Wednesday: Meatball Bento

I do try to find out the types of bento that Paige would like to eat all the time. Some days she actually comes up with something I can work with. This week she wanted meatballs and bbq sauce. She was in luck! We had just purchased Trader Joe's "Gourmet" chicken meatballs with sun dried tomatoes. I used to make my own, but I don't purchase enough meat at one time anymore because 1. We are cutting back on the meat and 2. I don't have the time to make them. I will probably make a batch this summer, I do like that mine are far smaller and thus more bento friendly. My meatball recipe is pretty easy, the only thing it really takes is the time. I will post a recipe soon.

Another thing is you may be wondering "why the English cucumber?". That is because the skins are not waxed and therefore edible and they have less seeds which equals less juice. Juicy in a bento can cause chaos, rendering a lovely bento into soup by lunch time. These cucumbers are also quite nice for cucumber sandwiches which I will make at one point too.

Is this a good size picture? Should I make it larger?

Up on the top are some cooked spinach with just a little salt. Darn, I should have grated some nutmeg. The there are the meatballs and some slices of English cucumber with little grape tomatoes. On the bottom is rice with a line of bbq sauce on it because my girl likes her bbq sauce.