Tweety Bun Bento

My eldest son was unwell, so he stayed home and I only made one bento for his little brother.

I used the same recipe in my previous steamed bun post, but this time I put ham and cheese filling. For the tweety face, I used cheese, nori, and carrots.

Details as below : 

Inside the box :
1. Tweety ham and cheese bun
2. Corn on the cob
3. Hatching chick hard boiled egg (with black sesame seed and carrot)
4. Mini arancini ball (recipe here)

And he had apple cuts for recess. Yum!

Sausage Buns Bento

I'm really happy with the result of my Easter Bunny Rolls and used the same recipe for the dough, I made these sausage buns, and it tastes so delicious. Definitely addition in  my kids' favourite lists.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Sausage bun
2. Mini arancini ball (recipe here)
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Broccoli
5. Watermelon cuts for recess

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Sausage bun
2. Mini arancini ball (recipe here)
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Dried sultanas in the little blue container
5. Banana for recess

Fish Croissants and Dates Balls

 I found a recipe in Mouth of Moms website. It is a healthy sweet lunchbox treat because the sweetness comes from the fruit itself. For the dried fruit, I used dates instead apricot. Here is the recipe :

Coconut and Fruit Balls

Ingredients (makes 10 -15 balls)
3 Weet-Bix, crushed (I substituted it with half cup of oatmeal)
1/4 cup sultanas
1/4 cup apricots, finely chopped (I substituted it with dates)
1 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup condensed milk ( I substituted it with a drizzle of honey)
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Method
In a bowl, combine the oatmeal, sultanas, dates and cocoa. Add honey, mix well.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. Toss in coconut.
Store chilled in an airtight container.

notes : you can use food processor for better result.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Fish croissant (ham and cheese, croissant, nori)
2. Dates balls
3. Hatched chick (hard boiled egg, black sesame seed, and carrot)
4. Broccoli and cheese
5. Carrot sticks
6. Sausage
7. Apple for recess

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Fish croissant (ham and cheese, croissant, nori)
2. Dates balls
3. Hatched chick (hard boiled egg, black sesame seed, and carrot)
4. Carrot sticks
6. Sausage
7. Kiwi fruit for recess

Bento tools for today's post :

Banana Dolphins Bento

I saw the idea of making dolphins out of banana from Pinterest before. It's pretty interesting, so I tried to make them for the kids, and they love it!
This time I made similar bentos for my kids, each with :
1. Mini arancini balls (recipe below)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Pork Siomay and tomato ketchup
4. Sliced cheese, lettuce and julienne carrot wrapped in ham.
5. Carrot sticks
6. Banana for recess


Mini Arancini Balls Recipe

Ingredients :
4 cups vegetable stock
75 g butter
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup sliced bacon
1 cup sliced button mushroom
1 ⅓ cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
⅓ cup finely grated hard cheese
Salt and ground pepper
2 eggs
1⅓ cups dried breadcrumbs
Oil to shallow or deep fry

Method :
1. Place the stock in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil and then reduce
to simmer.
2. Heat the butter in a large, heavy based saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion softens. Then add bacon and mushroom and cook for few minutes until soften.
4. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute or until the rice appears slightly glassy.
5. Add wine and cook until it has all been absorbed.
6. Add a ladleful of the stock and stir with a wooden spoon until all liquid has been absorbed.
Repeat process until all stock has been used.
7. Cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender yet firm and the risotto is a creamy
consistency.
8. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
9. Set aside to cool for 1 hour.
10. Add egg to the mixture and stir until well combined.
11. Roll 1 tablespoon of mixture into a ball.
12. Roll in the breadcrumbs and shallow fry them until they are golden brown.

Bento tools I used for the ham :

Hatched Chicks Bento

The good thing I love about bento is that I can serve similar types of food the next day, with totally different presentations. So the kids will still be having fun every time they open the lid. There are always surprise factor and unique experience for them to enjoy their meals.

