Panda Bento

Do you remember my Ninja Panda from last week? I'm sharing another version of it today. :)


This version is easy to make, just fill one tier of the bento box with rice, and cut out the details using nori and cheese. :)


I layered egg soboro under the rice. There are chicken cutlets, lettuce, grapes, strawberries and miso soup in the other two tiers. :)


This bento box is great for packing bread too. I made this Ninja Panda using white and chocolate bread. :) I used the bento box to cut the bread so it fits inside.


I realized it's a little difficult to get the bread out from the box when packed this way. I did found a solution for it, simply line with some wax paper before placing in the bread, so you can easily get the bread out by lifting the wax paper. :)


And here's an even faster idea, if you have a CuteZcute cutter, just use it and cut out your sandwich. :)


Quick and easy, and not to mention adorable too. :)

Where to get same or similar items as used in today's post:

Panda Cookies

Did you notice my new blog banner? Hehe, I just updated it to Halloween bentos, because it's Halloween end of next month. I just made my first Halloween bento this year yesterday. Hopefully I will get the post drafted out soon and I can share it end of next week. Meanwhile, if you need some ideas, you can check out the Halloween bentos I made for the past two years HERE. I made quite a lot of Halloween bentos before, my boys love Halloween theme and I also enjoyed making them. Can't wait to make more this year. :)


I made these Panda cookies during the school holidays, they are cut out with a set of Panda cutters. I love this set of Panda cutters, they are very cute and can be used to cut bread too. :)


I'm sharing the Panda cookies recipe below. :)

PANDA COOKIES RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 160g Flour
• 130g Flour + 30g Cocoa Powder
• 1 egg
• 120g Butter
• 120g Sugar

Method:

1. Use hand whisk to beat butter with sugar, adding the sugar in 3 portions. Whisk till creamy.
2. Add in egg and whisk .
3. Divide the dough into half. Add 160g to one portion. Add 130g Flour and 30g Cocoa Powder to the other portion. Mix well with spatula and shape into a ball with your hands. Cling wrap the plain dough and brown dough separately.
4. Put in fridge for around 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Take out dough, roll out, cut with Panda cookie cutter and place on baking paper.
6. Bake at 160 degrees celcius for 15 minutes.

Note:

• I find it easier to stamp the panda features and then cut it out, instead of doing it the other way round. 
• If you prefer a lighter brown dough, you can decrease the amount of Cocoa powder and increase the amount of plain flour, in the same proportion. 

Where to get cutter used in today's post:

Cornell Hello Kitty Sandwich Maker

I just received this super cute Sanrio Hello Kitty Sandwich Maker from Cornell. I've shared about the Sandwich Maker on my blog last month. They were super hot and were sold out then. I've been waiting for their new shipment to arrive, so happy to finally receive the Sandwich Maker. :)


The Sandwich Maker makes a Hello Kitty imprint on the sandwich. Great for whipping up something kawaii fast. :)


This is the pretty Sandwich Maker, love the colour! It is retailing at a promotional price of $39.90, while stocks last. You can buy one at all major electronic stores. :)


The product is easy to clean, just sweep away any crumbs with a soft brush, and wipe both the interior and exterior with a damp cloth.


To use, simply preheat the Sandwich Maker until the green light indicator goes off. Place a slice of bread at the base, add in your fillings, leave some space all around. Top with another slice of bread and toast for around 3 minutes.


I filled our toast with the beef mixture used in Sloppy Joes and some shredded cheese.


Yummy, the boys and I had these for lunch yesterday. Sloppy Joes are typically serve with hamburger buns, but the fillings are great with toasted bread too. I'm sharing the recipe below. :)

SLOPPY JOES RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 300g minced beef
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can tomato purée, around 300g
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 4 hamburger buns

Method:

1. Heat oil over medium heat, add onion, green pepper, celery and garlic. Stir fry with some salt and black pepper. Cook till the vegetables are softened, around 5 minutes.
2. Add in minced beef, break up the meat and cook until it is no longer pink.
3. Stir in tomato puree, tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce. Simmer till the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
4. Taste and season with salt and black pepper, if desired. Spoon onto toasted hamburger buns and serve.

Note:

• Beef can be replaced with other meats like turkey, chicken or pork.
• Beef mixture can also be served over pasta. 

Where to get wax paper used in today's post:

Panda Bento

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the cute cutter from CuteZcute, I've shared about them many times and I've done quite a few creations using them. You can check out all my bentos made using the cutter HERE. If you like the cutter, I'm sure you will be thrilled to know that CuteZcute has just launched 3 super kawaii bento boxes.


These boxes have the cutest names too. There are 3 designs and they are called Baby Bento Buddies. The one on the left is Baby Ninja Panda and the one of the right is Baby Cool Penguin. There's another one in pink and that one is Baby Night Owl. :) These boxes are now available at BentoUSA.


The capacity are 200ml, 240ml and 240ml, from the left container to the right one. If you are transporting the bento to work or school, the soup bowl on the right can't be filled since it will be turned over to act as a lid. What you can do is to pack some snacks in a ziplock, thermos filled with soup or dry soup pack, and it can be used as a serving bowl.


They can be used as a single tier container too. For this, the bottom tier holds the food, and the top act as a lid. :) These boxes are dishwasher safe and mircowave safe (without the fitted lid).


I made panda onigiri for my boys in their new containers. :) Panda are made just using rice, nori and crabstick.


For this meal, they had honey baked wings, teriyaki salmon ( hidden under the panda onigiri), cabbage soup, grapes and strawberries. :)


I drew these before the bento boxes came, just for fun. :)

Where to get same or similar items used in today's post:

Little Red Riding Hood Bento

The bentos I'm sharing today are inspired by the Little Red Riding Hood cookie from Junko's book. I made the cookies during the School holidays, and the subsequent bentos are inspired by that.


Casa Bento has kindly sponsored a pack of lovely musical picks. I used them in my Little Red Riding Hood bento.


There are 8 picks in a set. Oops, I just realised 2 of the treble clefs and one of the quaver are facing the wrong side. -_-


A chubby looking Little Red Riding Hood who ate a little too much, lol. :P She's made from rice and nori, red portion of rice was coloured with deco furi. The wolf is made from cheese and nori.


I packed in seaweed cheese pork rolls, grapes, kiwis and strawberries.


This is the sandwich version of little red riding hood, made from strawberry jam bread and nutella. The wolf is made from nutella bread, my nutella is a little dry and can't spread on smoothly.


The bowl of oats at the back went back into the fridge, because I wanted to have overnight OIAJ for breakfast the following day. :P


These cookies are the inspiration for my bentos.


It was fun making them. I also made strawberries and panda cookies too, using the remaining dough. I will share those in subsequent posts. :)