The Nightmare Before Christmas Jack and Oogie Boogie

Year 2, Week 10: The Nightmare Before Christmas Bento Lunch.  One of our favorite family things to do this time of year is to watch the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas."  We just saw it tonight and my kids are all excited over it once again.  We all agree that the best scene is when Jack Skellington goes to Christmas town for the first time and sings, "What's This?"  I had to make a lunch on this theme or this week just wouldn't be right.  

I also tried making Forbidden Rice for the first time and included it in this lunch.  It is the black rice you see in on Jack's face and surrounding his head.  This type of rice is really healthy for you and my kids gobbled it up!  The other great thing about this lunch is that the pieces of the lunch don't have to match and can be out of proportion.  That's how it is in the movie so pieces like Jack's eyes can be different sizes and it looks better.  Also, don't be afraid to use little Halloween decorations to dress up this and other lunches.  I used little plastic spiders and bats and it saves a ton of time.  I also made this in a Planetbox Rover lunch box.  If you want to see my Nightmare Before Christmas Lunch from last year, click HERE. Have some fun and remember--This is Halloween!

Ingredients:

--1 serving white and black rice.  I used minute rice and forbidden rice.

--1 sheet of nori (dried seaweed)

--8-10 pieces of turkey

--1 packet of bone shaped candy

--4-5 slices of dried mango

--Black food coloring or food coloring marker

--4-5 pieces of bowtie pasta

--1 handful of raisins

--1 slice of white cheese

--Small plastic Halloween decorations

Directions:

1.  Place white rice in a circular container.  I used a Planetbox dipper.  Fill it up almost to  the top.  Cut out two round shaped nori pieces for Jack's eyes and a narrow "U" shape mouth.  Put pieces on top of the white rice.

2.  Use black rice for Jack's nostrils and for the stitches on his mouth.  If you use a toothpick to place the rice it goes very fast.  The black rice will stick well to the nori and white rice.

3.  Surround Jack with black rice if desired.

4.  In a side dish arrange turkey or chicken pieces.  I thought they looked like spooky clouds, plus they added protein.

5.  Slice 4-5 pieces of mango into squares.  Make sure they don't have straight sides to go along with the movie theme.  Draw ribbon with black food coloring and paste on bowtie pasta with a little dab of cream cheese.  Arrange in a second side dish and surround with bone shaped candy.

6.  For Oogie-Boogie, cut out his head as shown.  Make little slits for the eyes and mouth and then cut out the details of all three using small scissors.  It is much easier than it looks because it should be a little jagged and rough so don't try and make it perfect!  When done, lay it on top of a piece of cheese and cut a circle out around it.  The nori will stick to the cheese very well.  If using a silicone cup, tear up the rest of the piece of cheese and put it underneath the circle of cheese so you don't waste it.

7.  Last, spread around a few plastic Halloween decorations to add a little color.  Just wash them first.

Thanks for following me and have a great week leading up to Halloween.  Remember to check out my Facebook and Twitter pages to see all the updates and more great Halloween ideas from my friends!

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