Details as below :

For my pre-primary son, I prepared :
1. Chicken and broccoli nugget (recipe in here) and tomato ketchup
2. Zucchini parmesan ball (recipe in here)
3. "Hatching chick" hard boiled egg
4. Corn on the cob with carrot "flower" and black sesame seed
5. "Crab" sausage
6. Lettuce
7. Banana for recess

For my Year 3 son, I prepared :
 1. Chicken and broccoli nuggets (recipe in here) and BBQ sauce
2. "Hatched chick" hard boiled egg
4. Corn on the cob
5. "Tulip" sausage
6. Lettuce
7. Banana for recess

Wink...Wink..

This time I tried to make a clever recipe from Stay at Home Mum. It is a good way to incorporate greens into kids meal. Here is the recipe :

Chicken Broccoli Nuggets

Ingredients:

250 grams chicken mince
1 cup broccoli
3 bacon rashes, fat trimmed
1/2 cup almond meal (I replaced it with plain flour)
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups panka breadcrumbs
1 cup grated cheese
oil for frying
Place broccoli, bacon, flour, garlic salt and chicken mince in food processor and blend until broccoli and bacon are in small pieces. You can continue to blend if you want them really camouflaged.

Lightly beat egg in small bowl, in separate bowl pour panka crumbs. Roll chicken mixture into balls then flatten slightly. Dip in egg then roll in panka crumbs and set aside on a lined baking tray. Repeat until all mix is used.

Fry pan – heat oil over high heat then reduce to medium, place 4-6 nuggets in frypan at a time turning after 1-2 minutes when golden brown. Then cook other side for a further 1-2 minutes. Remove from oil and set aside on paper towel. Repeat until all nuggets are cooked.

Deep Fryer – once oil has reached temperature (190 degrees) place 5-6 nuggets in the basket and cook for 60-90 seconds until golden brown. Remove from oil and set aside on paper towel. Repeat until all nuggets are cooked.

Details as below :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Chicken broccoli nugget with BBQ sauce
2. Zucchini and parmesan balls (recipe in here)
3. Fried chicken dumpling
4. "Winking Clown" hard boiled egg (egg, nori, carrot, and lettuce)
5. Carrot sticks
6. Sausages
7. Watermelon cuts for recess

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Chicken broccoli nugget with tomato ketchup
2. Zucchini and parmesan balls
3. Fried chicken dumpling
4. "Winking Clown" hard boiled egg (egg, nori, carrot, and lettuce)
5. Carrot sticks
6. Sausages
7. Green grapes for recess

Bento tools I used for today's post :

My Singing Monsters

There is one Android game called "My Singing Monsters" that my kids love so much. It has super cute monsters that really can sing in harmony. In spite of more than 30 cute monsters in that game, I only featured two of them, called Furcorn and Toe Jammer.

I also made Zucchini and Parmesan Balls that taste fantastic!. Here is the recipe :

Zucchini and Parmesan Balls
source Stay at Home Mum

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis, grated
125 grams pickled onion cheese or any strong crumbly cheese
1/2 cup flour
2 pcs rashes bacon
1 egg
20 grams parmesan cheese, finely grated
50 grams parmesan cheese, for coating
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup oil, for frying

Method :
* Mix grated zucchinis, pickled onion cheese, flour, egg and parmesan cheese together until just combined. They will be quiet moist this is ok, it’s perfect for the crumbs and keeps them nice and moist while cooking.

* Place breadcrumbs and extra parmesan cheese in a bowl. Spoon a small tablespoon of mix and drop into crumb mix, toss and coat well. Set aside on baking paper.

* Heat oil in small wok and cook in batches over a high heat. They will only take about a minute each side to cook and be golden brown. Drain on paper towel. If you have a deep fryer you can always use this on 190 oC.

Recipe Hints and Tips:
Zucchini and Parmesan Balls are suitable for freezing for up to 6 months. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

Details as below :

For my Year 3 son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese scroll with Furcorn on top (eggsheet, nori, crabstick, breadcrust)
2. Zucchini and Parmesan Balls
3. Broccoli
4. Halves hard boiled egg with salt and pepper
5. Milk jelly with nata de coco
6. Rockmelon cuts for recess

For my Pre-primary son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese scroll with Toe Jammer on top (eggsheet, crabstick, nori)
2. Zucchini and Parmesan Balls
3. Carrot sticks
4. Hard boiled egg with nori
5. Milk jelly with nata de coco
6. Banana for recess

Bento tools I used for this post :