Chicken Enchilada Soup Bento

Chicken Enchilada Soup Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made use of the crockpot to make this one; it's great to toss everything in in the morning, and then I'm free to run in and out of the house the rest of the afternoon. The kids have the usual assortment of afterschool activities this quarter, and there's always that one day (or two) that you can barely get everyone dropped off/picked up in time. Remember when we were kids and if we wanted to join an afterschool activity we had to ride our bikes there and just make sure to get home in time for dinner? Times have sure changed!
Anyway, this one is a shortcut enchilada soup. I LOVE Mexican soups (especially posole) and this one is actually kind of healthy since it uses chicken breast meat. I found the quickie recipe at Tastingspoons. I packed this hearty serving for MisterMan (TinySprite got similar -- she loved it too!), topped with cheddar stars in his LunchBot thermal jar. I sent along an Eco Dipper holding some cara cara orange chunks, blueberries, blackberries and a grape tomato. Delish!
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Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup (from Tastingspoons)

3T butter
3T flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups lowfat milk
10 oz. enchilada sauce
15 oz. black beans
14 oz. Rotel diced tomatoes and jalapenos
10 oz. corn
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped (my addition)
2 whole boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour, continuously until smooth. Remove from heat and add broth and 1/2 cup milk, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil, cook until thickened. In a large bowl, mix together with enchilada sauce. Gradually whisk in remaining milk until smooth. Set aside.
In a crockpot, combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place the chicken breasts on top of the mixture. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker. Cover, cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
When you are ready to serve, remove chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back into the soup and mix together. Top with cheese, avocado, chopped green onions, sour cream, cilantro, or crushed tortilla chips, as you desire.

Added to What's For Lunch.

Chili Rice Panda Bowl Bento

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Chili Rice Bowl Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This was the result of my last crockpot meal: turkey chili with beans and vegetables. And this bento is MINE! I packed the two kids' lunches in their thermal jars in the morning, and didn't feel like taking the time to snap a picture. I don't know when the last time was that I made a bento for me, but I am going to start doing it more often. I used the cute panda bowl bento set, which is perfect for rice bowls. When I was a kid growing up, my favorite thing to get at Zippy's was chili rice. That's how you order it: chili rice. I loved it for a long time until someone told me you get a lot more chili if you order chili cracker instead. I can see the logic there. After all, there's only so much chili you can pour over a giant scoop of rice. So I switched to chili cracker, but I always loved chili over rice. So I made it for myself. This chili is so jam-packed with healthy stuff you practically get younger after you eat it. There's tomato, carrots, zucchini, kidney and black beans, ground turkey, onions, sweet peppers, and kale. I topped mine with grated cheddar and a sprinkling of cilantro. Really hits the spot on a brisk fall day, don't you think? And I prepared a fruit tier for myself too: fall pluots, cantaloupe balls and three raspberries. And I cleaned it all up!

Slow-Cooked Turkey Chili

1lb. ground turkey (or whatever meat you like, or you can omit this entirely)
2 cans kidney beans, black beans, white beans, or other beans of your choice
1 32-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 bunch kale, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder (or 2 tsp, if you like)
salt, pepper

Brown the meat in a skillet and drain. Add to slow cooker along with all the other ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Garnish with cheese if desired.

Added to Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love.

Kalua Pork and Cabbage Bento

Kalua Pork and Cabbage Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Kalua pork and cabbage makes up this bento. So glad I made this for the beginning of the week so that it takes care of a few meals during that slow Monday period. I also grabbed the trusty round bento to make sure everything looks good automatically. Besides the kalua pork and cabbage in one section, he gets steamed broccoli, peapods, and carrots, and an assortment of fruit (mini mandarin, giant strawberry and a few blackberries. I also added a sakura-shaped satsumaimo for the middle. That's it. You're interested in the kalua pork?

Here's how to make it: Get a piece of pork shoulder, around 3-4 pounds, poke it with the tip of a sharp knife all over, rub with 1 teaspoon of Hawaiian salt and 1.5 teaspoon of liquid smoke. Place in slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 16 hours. You might turn it at some point during cooking if you get a chance. Towards the end of cooking it'll be very tender and start to fall apart. And it'll smell realllly realllly good. Steam some cabbage and quick fry it up with some pork and drippings, and you have a delicious meal!