Hi there. I hope it’s been a good week for you. And if it hasn’t, I hope the weekend offers some ease.
This will sound sad to some and some will totally get this but one of the highlights of my week was getting my Kitchen Aid mixer repaired.
My parents gave me this Kitchen Aid Professional 600 stand mixer….I think….for Christmas the first year I was out of college and in the working world. It was my most prized kitchen possession. Dating myself here…my mixer is over 15 years old and a few months ago something happened where the attachments wouldn’t say attached when I turned the mixer on.
I tried Googling what the problem might be but it was all very confusing so I did nothing. I finally called Kitchen Aid and they said there was an authorized service center in Charlotte. I took it in Tuesday and got a call that it was ready on Wednesday! For anyone that cares, it needed a new planetary head. I had the work done at Authorized Commercial Equipment Services and it was around $140. Totally worth it in my book as a new mixer of this model would run me around $500. Also, if you have your mixer repaired at an authorized service center, Kitchen Aid will warranty the repair for one year.
I got right to testing out the repairs by baking sourdough this week. My mixer seems as good as new! My dad has instilled in me that it’s worth it to invest in high-quality kitchen items for the things that really matter and it truly does make a difference. I’m working on a post with my must-have kitchen stuff…most of it recommended by or gifted from my dad. 🙂
Time for some recent eats! I have quite a few since I’ve been sporadic in posting lately.
BREAKFAST
FAGE 5% cherry cup topped with strawberries, frozen blueberries, granola, dried cranberries and peanut butter.
Toasted Ezekiel sesame bread with cream cheese and cottage cheese scrambled eggs.
Yogurt bowl with plain full-fat greek yogurt, honey. Trader Joe’s peanut butter protein granola, strawberries, blueberries and peanut butter.
I packed overnight oats for my teacher training weekend. It was a mix of oats, chia seeds, plain greek yogurt, oat milk, cinnamon and honey. I topped on container with strawberries and peanut butter and the other with apples and peanut butter.
Lots of smoothies….always.
LUNCH
Salad bowl with baby spinach, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, avocado, pistachios, turkey and honey dijon balsamic dressing.
Avocado toast on Ezekiel sesame bread with a squeeze of lime juice, pink sea salt, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and Trader Joe’s everyday seasoning grinder.
Baby spinach and arugula blend tossed with honey, balsamic, olive oil and sea salt and then topped with cherry tomatoes, avocado, feta, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and a can of Blue Harbor tuna.
Turkey sandwich on freshly baked sourdough with Duke’s mayo, muenster cheese and cherry tomatoes. LOVE when the bread is freshly cut and spongy and doesn’t need to be toasted.
Baby spinach and arugula blend topped with a chilled grain blend of barley, lentils and peas as well as cherry tomatoes, turkey, avocado, dried cranberries, feta and honey dijon balsamic dressing. This was my favorite combo of this round up!
Last one…baby spinach topped with the same grain blend but it was warm as well as avocado, jammy eggs, hummus, sea salt and Trader Joe’s everyday seasoning grinder.
DINNER
Roasted sockeye salmon seasoned with Dizzy Pig Shakin’ the Tree and Mediterranean-ish rub. Baked potato with butter, cheese and cottage cheese on the side as well as sautéed zucchini, onions, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
Southwestern chopped salad kit from The Fresh Market. It’s a mix of green cabbage, romaine, carrot, green onion, cilantro, tortilla strips and pepitas with a cilantro pepita dressing. I added cherry tomatoes (on a big kick with them right now if you can’t tell) as well as avocado, a shredded Mexican cheese blend and Trader Joe’s air fried gluten-free chicken nuggets.
Pasta bowl with frozen Rio Bertolini’s mushroom and ricotta tortellini, sautéed spinach chicken sausage from ALDI, sautéed frozen artichoke hearts, sautéed frozen Trader Joes mushroom medley and ALDI organic marinara sauce. Topped it all with a shredded Italian cheese blend.
Rice bowl with the same ALDI spinach chicken sausage, shredded cheese, leftover veggies from the salmon dinner, avocado, hummus and hot sauce.
Mediterranean crunch chopped salad kit that has escarole, endive, broccoli, cauliflower, crispy flatbread strips, feta, radicchio, carrot and red cabbage with basil balsamic vinaigrette. I added avocado, pistachios, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries and leftover salmon.
