The Salad Box!

I shared this over on The Beans Blog just now

but I'm so excited about it that I decided I'd post it here too!

I am so excited about this!  I've only been doing it just over two weeks but I LOVE IT!  It makes healthy lunches so much easier!  Originally, I saw the idea over on Khrista's blog.  I thought it was a great idea but didn't have the containers or the motivation to go find them.  When Shay was visiting, we were talking about a similar idea and I was reminded of the salad box.  That same day we were in the grocery store and there were some tupperware containers on sale that I thought might be perfect.  I bought them, came home and assembled the box and haven't looked back.  It is so great!  I'm not kidding, there have been days where I haven't menu planned and I'm like, what will we have for dinner and just can't come up with anything ... we have salad!

I add some beans or some chicken and it becomes a meal!  And lunches, on nights that we decided to eat out or just don't have leftovers for the next day, we have salad!  It's perfect.  It's all cut up and ready to go and it literally takes me less than 5 minutes to make a beautiful salad!  

My salad box consists of two large containers filled a bunch of smaller ones, and a box for greens ...  It isn't always full, as you can see in the photo above.  I fill it full every time I do a big shop and then it sort of lives in various stages of fullness which I like because it means our salads are varied.  Here's a closer look at what's inside it ...

Tomatoes (mostly out of our garden!), cucumber slices, cauliflower chunks, onion slices, mushrooms slices (marinating in olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder and an Italian blend herb mix).  Radishes (in water so they don't dry out).  Salad ... washed and in a separate container.  I often have a can of beans sitting in one of those tall containers ... but I had just finished one when I was taking the photos and I try not to open one until I'm ready to use it, to preserve its life in the box! 

Capsicum (Red Bell Pepper) almost gone, Avocado, Nuts, Seeds, Leftover Funky Lime pizza garlic, the end of a jar of black olives, and some dressing ...

The dressing is great!  I love having it packaged up all ready to go.  Once the salad (specifically for lunches) is ready, I just pop in one of the dressings and it's done!  Seriously, it's fast food ... only you can't get much healthier!

It has its own section in the fridge. So far, I haven't had any trouble with it taking up too much space.  Most of the things last us through the week, some things less, some things more.  We are wasting much less produce since we've started the salad box.  Probably because stuff doesn't get left at the bottom of the crisper drawer!  I look at all of it every day and use it up!

It's not just great for salad either!  We used it to make stir fry the other night and then last night we used it to make omelets!  It was awesome!  EVERYTHING WAS ALREADY CUT UP!!  I'm serious, I love the salad box!

Burger Favorites

It's Friday !  You know what that means ?!  Time to share some of my favorites !  So far we've done Crock Pot Favorites and Freezer Favorites.  This week ... BURGER FAVORITES !  Do you make burgers at home ?  Oh ... you should !  It's not hard ... I have a great burger meat recipe for you !  You are going to love it !! 

We found this website a while back called The Cheese and Burger Society.  It is an amazing site.  No recipes, just ingredient ideas.  So ... what I'm linking here is based on that, but with recipes we have found or made up (but using The Cheese and Burger Society names)

PS ... make sure that when you go to The Cheese and Burger Society site you have your speakers on !  The narrator is HILARIOUS !  It's worth visiting just to hear his descriptions of the burgers !

The Boss

The Camelot

The Havana and The Aunt Millie

The Lumberjack

The Roadhouse

The Bohemian

The Pioneer

Eggplant Burger
(not a Cheese and Burger society one)

Meat for Burgers 
The burger pictured here is our absolute favorite and it is a
cross between the Bohemian and the Pioneers !  YUM YUM YUM !!!

**

These are all linked to recipes on my food blog ... aka The Beans Blog ...

Freezer Favorites

What are your favorite recipes that freeze well ? I'd love for you to leave me a link in the comments section so I can try them out !! Here's a few of mine ....

I freeze these in dinner size portions but also in lunch size portions so that they are easy to pull out the night before for lunch the next day !

