple with sliced radishes. (Note: I meant to put the radish roses into the mini silicone cup; however, they didn't fit well, which is why you see it in previous pictures, but not in the end product.)

What type of R Bento will you create?

List of R Foods

The letter R has SO many foods associated with it. If you haven't made a "Letter Lunch" yet, try it with this one. Pick one food from each group. Put it together, and presto! Your very own R lunch!

Breads/Grains:
Ramen
Rice
Rice cake
Rice-A-Roni
Rigatoni
Ritz crackers
Rolls
Rye bread

Dairy:
Ranch dressing
Ricotta cheese

Desserts:
Reese's pieces

Fruits:
Raisins
Rambutan (red, spiny exterior with sweet and sour taste)
Raspberries

Meats/Protein:
Rabbit
Rasher (thin slice of bacon)
Ribeye steak
Roast beef
Roe

Vegetables:
Radicchio
Radish
Ragu sauce
Ratatouille (stewed vegetables)
Red bell pepper
Red potatoes
Rhubarb
Romaine
Rutubaga

Combos:
Raisin Bran cereal
Ravioli
Reuben sandwich
Risotto

Letter R Alphabento

Back to Alphabet Bento Lunches again, or what I coined as "Alphabentos"!
This week is the Letter R.

Plump, juicy Red Raspberries fill a silicone cup in the top layer of the two-tiered bento. Ritz crackers are tucked into another silicone cup. In between those two baking cups, a small condiment container of Ranch dressing, a dip for the veggies, is securely snuggled.

Romaine lettuce is tucked into each bento layer as the background, complimenting the other foods with a pop of bright green. Bonus: we grew these romaine leaves in our milk jug garden on the back deck. I'll post about that another time.

Rolled Roast beef slices and strips of Red bell pepper make up the majority of the second bento layer, while Radish roses comprise the remaining space.

Come back to visit on Wednesday, and I will give you a list of other foods beginning with the Letter R. And then, return on Thursday for step-by-step directions on how I crafted this particular Letter R bento.

Sandwich Cutter and Stamp Kit

Just this morning, I made a fantastic discovery! These awesome items are like cookie cutters, BUT you can also make an impression onto your sandwich bread. This could revolutionize the cuteness of my sandwich-making! These wonderful things are called "sandwich cutter and stamp kits".

This cutter-and-stamp kit includes a panda bear, a piggy, a frog and a kitty cat.

This kit consists of an elephant, a lion, a bunny and a bear. So stinking cute!

A teddy bear, a flower and a bunny rabbit. I love how stamping defines the sandwich. It's not just the outline of a bunny; there's a cute face on the sandwich as well.

My son would go nuts over this set of 4 vehicles - a VW bug, a bus, an airplane and a boat.

This cutter-and-stamp set is a tad bit different. There are 3 shapes from which to choose; cut your sandwich into a star, circle or flower shape. Then stamp your sandwich with one of three animal faces - bunny, bear or frog. Adorable.

Do you have a dino lover in your household? This set of 3 dinosaurs would be perfect to assist you in making the 'best dinosaur lunch ever'!

Star Wars lovers ... look no further! This set includes Yoda, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and a Storm Trooper.

Oh wait, Star Wars fans! Here's another set, which includes Rebel and Imperial starships as well as the Death Star. How much fun would a kid have playing with his sandwich starships at lunchtime?!

Classic sandwich cutter-and-stamp kit featuring a boy and a girl.

Lastly, a mustache cutter-and-stamp kit Come on! I live in the PNW (Pacific Northwest); there are tons of hipsters with mustaches up here. I couldn't NOT include this one! I mean, how awesome is this! These mustaches would make lunchtime hilariously fun, whether the lunch recipient is a child, an adult or even YOU!

Lorax Bento

Today, I want to introduce you to one of my personal favorites. I made this lunch a while ago, right after "The Lorax" came out on RedBox. (So thankful for RedBox, since that is how our family views most "new movies". Cheap family date in the comfort of our own home.)

To create the Lorax, I used an oval-shaped cookie cutter to cut slices of bread and a slice of cheddar cheese. Then, I simply made a ham sandwich, topped with the oval-shaped cheddar slice. I hand-cut the Lorax's mustache and bushy eyebrows out of yellow American cheese.  Small circles of ham became the Lorax's eyes and mouth. With a few dots of black decorative gel, the Lorax came to life.

