Experimental Bento: Spam musubi recipe

My kids and DH have been asking me to make them Bento for lunch and I've been avoiding it.  Looks like so much work!  But today, I have a plan to make it a little easier.  I'm thinking that if I premake some of the more time consuming things, like chicken, teriyaki, and maybe even noodles, I can can cook them up quickly in the morning and pack them while I prepare breakfast.

In case you're wondering, I usually make something the kids can eat in the car since we have a long drive to school.  It can take up to an hour if traffic is bad.  So I wake up just before 6am, make something like personal size pizzas or bagels and a smoothie and get out the door just after 6:30am.  Yeah... I hate waking up early.
So adding a bento lunch to the list seems outrageous to me.  And anyone that knows me knows that I'm a very lazy cook.  I dislike cooking... hate it...  But the things you will do for your loved ones...
  
Today I'll start with a field-trip favorite made in a more time efficient manner...  SPAM musubi.  This is an experiment.  I've seen ready-made ones at Sam's Club, so I'm guessing you can make them ahead of time and microwave them to soften the rice.  But the nori becomes mushy and falls apart.   I'm going to try preparing a few naked ones and keep them in the freezer.  During the week, I'll zap them in the microwave, then wrap with fresh nori before packing.  That might work.

SPAM musubi  (makes about 9):
SPAM musubi maker
1 Can of SPAM, sliced about 1/4" thick.
Brown Sugar
fresh cooked rice
Nori for wrapping

While waiting for your rice to cook, fry the sliced SPAM in the pan till it gets a little brown and crusty.  Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the SPAM, turn and cook till it's gooey.  Do the same to the other side.

Okay... here's the assembly line picture.  I make them right on the plastic wrap, then cut and wrap them for storage. 

And here they are, finished and ready for eating.  The wrapped ones in the background will be frozen.

 

We ate 3 for lunch... I didn't want to freeze the ones I used for the finished musubi picture, and we were hungry.  Yum!

Tomorrow, I think I'll prepare some mochiko chicken that I can heat up and pack during the week.   And maybe we'll have some for dinner too...