Flat Out Pizza & Stuff

As mentioned in the previous post, this Flat Out bread is nothing but good news to me.
As stated in their slogan, it IS better than sliced bread. The one I picked up was the Multi-Grain, it's only 100 calories, and it has 8 grams of fiber, perfect for lil P.

Monkeying Around

Susan Yuen gave me another idea for lil P's snack bento. He has mentioned that he doesn't need any special "cutsie" stuff anymore but I can't help it! besides, he said he doesn't need it, doesn't mean he doesn't want it at all, right?

Snack Bento, Crab Salad, Miso Salad Dressing

The day has come! Lil P said he doesn't need anything special for his snacks anymore. I brought this bento to him and asked what he would like on top of the bran muffin, and he said "no need to put anything, i'm fine like this" and told me to leave it like this. I think this 9 year old is all grown up! No more cutsie stuff anymore! =( This snack bento contains Bran Muffin, grapes, and oreo cookies.

Nori Chicken

Nori Chicken is apparently the same as Mochiko Chicken added a strip of nori (dried seaweed). They added the strip of nori so that it would look like Kakimochi (or Arare, or Rice crackers), like this one. Don't they look alike??

Tender BBQ Ribs with OJ

Chocolate Mochi & Fish Bento

I opened up a can of evaporated milk only to drizzle on top of my jello and didn't want it to go to waste. So thanks to the evaporated milk, lil P got to try chocolate mochi!

Guri Guri - Orange Creme Sherbert

Guri Guri is a japanese term for a ice cold snack that has a consistency of sherbert and ice cream. This term was originated from the plantation days, where they were given as a treat called "goodie goodie" to the japanese workers but was pronounced "guri guri" by the workers due to their english speaking skills.

Chicken Noodle Soup, Salad Bento, and Sandwich

Mr. P is sick. For the strangest reasons, whenever he gets sick, he is 10 times worse than lil P or myself. Lil P got sick 2 weeks ago, only lasted 4-5 days, and I had a sore throat and was able to fight it off in just a few days. Mr. P on the other hand, he's been sick since Monday, and it's progressively getting worse. I think part of the reason he he isn't trying to fight it off. I tried to give him extra vitamins and zinc but maybe he just has a far worse immune system than lil P and I. (or that I take care of lil P more than him?!)

Crockpot Pull Pork

My husband LOVES the Waikaloa Hilton's Pull Pork. He can't stop raving about it when we went there on our family trip. He also said he'll "love me long time" if i could make it just as good. Yeah right! I decided to give it a try...

5 lb pork butt (aka pork shoulder...I still don't get it)

1 tbs hawaiian salt

3 tbs paprika

1 tbs brown sugar

2.5 tbs mustard (1 tbsp if dry, but i didn't have any)

3 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)

1 can of cola

1 onion (slice)

1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

1) rub the first 5 ingredients on the pork butt, marinate for at least 5 hours or overnight.

2) place sliced onions on the bottom of the crockpot.

3) place marinated pork butt on top of onion slices.

4) pour in a can of cola.

5) set crockpot on high for 5-6 hours, or until meat can be easily pulled apart by a fork.

6) remove pork and place into a big bowl, shred meat with two forks

7) discard the rest of the things in the crockpot, do a quick wipe and dump the shredded meat back inside, add your favorite bbq sauce, toss, and let it cook for another 30 min to an hour.

8) serve!!

I made a few mistakes while I was doing this recipe as I was trying to speed up the prepping 1) I didn't let the pork defrost all the way. 2) I didn't marinate for 5 hours. I really only rubbed the ingredients on and pop it into the crockpot right away *shame on me*. 3) I cooked it for only 4.5 hours. With all those mistakes, the pork ended up not fallen off the bones and I was having a very hard time shredding with my fork. I end up using my fingers to shred them. But still turned out delicious, even though I tried to speed it up. I served it with rice and salad the first night, with some pull pork nachos on the side. I still had alot of leftovers so I made pull pork sliders the next day. I packed them up last night and put them in the freezer. Will be using it to make quesadillas on a rainy day. (aka don't-wanna-cook day)

UPDATE! I just made this again and it is definitely WAY better when the pork is completely defrosted!! Woohoo!!

