Day 205 - Leftover Pork Shu Mai

Pork Shu Mai on Spinach, Teriyaki Ginger Dressing, Orange Slices, Dark Chocolate

 
Can you believe that this is my last week of lunches before meeting the one year mark?  One year, four lunches a week, 208 lunches total - crazy!

So, starting out this week, I've got some leftover pork Shu Mai from Sunday night take out!  I put them on a bed of spinach with a teriyaki ginger dressing on the side, orange slices, and two little dark chocolates!  I ate the shu mai cold, and it was so good! Pin It Now!

Days 201 & 202 - One Ingredient, Two Lunches - Trader Joe's Style!

Salad and Stir Fry, both made with mixed Asian Vegetables from Trader Joe's.

I went a little crazy at Trader Joe's this weekend.  I do that, from time to time.  It's far enough away from me that I don't get weekly groceries there, so I tend to just buy large quantities of wine and frozen food at once. 

For the next two lunches, I took advantage of the produce section!  They apparently sell a pound of mix, pre-cut Asian Vegetables in the produce section - red and green bell pepper, red onion, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, watercress, and pickled corn.  So, what did I do?  Bought it, and used it for lots of meals this week, inlcuding two lunches! 

The first lunch is a tasty, French inspired salad with mixed greens, bell pepper, mushrooms, corn, broccoli, and carrots with a tangy honey mustard dressing that I made at home, along with a leftover dinner roll.

The second lunch is Trader Joe's Mandarin Chicken, amped up with all of the delicious veggies, over jasmine rice with orange sections and broccoli from the veggie mix.

And I still have some vegetables leftover - I'm going to use the peppers and onions in a pasta later this week (unlikely to show up for lunch), and then just snack on the carrots for the rest of the week! Pin It Now!

Day 165 - Takeout Dumplings

Leftover dumplings, soy sauce, honeydew melon, dried pineapple, yogurt covered raisins.

I had leftover dumplings from takeout last night, so guess what I had for lunch today!  You guessed it, dumplings!  They were so good...little bits of shrimp and pork and vegetables and happiness!  I added in some honeydew melon, dried pineapple, and yogurt covered raisins, and I was one happy lunch-eater.

I promise to be more creative later in the week.  But today is Monday, and I'm proud of myself for even packing a lunch to begin with. :) Pin It Now!

Day 138 - Takeout Leftovers

Kung Pao Chicken and Vegetables, Clementine, Fortune Cookie.

Laziest lunch ever.  I had Chinese takeout last night, so for lunch today I had leftover Kung Pao chicken and vegetables, with a clementine and a leftover fortune cookie. 

Yay! Cookies! Pin It Now!

Day 114 - Wholesome and Easy Stir Fry

Veggie and Chicken Stir Fry with Ambrosia Sauce over Brown Rice, Luna Bar.

 My wonderful friend K over at Il Faut Bien Que Tout Le Monde Mange! gave me some delicious homemade goodies for Christmas this year, which I'm just now getting around to using.  She handed me a bag full of mason jars with delicious sauces, which she is great at creating while I'm only so-so.  One of them was labeled "Ambrosia Sauce," which she said was "like teriyaki."  Yeah, teriyaki wishes it was this good!  I've never heard of Ambrosia sauce, but after a quick Google quest I found that it's a thing...a very delicious thing.  I'm not sure what recipe K used, but it was delicious!  While I was tempted to just dip my finger in the jar and eat it as is, I decided to put it to better use and jazz up some veggies for stir fry!

I mostly threw things together from the refrigerator, but I've approximated a recipe below.  I served it over brown rice, and packed the container above for lunch with a Luna Bar.  Crunchy, wholesome, and delicious!

Wholesome and Easy Stir Fry

2 chicken breasts
1 cup Ambrosia or Teriyaki sauce (or whatever bottled sauce you like)
1 red bell pepper
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup sugar snap peas
2 T toasted sesame seeds
2 T sliced almonds, toasted
1 T minced garlic
1 t sesame oil
brown rice, for serving.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and add in almonds.  Stirring frequently, cook until just browned and fragrant; spoon almonds into a small bowl on the side and allow to cool.  Chop chicken breasts into bite sized pieces. Add oil to non-stick skillet and heat to medium high; add in chicken and allow to brown on each side.  Pour in Ambrosia sauce and bring to a simmer; continue to cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked throughout. 