Mom's Banana Bread

Spinach and Tofu Lasagna

Mom's Lasagna

Black Bean Chili Soup

Spring Rolls

Mangos !



BBQ Meatballs

Ellie's Meatballs


Spaghetti Bolognaise

So there you have it ... my favorite recipes that freeze well. Do share if you have some of your own ... Next Friday may be favorite pizza recipes ... or maybe favorite burger recipes ... or maybe soups ? I don't know ... any requests ?

Crock Pot Favorites

I just finished sharing a six part series on what I recently had opportunity to share with some ladies at a ladies retreat. In one of the posts, I mentioned crock pot recipes and asked if anyone wanted me to post them. I had a a few positive responses so here you go ...

Some of my most favorite crock pot recipes :

Greek Lamb with Spinach and Orzo



Crock Pot Chicken Salad

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Mom's Hot Apple Cider

Crock Pot Steak Fajitas

Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Mexican Chicken

Home Made Sugar Free Apple Sauce

There are more crock pot recipes on my blog if you are interested.

Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe ?? Why not share a link in the comments .... ?

**

Up next ... my most favorite recipes that freeze well. This one will come on Friday.
I think I'm going to start a FAVORITES on FRIDAY post that I'll do
regularly featuring links to my favorite recipes ....

**

day 114 {pasta} 365

'twas delicious

recipe coming soon to the beans blog

follow us on facebook to see when

day 99 {streusel} 365

~ Fruits of the Forest Streusel ~

day 98 {salt} 365

i love having little pots of salt on my counter top

i have been keeping my eye out for more as i keep a few varieties of salt

i found this one the other day

and i just love it

it's like a mini le creuset

super cute

day 96 {thirty8} 365

if you follow along on facebook, you would have seen some of these photos already

wednesday the 6th was my actual birthday but because i live on a different continent to so many

family and friends, i often end up having a birthday week ... thanks to time differences

not that i mind. seriously. it's fun !

birthday week, day one started with a friend buying me a mug of hot chocolate



here's birthday week, day two ... card, cafe, chocolate con leche ... at work.


my actual birthday ...

i get to work and find this !

so much fun !

and then, while i'm there, i get a phone call from my best friend Shay

and then a facetime from my sister and her boys

and then a video arrives from Shay and her family ... signing and singing happy birthday to me

that made me cry

half way through the morning, my lovely friend Jodie poked her head into my office

(i love it when she does that)

she came bearing delicious treats ...

for lunch, the girls in my department and i hit the local sushi joint

i probably don't need to tell you that sushi is my ALL TIME favorite food

i could live on it.

three meals a day, every day, til the end of my days

if only i could afford it



after lunch, i didn't go back to work

i wandered the mall a bit, i NEVER get to do that

i went to a kitchen shop

i LOVE to do that

i went to a little lolly shop to get a Dr Pepper ( this lolly shop is the only place you can get it ! )

and while i was there, i discovered that they had (ALL NEW) candy corn

yum

i love them



when it was time to get the kids, my friend toni greeted me with a present from smiggle

i could spend a fortune in that shop

i LOVE stationary

we got totally drenched walking into the school

happy birthday to me !

and then on the walk back to the car, she and her youngest boy cam treated me to a couple

renditions of happy birthday



once we got home, i'm sitting outside, watching the kids play ...

catching up on the 123 (yep, i counted) facebook birthday greetings (!!),

when my neighbors came over with birthday cocktails

we had a lovely time chatting !

knowing that i didn't need to get dinner started because rory was coming home

to cook burgers, when offered a 2nd cocktail, i thought 'why not?'



then rory gets home and says

'would you be totally disappointed if i told you i've made a reservation for us at a restaurant ?'

ummmm ... let me think about this for a minute ?!

i still don't have to cook ?

i get to go out ?

yeah ... i'm good !

so ... the kids gave me their presents ...

we are saving to go to the states so i told rory not to buy me presents

and i told the kids too

they got quite creative, making me cards and coupons and a poster

i love their little (big!) hearts !!



here's Alia's coupons ... the yellow that you can't see on the new iPhone game ...

