Happy Labor Day! I’m sure many of you are off enjoying pools, lakes, beaches and cookouts but I’m keeping it low-key over here and getting some work done while Finn naps. I generally try not to schedule trips to Florida for big summer holidays like Memorial Day, July Fourth and Labor Day because the flights are expensive and things are crowded. We’ll get back down there in the next few weeks! 🙂
If you missed part one of my recent eats, you can find breakfast and lunch here. Today I have dinner and dessert, as well as this week’s meal plan.
DINNER
You’re going to see quite a few Blue Apron meals. I had a gift credit from my grandmother that I used one week and forgot to cancel delivery for the next week. When I forget to skip deliveries and don’t get to customize my menu, I get kind of bummed because a lot of times it’s not things I wouldn’t have chosen. The good thing about this is that it gets me out of my box and eating different things that I wouldn’t normally go for!
Example one: this orange beef with wonton noodles. I was not excited about this one and ended up really liking it and the leftovers were even better. Portions were crazy generous with this one.
Example two: these guajillo chicken tacos with creamy corn and jalapeño. I feel like you can never complain about taco night. These were good.
Example three: Caribbean spiced chicken thighs with coconut rice. I love chicken thighs and coconut rice so this was a winner for me. I did roasted broccoli instead of the pepper/cucumber salad they offered.
As for things I’ve cooked…you can NEVER go wrong with a one-pan roasted dinner. This was a mix of chicken apple sausage, mushrooms, carrots, parsnips, Vidalia onion and sweet potato tossed in olive oil and sea salt.
Served it over brown rice with shredded cheese and hummus. So tasty all mixed together.
Basic but delicious. Baked salmon seasoned with Trader Joe’s lemon pepper grinder and Dizzy Pig Raging River rub with roasted brussels and brown rice.
Artichokes looked nice in Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago so I picked one up to steam. Growing up, this was always a “special” thing my mom would make for us. Artichokes are easy to steam and eat. Use a knife to cut off the very top of the artichoke to create a flat surface and remove sharp pointy edges. Use scissors to trim edges of individual leaves on the sides. Place it in a steamer basket and steam for about 30 minutes, or until the stem can easily be pierced and leaves pull off easily. I made a dipping sauce of mayo, greek yogurt, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.
This was my dinner along with three pieces of leftover pizza. Haha.
Don’t knock it ’til you try it! Get all the details on this amazing veggie burger/fried egg/hummus bowl on Instagram.
Back to Blue Apron, this was a seared salmon with a miso butter glaze over jasmine rice. I switched up the side and did a sauté of snow peas and asparagus instead of snow peas and corn.
Lastly, loved this spicy chipotle chicken over cilantro farro with cabbage, pepper and radish slaw. The cilantro farro was especially delicious.
Blue Apron won’t be a regular thing for me but it’s nice from time-to-time to switch things up. I also appreciate that I can cook one night and then have the leftovers the next night for an easy dinner option.
DESSERT
Dessert every single night. Recently I’ve had everything from carrot cake to chocolate peanut butter cake to pieces of chocolate to ice cream. One night I even had peanut butter toast with honey.
THIS WEEK’S MEAL PLAN
Monday: leftover one-pan roasted dinner that you see above on top of brown rice with cheese and hummus
Tuesday: one-skillet chicken with buttery orzo
Wednesday: chicken leftovers
Thursday: mahi with fresh cilantro chutney over steamed rice with a veg
Friday: pizza + salad (either frozen or takeout)
Saturday: leftovers/takeout/out/cook…who knows!?
Sunday: homemade spaghetti sauce over noodles + salad
What’s on your dinner menu this week?
Do you like artichokes? Favorite way to eat them?
Do you eat dessert? If so, how often?
Oooh I’m very intrigued by the orange beef, I’m going to have to try that sometime soon. I’ve never gotten Blue Apron but I’ve made a few of their recipes and always been happy.
I made a big batch of chicken fajitas from the Taste of Home website last night so that’s dinner for the next few nights. I haven’t had a whole artichoke in years, to be honest I just don’t have the patience. Maybe 2x a week for desserts? If I had that cake in my house it would be 7x a week;-)
Yes, I love that they share their recipes online. They are really good…and different than how I default to cooking so a good way to mix it up.
And I hear you on cake in the house! 🙂
I’m doing a round of Whole30 this month, and instead of meal planning and prep, I opted to order Model Meals for the first two weeks. Gives me more variety in my menu and saves me LOTS of time.
That’s such a great idea, especially when doing something like Whole30!
Just curious but do you ever drink alcohol ?
Yes. Mostly wine with friends or with dinner.