Month: January 2016

My first week with Blue Apron

On By Taylor MavingIn Informational, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’ve been curious about Blue Apron for a while now and my friend Elisa sent me a free week of meals so I finally tried it out! My menu for the week (I opted for the vegetarian recipes) consisted of three meals; three cheese calzones, winter squash and baby kale quesadillas and curried cauliflower steaks. First off I was really impressed with the packaging. A box arrives right to your doorstep filled with food and it has really pretty 8×10 menu cards (see below) that I plan on hole punching and putting in my recipe binder! I was shocked at how fresh the ingredients looked. The kale was so green and beautiful. Each recipe comes with a little knickknack bag filled with perfectly proportioned  seasonings, sauces and what not. I really love this concept because so many times you have to go and buy full sized items that a recipe calls for and then you end up wasting it.

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Now for the actual recipes I really only liked 2 out of 3. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the three cheese calzones, mainly because I like to cook healthy during the work week and I thought the dough was hard to manipulate. Basically if I’m going to indulge I would rather have pizza or parm and order out, but that’s just my personal feelings, and obviously doesn’t apply to everyone.  I also felt like the recipes were a bit long and that it stifled my creativity in the kitchen.

However I absolutely loved not having to worry about what I was going to prepare for dinner that night and knowing that I didn’t have to go to the grocery store. I also tried recipes that I probably wouldn’t have thought of on my own, which keeps it interesting. Blue Apron definitely  has pro’s has con’s depending on how you feel about cooking. I am going to try it out for another week, and report back. The price is really affordable $60.00 for three meals which serves two, so $9.99 per serving.  Have any of you tried Blue Apron? Would love to hear your experience with it!

Sunny side eggs over arugula

On By Taylor MavingIn Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Salad, Uncategorized1 Comment

I really like incorporating greens into my breakfast. This dish is so simple but there’s something that feels really gourmet about it. The flavors are fresh and distinguished and it’s  just delicious! This would also be great for lunch and a light dinner too.

Ingredients:

  • Farm fresh organic eggs (however many you want)
  • Avocado oil (to drizzle)
  • 1/2 of a lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste (I like pink Himalayan salt)
  • Fresh grated parmesan cheese (to sprinkle)
  • Olive oil spray (to coat the pan)
  • Arugula (desired amount)
  • Grape tomatoes (desired amount)
  • Green onions (desired amount)
  • 1 tsp pesto

Steps:

  1. Start by taking a medium sized pan and coat with olive oil spray over medium heat. After the pan has warmed up add the eggs.
  2. While the eggs are cooking take the desired amount of arugula onto a plate. Drizzle with avocado oil, lemon and parmesan cheese.
  3. In the same pan the eggs are cooking add the green onions and tomatoes and let cook for 3-5 minutes to bring out their flavor. Cook your eggs to your desired consistency and place over the arugula.
  4. Top with the tomatoes, green onions, salt and pepper and pesto. I happened to have homemade pesto in my fridge but you can buy any store brand for this. Enjoy! image

Panko crusted halibut

On By Taylor MavingIn Dinner, LunchLeave a comment

When I was home over the holidays I wanted to treat my family to a yummy home cooked meal. Naturally I went to Wegman’s because I miss not having one nearby now that I live in Florida. The halibut that I got there was literally out of this world. My mom even said it was the best fish she had ever tasted! I don’t normally cook with butter, but I felt like since I was splurging on a beautiful piece of fish I had to indulge a little. I used Wegman’s lemon butter sauce, and it was so delicious. If you can’t find this product or something similar then just make your own by melting some butter, lemon, garlic powder and salt and pepper.

The sides are self explanatory I steamed some asparagus (I like to keep them crunchy) and drizzled some olive oil, lemon and fresh Parmesan cheese over it. For the mushrooms I used a tiny it of butter, pan seared some shallots and garlic and let them cook for about 5-7 minutes. This dish turned out amazing, restaurant quality for sure. It all came back to the quality of the fish, you’ll definitely want to make sure you find fresh fish for this recipe to turn out right.  If you can’t find halibut I just recently made this same recipe with Cobia and it was very similar to Halibut- white and flaky.  Ask your grocery store what they have available, here is a list on seafood that you may find helpful.

Ingredients:

  • Halibut (however much you need)
  • Panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggwhites
  • Lemon (as needed)
  • Lemon butter sauce (drizzle as needed)
  • 1 tsp butter

Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Take the fish out and rinse, pat dry and set aside.
  3. In a non-stick skillet warm up the butter over medium heat.
  4. While the butter is melting, dip the fish in the egg whites first and panko breadcrumbs second.
  5. Carefully place the fish on the skillet and let cook on each side for 3-5 minutes or until its golden. You can add more butter to the pan if necessary.
  6. Take a baking sheet and wrap with aluminum foil and smear some butter on it. Place the fish on the pan and take the lemon butter sauce and drizzle it on both sides. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Do not walk away from the fish keep your eye on it, when the color is a bright white it’s done. Serve with a fresh lemon wedge. fish