#11 Stir-fry Bento

Bottom Tier: Vegetarian stir-fry
Top Tier: Three quarters of a blood orange, cherry tomatoes, roasted almonds, chocolate square

This stir-fry recipe starts with the pan-fried tofu recipe from Bento #9, and then...
Cook whatever rice you like. When the tofu is almost done (about 5-10 minutes left), toss in some veggies, in the order that you want them from most to least cooked. For example, this time I first put in some carrot slices, waited a couple of minutes, then added some finely diced garlic and fresh ginger for a few minutes, and finally put in some purple cabbage and haricots verts for a few minutes. When all that stuff is done, put the cooked rice into the pan, add some cooking oil and soy sauce, and mix everything up. Then, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover, and leave it for about 5-10 minutes. Then eat it!
If I start out with a pound of tofu, and a cup or 2 of rice, I'll end up with enough stir-fry for about 3-4 meals, and I never get sick of it. This is one of those dishes that inexplicably gets better when you reheat it.

#10 Mozzarella Bento

Top Tier: Tomato and mozzarella salad
Bottom Tier: Brocolli, the ever-present strawberries, raspberries, a chocolate square.

Salad recipe:
Get some vine-ripened tomatoes, and some good mozzarella (the kind in its own liquid). Cube both and toss in a bowl. Add a couple Tbsp. of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper, and either fresh or dry Italian herbs of your choice. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Yum

#9 Tofu and Couscous Bento

Bottom Tier: Tri-color couscous with pan-fried tofu cubes, with soy sauce and curry powder.
Bottom Tier: Laughing Cow Cheddar, broccoli, baby carrots, strawberries, and a chocolate square hiding underneath.

I love tofu, and this is my favorite way to cook it:
Get either firm or extra firm tofu. Cut it into cubes (or buy the cubed version). Drop the cubes into a pan (I prefer cast-iron for this) on medium heat, and add a splash of soy sauce, plus whatever spices you like. I currently prefer a a mild yellow curry powder, and some fresh-ground pepper. Cover the pan, wait around 7 minutes, and check on the tofu. It will have shrunk slightly from the water evaporation, and the sides should be starting to get brown. Stir and continue frying until its done to your satisfaction. Throw it on top of some rice or pasta or whatever, add another bit of soy sauce, and you're done!
I also sometimes like to add various veggies to this to make different sorts of stir-fries.

#8 Wonton Bento

Bottom Tier: Pan-fried wontons with crab filling
Top Tier: Laughing Cow Gouda cheese, baby carrots, blueberries, strawberries, 2 Dove dark chocolate squares.

I bought the wonton wrappers in my local Publix, in the refrigerated section, and made the filling myself:
Put some cream cheese in a bowl and microwave for about 20 seconds to soften. Stir in your favorite spices (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and an Italian seasoning mix. Chop up some crab legs (or, if you're cheap like me, some imitation crab meat), and mix it in. I went pretty heavy on the crab to cream cheese ratio, but you can mix it to taste. Put about a teaspoon of filling into the center of each wrapper, and moisten the edges with some water. Fold and press together. Pan fry on each side.
Note- Make sure you don't overfill the wrappers, because then you might get leakage, and also the wonton won't lay flat on the pan, and it won't all cook.
Another note- Next time I'm planning on making a sweet version with cinnamon and sugar, and possibly apples. Or berries? Or craisins? The possibilities are mostly endless at this point.

#7 Salad Bento

Bottom Tier: Broccoli slaw with Asian ginger dressing underneath
Top Tier: Pistachio, almond and cashew mix, garlic cheddar cubes, baby carrots, papaya spears

#5 Sick Bento

Bowl: Home-made chicken soup with a drumstick, topped with fresh dill
Box: Garlic-flavored bagel crisps, strawberries, raspberries, chocolate-covered raspberry sticks

I was feeling really sick, but had to go into work anyway, so I made this soup that my mom used to make me when I was sick:
Put some chicken in a pot (I like dark meat, because it makes a more flavorful soup). Cover completely with water. Bring to a boil. This will make the meat release a foam that will float up to the top, which you can then remove with a spoon. Add some salt, some cut carrots, and a parsnip (you're also supposed to also add one whole onion, but I hate onions, so I don't). Turn the burner down to medium low, cover, and simmer for at least 1.5 hours. The more you cook it after this point, the stronger the tasty goodness will be, but I can only wait so long. Add your favorite pasta, rice, or in this particular case, farina, and allow to cook for however long said carb is supposed to cook. Top with some chopped fresh dill, and feel better!

Another note about this bento:
Since I had to use the bowl for the soup, I used one tier (and a lid) of one of my boxes for the other things.

#4 Sushi Bento!

Top Tier: Imitation crab stick, avocado, carrot, and cream cheese sushi roll
Bottom Tier: Sliced strawberries and raspberries

Yum!