Princess Crown Stuffed Peppers

I have to first mention that my first daughter is the epitome of girly-girl.  She loves everything pink and sparkly and having to do with princesses or fairies.  Now that you have this important background information, I can tell you about the success of this meal.  

I was making turkey and veggie stuffed peppers tonight and was wondering how I could make it more kid friendly.  Frankly, there isn't a cute, small pepper that you can use to reduce portion size and still make the presentation look spectacular (well, there are small peppers...they just happen to be rather spicy).  So while I was chopping off the tops of the peppers to take out the insides, I was hit with a lightbulb moment!  I must somehow use this "crown" part (b/c I would hate to just throw a perfectly good portion of this pepper away) as part of the kids' meals!  Well, when I took the top off, I was left with a donut shape (a whole where the stem had been), which I placed on a cookie sheet and piled the "stuffing" right into the center.  When I gave this to my daughter, she asked me what it was and I told her it was a "stuffed pepper crown!"  Needless to say, the name alone sold her.  Anything that has to do with crowns is a home run in her book...and who's to say that this top part of the pepper isn't called a crown?  :)   

Here's the recipe that I based this meal off of.  I made some changes as I always do.  I used Italian style ground turkey for some extra flavor, but then backed off of the Italian seasoning later on.  I also used some sort of flavored diced tomato only b/c it's what I had on hand. The recipe is chock-full of veggies and color...definitely give it a try!  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffed-Peppers-with-Turkey-and-Vegetables/Detail.aspx

Crown Stuffed Peppers - turkey and veggie stuffed peppers, yogurt, bananas   

Rachael Ray the Bento Way! - Grilled Eggplant Roll-ups

I'm trying to introduce lots of new foods to my kids, and eggplant is something we don't eat often.  Other than eggplant parm, I really don't know what to do with it.  So I decided to give this recipe a try, and I am sooooo glad I did!!!  It was delicious and really easy.  My kids were really excited to eat it (partially because both of them thought it smelled like pasta, and I was not going to tell them that they were wrong as long as they were going to eat it!).  Basically, I followed the recipe as is for the adults, but made the following changes for the kids: left out the spicy ham and used regular spaghetti sauce out of a jar instead of the homemade one (because I was worried about it being spicy as well).  They LOVED it!  Oh, and you'll see a candy bar in one of the plate compartments because Grampa was visiting and he brought it for them...they were pretty excited to eat that special treat as well.  :)  Here's the link for the recipe. Give it a try...it won't disappoint! http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/grilled-eggplant-roll-ups/#

Grilled Eggplant Roll-ups Bento - grilled eggplant roll-up, spinach strawberry salad, candy bar

Ode to Pancake Week

Okay, so this week hasn't been so healthy due to National Pancake Week.  And in no way can I claim this as bento.  But it IS National Nutrition Month, and with that said, I am trying to focus on serving food with different colors (which is sort of bento...each meal having 5 colors).  Serving food that represents lots of different colors makes for a healthier meal.  Sooooo...here it goes.   Red strawberries, check.  Green spinach, check.  Yellow eggs, check.  Orange carrots, check.  Brown, um, chocolate?  Sure, that works, right?!  :)  Well, regardless, BOTH of my dear daughters cleaned their plate...I know, I know...not hard to do when serving chocolate and banana pancakes.  But they even loved the omelet! Oh, and if you want the recipe for the "Chunky Monkey Pancakes" (chocolate chips, bananas, and pecans), you can find it here.   http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chunky-Monkey-Pancakes/Detail.aspx  They are to die for!

Chunky Monkey "Bento" - chunky monkey pancakes, strawberries, omelet (with spinach, carrot, mushroom, sausage, and cheese)