Crisp, green celery sticks represent the grassy hills on which the Truffala trees grew. To craft the Truffula trees, I used pretzel sticks, thin slices of deli ham, and yellow American cheese.  This part was super easy. I simply used cookie cutters to cut various sized circles out of the ham and cheese. Next, I layered them on the "grassy hills", added a pretzel stick to each to symbolize the trunk, and voila ... tasty Truffula trees!

I added a few finishing touches of blue corn chips for the sky, a yellow container of salsa (in my husband's lunch) for the sun, and goldfish to represent the Humming-fish.

As you can see, I made three different lunches - one for my husband and for each of our 2 kids. This just goes to show you that it is possible to make a creative lunch, no matter what size or type of lunchbox you have.

Condiment Containers

The word "condiment" is described as something, usually a sauce, that is added to food in order to flavor or enhance the food. Usually, when we think of condiments, we probably think of ketchup and mustard. However, when packing a lunch, the condiment category expands dramatically. You can pack extra BBQ sauce for a pulled pork sandwich. Perhaps tartar sauce for fish sticks. Some mayo for a deli meat sandwich. Salad dressing for a salad. Or my kids' favorite - ranch dressing in which to dip their veggies.

Technically, you could use almost any container to pack a condiment for lunch. However, there some things of which to be aware.
(1) Not all containers are leak-proof. Liquidy salad dressings might leak, so you might want to pack them in a securely sealed container, like the ones that Rubbermaid or Tupperware produces.
(2) Not all sauces are packable. Like I stated before, liquidy is probably not the best. Thicker sauces pack well, like mayo, creamy salad dressings, BBQ sauce, ketchup and mustard. You get the idea.
(3) Some containers are harder to open than others. Tupperware had this great, tiny version of a lunch container. Only problem? Even I, as the adult, had a hard time opening it. Which meant that it would be super difficult, if not messy, for my kids at lunchtime.

Keep these things in mind; let's look at some condiment containers.

Flip-top containers featuring adorable bunnies and panda bears.

Snoopy-themed, anyone? How can you resist?

If your girl is into Hello Kitty, here are the perfect condiment containers for her!

Some basic condiment cups, in primary colors.

Leak-resistant sauce containers by Easy Lunchboxes. Quite a few containers for your money!

I own these. So cute.

I also own these. Very versatile.

These condiment cups are made from hard plastic, with a silicone twist top.

In conclusion, even if you make a pbj sandwich with veggies on the side, pack a condiment container full of ranch dressing for the veggies. You are sure to put a smile on the face of your lunch recipient.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, albeit a tad bit early!
(Don't forget! Mother's Day is THIS Sunday! Do a something thoughtful for your momma.)

In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to convey the special bond between a mother and child. While pondering HOW to describe that bond within a boxed lunch, my eyes came across a card that my mom-in-love enabled my kids to purchase for me.

Granted, my kids bought this card for me for a whole different reason ... on April Fool's Day, I discovered a live bird in my house and freaked out! The kids decided to prank me by putting this card (with birds on it) in my bed, so that I would freak out again. What can I say ... they are 5 & 8, and new to this "April Fools" pranking thing.)

Anyways, this card features a sweet momma bird caring for her two baby birds. 'Bingo', I thought! Therefore, "Mother's Day Bento" birdie-style. (I completely forgot to take pictures of me making the lunch, so you'll have to make do with my commentary.)

First, I boiled spaghetti noodles, mixing whole wheat noodles with regular to give a textured look. Once the noodles are cooked and cooled, I stirred in a tiny bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking to each other. In the bottom half of the bento box (which is a Lock & Lock container), I formed a "nest" of noodles.

Next, I created the "leafy tree" of baby spinach above the nest. A pretzel rod forms the branch on which the momma bird sits.

The "birds" are made from baguette and Brie cheese. Cutting the baguette into thin slices, I chose both a large piece and a small end piece to create my birds. To form the beak, I sliced a carrot and cut a V-shape from that slice. Creating the wing was a bit more pretentious; I used kitchen shears to cut a heart-shape from a mini bell pepper. Spreading softened Brie cheese onto the baguette slices, I topped each slice with a carrot beak and red pepper wing. Lastly, I dotted the baguette slice with a drop of black decorating gel for the birdie's eye.

Next, I nestled the larger baguette birdie into the spinach leaves, and the baby baguette birdie into the nest of noodles. (I sent along a container of Italian dressing to mix into the noodles at lunchtime.)

To promote the "loving bond" theme, I cut melon into heart shapes, packed in a separate container to contain the juices.

Tada! A Mother's Day Bento. Not too hard. Try it for yourself. You can do it!