[OregonYeti]

My lunches are limited by what I can take with me in my cooler. I'm a service tech in heating and air conditioning.

I had some great suggestions before from other members. I just came up with a good one myself.

I cooked collard greens, mushrooms, spinach and yellow squash, seasoned with ground ancho chiles. I'll melt some cheddar cheese in it and eat it with whole wheat bread.

[tessa]

do you have a widenecked thermos flask , you can do all kinds of things if you do, things like pasta dishes, like mac and cheese, or penne puttenesca, or bolognaise with small pasta
beef stew with mash
chunky casseroles
or in the summer time make up some wicked salads and stick an icepack around them or frittatas, tarts, bacon and egg pie

[teamfat]

Gee, lately I've been thinking about packing my own lunches. The Italian deli not too far from the shop has some GREAT paninis, but they may be having a detrimental effect on my waistline. I have yet to set foot in the Wingers that opened up down the street.

Unlike your situation where you don't know where you might be come lunch time, I have access to a fridge and a microwave, so more options are open to me. One of my favorite sandwich spreads years ago was just pimento stuffed green olives chopped up and blended into cream cheese. And mayo, celery, etc. based salads like egg, crab, shrimp, chicken are also good. I avoid canned tuna as much as possible, though I bet some sesame crusted seared tuna steaks, thinly sliced would be a good cold lunch with some soy sauce and wasabi. Not quite sashimi, but close. And don't forget meatloaf - dinner one night, sandwiches for a day or two.

One thing I was thinking about this weekend was doing some quiches in the evening and taking nice slices to work. Something like mushroom and leek, or ham and asparagas could be good cold, not too greasy.

Adobo chicken legs - the Phillipine adobo, not the sauce you get your canned chipotles in. I've recently done a couple of soba noodle salads with stuff like daikon, green onions, bell pepper, sesame seeds and such. They were good, but need some fine tuning. You might want to experiment with something like that.

mjb.

[tessa]

leftovers make great lunch items so how about making extra for dinner the night before and then taking for lunch the next day mmm often it tastes much better the next day

[shel]

Originally Posted by teamfat

Adobo chicken legs - the Phillipine adobo, not the sauce you get your canned chipotles in.

Could you explain what Philipine adobo is? Never heard of it. Sometimes I'll make my own adobo sauce ...

shel

[phatch]

My understanding is that adobo is a spanish word meaning basically marinade. So those countries with lots of Spanish influence use the word in various ways. You'll find adobo seco, kind of a seasoned salt, adobo as chipotles are packed in, and Phillipine adobo, a braise in vinegar and other seasonings, often pan-fried or broiled/grilled at the end for crispness.

[OregonYeti]

Originally Posted by tessa

do you have a widenecked thermos flask , you can do all kinds of things if you do, things like pasta dishes, like mac and cheese, or penne puttenesca, or bolognaise with small pasta
beef stew with mash
chunky casseroles
or in the summer time make up some wicked salads and stick an icepack around them or frittatas, tarts, bacon and egg pie

Thanks, I like the summer ideas since I get really hot doing this work this time of year.

Meatloaf sounds really good too.

[KYHeirloomer]

Phil, you've pretty well nailed it.

In terms of actual dishes (chicken adobo, pork adobo, or, to put a point on it, adobo chicken legs), the primary difference is that Mexican is a chili based tomato sauce, and Philipino is vinegar based.

I used to work for a Philipine lady who, after months of promises, finally made me her version of pork adobo. Frankly, I found it on the near tasteless side.

Whether that was her interpretation or the way it's supposed to be, depondent sayeth not.

[beetrootbrain]

Salad, grated raw veg with sausage or chickenn left overs form the night before or the classic sandwich - fill it with everything and anything!

[Mezzaluna]

You could always try this: Portable microwave for the road | Crave, the gadget blog - CNET
Or this: http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/09/i...ble-microwave/

[OregonYeti]

Wow Mezzaluna, you don't know how much I've wanted something like that--the first one you suggested. I didn't know if such a thing existed, and I looked around and found none.

Thank you very much!!!!