For dinner I made an inside put cottage pie, which means I was too late to put the fixings in a casserole dish and in the oven so I served them separately. The filling is just burger, onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and frozen green beans. I added some chipotle but only a little for flavor or the kids veto the whole thing. Not much more for seasoning besides pepper and salt. It was pretty good and very much a comfort food. That goes with the garlic mashed potatoes which are holding the two carrot green bean flowers. In the top tier is a container of chocolate "mushrooms" and a container of raisins/dried cranberries surrounded by pretzel bites and apple cinnamon snackers (I don't remember their real name). And that's it for the week! Nissa opted for hot lunch for all of December so I'm back to single bentos for a bit. Easier or not easier, that is the question... I cannot yet answer.

So these aren't really mini bao (bun) which, if they were, would have more of a bread dough around the filling. These have a dumpling wrapper around the filling in the shape of a little bao. So they are more of a bao shaped dumpling but the girls loved them anyway. In Annie's on the left, she has some mini carrot heart garnishes, a middle tier of kiwi and raspberries, and a top tier of carrot flowers and some fresh peas. Nissa's on the left is the same ingredients but with a different layout and fewer carrots.

It's after Thanksgiving so I can use Christmas colors without guilt! Who am I kidding, I'd use them anyway. With Norby's coaching, I made my first noodle stir fry. I'm always shaky on the sauce and seasoning but it worked and it was yum! So that's what the girls get for lunch. A vegetable noodle stir fry seasoned with oyster, soy, and fish sauce as well as some rice vinegar. See, on my own I would never mix all those things but Norby helped and it was just right. On top of the stir fry and in the middle tier are pieces if kamaboko (surimi pressed into a log like shape). On top of the surimi are some fresh peas and the top tier has kiwi slices with raspberries. Christmas here we come!

It's definitely the winter holiday season. Eggnog and cranberries have arrived. Since I can't put eggnog in their lunches, I added sweetened cranberries. They've already eaten the rest silly kids. I added some regular and mini onigiri seasoned with a beef tomato furikake (a seasoning mix) and wrapped in seaweed. There's also a couple slices of bread to go with their thermoses. Annie had leftover spaghetti and Nissa had Annie's (the company not the kid) organic ravioli. Lastly, I added a container of buttered popcorn as a snack. That oughta hold 'em!