While chicken is cooking, chop bell pepper into bite sized pieces.  Add pepper, broccoli, and peas to a microwave safe bowl.  Add about 1/4 cup water to bowl and cover partially with lid or cling wrap.  Microwave on high for 2-4 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp tender.  Once chicken is cooked, add in steamed vegetables, sesame seeds, and almonds.  Toss well and continue to cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Serve hot over brown rice. Pin It Now!

Day 85 - Borrowing from Whole Foods

Whole Foods roasted chicken, sesame noodles, edamame, and clementine wedges.

Who didn't have energy to cook last night?  This girl!  So, I just went and got this from Whole Foods.  I don't  usually shop there, but their hot bar and salad bar are to die for...and if you go before 5:30, it's a dollar off!

I got some roasted chicken, sesame noodles, edamame, and clementine wedges. All for about $6, and super quick.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all I even asked out of lunch for today! Pin It Now!

Day 81 - Peanut Stir Fry

Peanut Stir Fry with Jasmine Rice.

Had dinner with the boyfriend last night, and he made peanut stir fry.  Even better, he made enough so that I had leftovers for lunch!  Doesn't make a pretty picture, but it's so good.  It included chicken, red bell pepper, snow peas, and broccoli with a spicy peanut sauce over jasmine rice.  He used Bangkok Panang Peanut Sauce, which is one of my favorites.

In short, I recommend the sauce.  Almost as much as I recommend having someone  else cook for you! Pin It Now!

Day 42 - Fried Rice Leftovers

Leftover fried rice, edamame, mandarin oranges

 
I had Asian delivery last night.  I don't usually order delivery because it's so expensive, but sometimes I just can't resist.  Sometimes, you just need to sit on your couch while it rains outside and pay someone else to bring you food.  And it's awesome!

So, lunch today was leftover fried rice, along with some frozen edamame I had from last week and another orange cup.

I love lunches that take 2 minutes to pull together! Pin It Now!

Day 39 - Trader Joe's Kung Pao Chicken

TJ's Kung Pao Chicken over steamed jasmine rice, shelled edamame, mandarin oranges.

Another Trader Joe's frozen dinner.  Trader Joe's Kung Pao Chicken served over jasmine rice, with shelled edamame and a mandarin orange cup.  Yes, a fruit cup.  Like a little kid.  It was delicious.  But seriously, about the chicken...

The Kung Pao chicken is good, but not nearly as good as TJ's Mandarin chicken.  It could use a few more vegetables, too...I'd recommend adding a cup of chopped bell pepper, onion, snow peas, or something similar to add some more flavor.  Regardless, I'll be buying it again.  Like all the TJ frozen meals I've had so far, it was easy to make and good.  That's all I want out of my frozen meals. :)

It also looks better in real life than in the picture...promise! Pin It Now!

Day 37 - Asian Ginger Salad

Asian Ginger Salad

I can't really take credit for this lunch, even though I'm going to share the recipe.  The boyfriend made dinner last night, and he made this great Asian Ginger Salad.  Yeah, that's right.  He cooks and enjoys a nice entree salad.  Get in line.

All I did was enjoy it, then pack the leftovers for lunch!


Anyway, one of the things I liked about it so much was how simple it looked to throw together.  I may have stalked his ingredient list while I was cleaning up, so I'm posting on his behalf.  These were all pre-made, pick up at the store last minute kind of ingredients, which could be super convenient on a busy night.

Super easy, super delicious, super versatile.

Asian Ginger Salad

10 oz bag romaine lettuce, washed
9 oz pre-cooked grilled chicken (can be found in the freezer or meat section of the grocery store)
3 oz chow mein noodles
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup canned mandarin oranges
6 oz pre-bottled ginger dressing

Toss all ingredients together and serve immediately.  You may wish to add in the dressing slowly in order to control how "dressed" your salad becomes.  Feel free to throw in extra ingredients - edamame, bell pepper, onion, almonds, and tofu would all be delicious! Pin It Now!