Ingredients
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Bunny Sandwiches
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2 tsp softened Butter
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2 small slices whole wheat Bread
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2 slices of Ham
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1 slice sandwich Cheese
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1 Tbsp Cream Cheese
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2 Tbsp Strawberry Jam
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2 small slices white Bread
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Greens Salad
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cherry Tomatoes
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Parsley
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Sausage and Cucumber Tulips
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2–3 Cocktail Franks
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1 medium English Cucumber
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4–5 Cocktail Sticks
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Apple Bunnies
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2 cups (480 ml) cold Water
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½ tsp Salt
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1 Apples
Directions
If you take a few minutes to cut your everyday sandwich into cute shapes, as in this spring-themed bunny sandwich bento, lunch seems a whole lot more interesting.
Steps
1
Done
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Spread the softened butter on one side of each slice of the whole wheat bread. Place the ham and cheese on the whole wheat bread and put together to form a sandwich. Spread cream cheese and jam on the white bread and put together to form a sandwich. |
2
Done
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Press down lightly on each sandwich so that the fillings adhere and the sandwich won’t fall apart. |
3
Done
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Make cutouts with a cookie cutter of your choice. Here I’ve cut out bunny shapes from each sandwich. To ensure that the sandwiches won’t fall apart, skewer them with a strategically placed decorative cocktail stick (making sure that it doesn’t look like the bunny has a stake in it!). |
4
Done
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Line the bento box with the salad greens and arrange the sandwiches, tomatoes, and parsley on top. |
5
Done
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Sausage and Cucumber TulipsIf using cocktail franks, make zigzag incisions with a small, sharp knife around the middle of each frank. When you have gone all the way around, pull the halves apart carefully. If using hotdog franks, use just ½ inch (1 cm) of each end of the sausage and make similar cuts. Reserve the rest of the sausage for another dish. |
6
Done
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Put the cut sausage pieces in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil for a minute, until the “petals” of the tulip open up a little. Drain and let cool. |
7
Done
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To make the leaves, cut a cucumber in half lengthwise and remove any seeds or pith inside with the tip of a spoon. Slice the halves into 1 inch (2.5 cm) long pieces. |
8
Done
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Take one piece and cut out a deep V from one end. Cut the corners off the other end, again in a V shape. You should end up with a fat, V-shaped piece. |
9
Done
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To assemble the tulip, pierce up through the center of the V-shaped cucumber and the sausage “flower” with a cocktail stick. |
10
Done
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Apple BunniesPlace the cold water in a bowl. Add the salt or lemon juice. |
11
Done
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With a small sharp knife, cut an apple (a red-skinned one gives the most striking effect) in half, and each half into 4 wedges. |
12
Done
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Cut out the core of 1 wedge. With your knife, mark a point in the middle of the wedge on the skin side. Above this point, mark 2 points, one on each side of the apple wedge, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the end of the wedge and parallel to each other. Make a shallow V-cut connecting each of these side points to the center point. |
13
Done
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Carefully peel away the skin that is in the middle of the V-shaped incision. I find this works best if I carefully pry up the mid-point of the V first with the tip of the knife. |
14
Done
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Once this V-shaped section of skin is removed, slide the knife blade under each of the remaining points down to the mid-point mark, taking care not to cut the skin off. These will be the “ears” of the bunny. |
15
Done
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Put the cut bunny wedge into the salted or lemon water and leave until the ears curl up a bit. The water will also prevent the apple from turning brown. |
16
Done
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Repeat for as many apple bunnies as you want to make. |