Veggie rice bowl with steamed basmati rice cooked in coconut oil, air fried potatoes, sautéed zucchini and onions and roasted cauliflower. Topped with shredded cheese, hummus and a drizzle of hot sauce and ranch. Weird but yummy.
ETC
One of my teacher trainees got me a mini peanut butter pie! I ate it when I got home from Tennessee on Sunday night. The pie was from Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop and super yum.
QUESTIONS
What’s your favorite piece of kitchen equipment?
Do you have a stand mixer? Do you use it?
Do you use salad kits?
What’s your favorite pie flavor?
I’m so glad you got your Kitchen Aid fixed. It is so worth it! You already know that! I love kitchen tools and equipment. I purchased a Vitamix late last year and it was totally with the investment. I also love my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, KA counter top oven, and Cuisinart stick blender.
My favorite pie flavors are strawberry and pecan.
Have a great weekend!
I LOVE my Vitamix! I use it almost every single day. 100% worth the investment. I have the Cuisinart stick blender too. I need to use it more often!
I feel like your portions have gotten smaller and smaller … one piece of bread for breakfast considering the fact that you have a very very active lifestyle and a toddler… I’m worried this may feel triggering for eating disorders.
Hi Laurence – thanks for your comment. I’ve shared these recent eats posts for years for meal ideas/inspiration. The intention is not to show “this is what I eat in a day” as what works for everyone is different and I don’t want anyone to think they need to/should “eat like me.” I’ve always said that any food recap I share doesn’t show every single thing that I eat.
I wasn’t super hungry the morning that I had the eggs and toast so I just didn’t want a second piece of toast. Eating what I feel like eating has worked really well for me for a long time and given me a lot of food freedom.
That’s amazing I was just worried about you!
All is well but thanks for the lens to how it might effect others. Have a great weekend!
A favorite piece of kitchen equipment is actually a set of really good knives I got for Christmas a few years ago! I wish a stand mixer was part of my kitchen…it’s still on that wish list and I will not give up on getting one!
We actually do use salad kits every once in a while. The boyfriend does not love salads the way that I do, so changing them up often is the key to get him to agree to them once a week!
I LOVE PIE! Really all desserts, but especially pie! We have a few Buttermilk Sky shops here in the North Texas area and their coconut cream is actually my dad’s favorite pie flavor of all time. I love any kind of apple pie, chocolate cream pie, key lime and PUMPKIN (any time of the year!).
I always enjoy reading your posts! Have a great weekend!
Yes, good knives are so essential! My dad replaced mine a couple of years ago and I love them! I need to sharpen them come to think of it…
You will LOVE a stand mixer when you get one. I think that they are game changers versus hand-held.
Your pie faves sound right up my alley! 🙂
Thank you for reading. I’m very grateful! Have a nice weekend. 🙂
I love that you were able to get it repaired! I hate that there’s so many disposable things and feel very lucky when I’m able to buy something once and keep it going. I actually have a second Kitchen Aid mixer that I inherited from my grandmother after I purchased mine that is probably 25-30 years old and works like a dream. It and my wedding gift le creuset Dutch oven are probably tied for favorites – I fully expect the le creuset to outlive me!
I’m dying to know your secret to these beautiful avocados you always seem to find for your meals –
I struggle so much at hitting the sweet spot between unripe and inedibly overripe. Also, if you’re on a cherry tomato kick, I definitely recommend trying the baked feta with cherry tomatoes + a little basil and shallots and garlic – it was meant to be a pasta dish but we loved dipping sourdough into it 🙂
I agree! I also find that the longer I keep something in my kitchen, the more attached to it I grow because of all of the meals/memories that come with it. 🙂 I LOVE my Le Creuset as well. Good cookware definitely stands the test of time!
I’m not sure that I have an avocado secret other than I often cut them a little before I think they’re perfectly ripe…and they’re typically perfect. There’s no one store that I buy them at – Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Harris Teeter, ALDI…all seem good. Oh, one more tip. I find them more reliably good when I buy them individual and not in those mesh packs. Hope that helps!
Hi Jen! Totally understand your excitement in getting your Kitchen Aid fixed! I love my Kitchen Aid as much as my Vitamix! I always enjoy your posts!
Thank you Susan! I hope you have a great weekend!