Salad in Fit & Fresh container

Haven't had salad in awhile. So I decided to make salad and pack it in my Fit N Fresh Lunch On the Go container. This container is pretty awesome, it actually comes with an ice pack that sits in the middle of the box so you can keep the bottom (the salad: lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, olives, soy beans, croutons) AND the top (nectarine and spinach/tomatoe/garlic bread) cool! Unfortunately I cannot show you the ice pack because I can't seem to find it in my freezer. But you can see it's fairly easy to pack even without the ice pack!

I have other Fit N Fresh products (Salad bowl, cereal bowl, 2-cup containers, chilled shaker) in my house and they all come with ice packs. I didn't realize how much of their products I have until I listed them!

The cereal bowl though, the ice pack ring gets thicker when it's frozen, so I did have some difficulties closing the lid. Most times i leave it out, or I let the ice pack ring chill a bit first before packing and putting the lid on. But it does come with a spoon that is fitted on top of the lid. how cool is that?

Overall, Fit N Fresh products are good. I have been seeing their kids line at the grocery store now. I am tempted to get them, but decided against it. Because they seem to have similarity with what I have, and I'm happy with what I have. :)

Tamale Pie

This is a very very simple yet delicious recipe. You get to bake an entree and cornbread all at once!

1 box of cornbread mix
1 can of cream of corn
1 lb of ground beef (with minced garlic and black pepper)
1/4 to 1/3 cup of Salsa (add chopped olives if you wish)
Cheese

1) Mix the cornbread mix with the cream of corn (omit cornbread mix instructions), and place it in a greased square or pie-shape baking pan, push the cornbread mixture to create a "crust" for the bottom and side of pan.
2) In a skillet, cook ground beef with minced garlic and black pepper, drain the fat.
3) Add in Salsa and chopped olives and mix with ground beef.
4) place ground beef mixture in the center of the cornbread crust, spread evenly.
5) Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until cornbread is cooked.
6) sprinkle cheese on top and cooke for another 5 minutes.
7) serve!

Grilled Pork and Fried Rice

I finally got a copy of Susan Yuen's 2nd Edition of Hawai'i's Bento Box Cookbook a few weeks ago. Although I'm not doing much bentos anymore, I am a HUGE fan of her recipes. This edition also has alot of delicious recipes, much like her first book. Her garlic sundried tomatoes butter is the bomb! She also has a good recipe of grilled pork! It was good, but it doesn't LOOK half as good as hers in her cookbook. :(


I realized i don't have a recipe for fried rice besides Kim Chee Fried Rice. So I'm going to share my recipe with you here.

1 cup of leftover cooked rice (microwaved warm)
1/4 cup of diced meat** (portuguese sausage, spam, chicken, pork, bacon, duck, etc. any meat from leftovers would work really well also)
1 egg
1/4 cup frozen veggies (peas, carrots, corn, etc)
1/4 cup diced kamaboko (optional)
1 tbp soy sauce (add more if desire)
2 tsp of sesame oil
dash of black peppers

1) In a large skillet (or wok), pan fry diced meat, push the meat to the side of the skillet. 2) Scramble the egg on the same skillet, try not to touch the meat (it's okay if you do).
3) Add in frozen veggies and toss the meat, egg, and veggies together.
4) Add in cooked rice, and continue to stir fry.
5) Add in soy sauce, and black pepper, continue to stir fry.
6) Drizzle sesame oil, continue to stir (this is where the smell comes in!!)
7) Serve!

There are many versions of fried rice. Some people add salt, some people add garlic salt, while others add oyster sauce. Fried rice variations are endless! It is best to put together using leftovers, it's a yummy transformation for leftovers! :)



**leftover beef or steak is probably not a good choice in fried rice...but I've seen it done...