that says "out of my own money"

i said, 'wow, really?'

and she says 'yeah ! daddy says they only cost $1'

ha ha !




free shoulder massage ... my favorite of jono's coupons !

that is me in the picture ... and his hands.



jono drew this poster

i love it

and on the back ...



i love the bit about the giant mutated sun flower.

and then just this morning, rory was looking at the photos my dad posted of me

on his blog

and he noticed this one, it's me on my 7th birthday

(the year that my birthday fell on Easter Sunday)

and look at the poster hanging on the wall behind me ...

do you see it ?

the giant mutated sunflower ?!?!

hilarious !



this is getting pretty long but i'm just getting to the good bit !

rory got a phone call just as we were getting ready to go out, from our friend craig

he said 'we've got a present for bonnie,

would you guys swing by and pick it up on your way to dinner ?'

up until that phone call, i had NO IDEA anything suspicious might be happening

after that ... i wondered if all wasn't as it appeared !

but ... i had NO IDEA of the amazing surprise that lay in wait for me

weeks of planning, international conversations, importing of food

so ... we get to C & J's place to 'pick up the present'

and the house is all decorated

and something smells incredible ... (and very familiar)

and then there were shouts of surprise and the faces of other friends i love

rory hands me an envelope and says

'this is my present to you'

inside the envelope is this menu .........



the foods of my childhood !

and VONGOLE !

(my requested birthday dinner every year since we had lived in Italy !)

now ... this is no easy feat ... because in my little girls mind, the vongole (clams)

HAVE TO BE IN THEIR SHELL

well ... you can't get that here ...

in fact, you can't get clams here at all, unless they are in a can

so Rory IMPORTED them from New Zealand

can you believe that ?!



the food was amazing.

APPARENTLY, they had been cooking all afternoon ... I thought Rory was 'working late' !

Here's the Patatas Alioli and the Champinones Al Ajillo con pan, of course.



And then came the never ending supply of Gambas Al Ajillo ... OH YUM !!



Master Chefs in action ...



Amazing team work ...



And here's the Traditional Vongole ... with homemade fettucine ...



And the Vongole like my Mom used to make, only with a spicy Casa de Ross twist.



Do you know one thing I loved about this night ?

There were so many things I loved ... but here's just one.

I loved that I was the only known clam lover of the bunch but they still cooked this for me !

And (almost) everyone tried the clams ! Some even liked them !

All of these dishes were new to everyone besides me and Rory, and everyone tried them !

And again ... liked (and even loved) them !

I love the adventurous nature of this group of friends !

And I love that they love to celebrate life.

**

Mom ... Rory insisted that I take this photo for you ....

**

Empty shells !!



Cheesecake.

When we were little, it was tradition in our house that all birthday cakes had to be chocolate.

So ... we have gazillions of birthday pictures of us COVERED IN CHOCOLATE !

BUT, once we were old enough to request our own birthday cake preference ... mine was

ALWAYS cheesecake (with cherries on top) !

My sweet friend Donna recently learned this about me and though she had never made one

before, she baked me the most wonderful birthday cheesecake ! with berries ! oh my !



and Jodie made cupcakes

that I have yet to try

but some came home with us and I will be having one for breakfast !



I was crowned 'birthday queen' and actually wore my 'crown' for a good hour.

Not the mask though ... it was way too hot for that !



Spoiled ? Yeah ... I can't disagree.



I have an amazing, thoughtful, selfless husband,

kind, encouraging and giving children,

enthusiastic, creative and (SNEAKY!!) friends,

an extended family like none other,

friends all over the world (thanks to the Navy and now facebook !) that i love

AND

to top it all off ....



my very own website !!



I cannot wait for you all to see it !

Well ... you can sort of see it here but I've crossed off it's name (which you are going to LOVE)

because I don't want you to go there just yet.

I'll let you know when you can !

Craig and I are going to play with it a bit more first ...

by the way, Craig ... who is a music lover, not a web guru, designed this !

Look out world !

**

All in all ... this has been my best, most favorite birthday ever.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of it !

~ bon ~