recipes i love

Summer just screams good food to me. Maybe it's because I'm off work and have the extra time and can put more thought into getting dinner on the table in more than twenty minutes. Also, all of the fresh fruits and veggies are delightful. Makes it so much more appealing when you can cook with fresh ingredients. I can't wait to get a chance to go pick blueberries again this summer!

Anyway, here's some of the recipes I've been loving lately. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Creamy Sausage and Spinach Tortellini

1/2 lb ground sausage
1 pkg cheese tortellini
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup asparagus pieces
roughly chopped bell pepper
chopped zucchini and yellow squash
chopped onion
handful spinach

Boil tortellini according to package directions. In a separate pot brown the ground sausage. Add vegetables and saute for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, cream cheese, and chicken broth and still until combined. Drain the tortellini and add it to the other dish.



Blueberry Cake With Lemon Glaze

1 (15 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups blueberries

Glaze:
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix first 4 ingredients well.
3. Fold in blueberries (these may be dusted with flour or powdered sugar to keep them from sinking).
4. Bake for one hour in a tube or bundt pan which has been greased and floured.
5. Allow cake to cool.
6. Mix the glaze and drizzle over cake.


Quick and Easy French Bread Pizzas

loaf of French bread
creamy Parmesan Italian dressing
thinly sliced onion and fresh tomato
pepperoni
shredded mozzarella
shredded cheddar (I like Cabot sharp cheddar)

Slice the bread lengthwise and open up. Spread dressing on both sides. Top with pepperoni and cheese. Broil for 5 minutes.


In case you need more, here's some old recipes I've posted including Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Banana Peppers, Giant Birthday Banana Splits, and Stuffed Summer Squash.

Mmmmmmm, now I'm super hungry!

how to make the most awesome afternoon snack

Get a plate and put some tortilla chips on it. It should be Tostitos Brand tortilla chips but of course that's just my preference....

Then shred some cheese. Definitely choose Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese if you want it to be the best.

And add some more cheese.

I'm a little bit kidding. That's probably a tiny bit too much.

Now you should melt the cheese in the microwave.

Add Pace Salsa on top. Of course, it doesn't have to be Pace Salsa but if you want it to be good....

This is not an ad. I was not paid to write this. It's just taken me several years to perfect the art of the best afternoon snack and I thought I'd save you the trouble.

There you have it. The Most Awesome Afternoon Snack.

You're welcome.

my review of Blue Apron meals

I'd heard so many good things about Blue Apron that I decided I needed to try it. I got a coupon code for the Family Plan and ordered 2 meals for 4 people which brought the standard price of $69.92 to $49.94

I received Spiced Pork Chops with Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Spinach for the first meal and the second meal they sent me was Turkey Meatloaf with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Snap Peas. They both came in one delivery.

Delivery
The website told me I would receive it on a Wednesday and it actually was delivered the day before. That typically wouldn't be a problem for me except that Tuesday was Jonathan's birthday so we were already going out. Plus, I had a fridge full of cake and ice cream and then tons of other leftovers and junk that needed to be thrown out but I didn't have the time to deal with it since we had plans. So fridge space was way tight that day.

The box was packed pretty well. Everything came packed on ice packs and was still nice and cold when I got home from work. The meat was directly on the ice and there were paper bags with the other ingredients separated by meal. Everything came portioned out in it's own little container and the only problem my delivery contained was that a bit of the ketchup squeezed out of the meatloaf ingredient bag.

Preparing the Food
The dishes were very easy to prepare and they came with step by step illustrated directions. The best part was that the ingredients were already measured.

Taste
I first made the Spiced Pork Chops.  You basically put a spice rub on the meat and fried them in a pan. Then you de-glazed the pan with a pork demi-glaze sauce and while the meat was extremely tender, it really didn't have any flavor to it. My family said they liked the usual pork chops I make better than these even though they're not as tender. The Garlic Spinach and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes were easy to make and delicious. I'd definitely jazz my usual up again and make these sides with ingredients I already keep on hand at home.

The second meal was Turkey Meatloaf, Snap Peas, and Mashed Potatoes. The meatloaf was pretty good. I typically make lean ground beef meatloaf so this turkey loaf was a smidge different for my family. The sugar snap peas were not something I'd usually prepare but I really liked them even though the rest of my family didn't care for them. Finally, the Creamy Mashed Potatoes were fabulous. Julianna asked if I would make my mashed potatoes with heavy cream from now on after she learned why they were so good (Look at that cute little bottle of cream!).

I wish I had taken pictures of the cooked dishes but I forgot to do that so I'm sorry if you wanted to see the finished product.

Overall, definitely good eats but in the end I don't think the food was so much better than my usual home cooked dinner that I would have to order from Blue Apron again.

Bottom Line
I think this was a fun experiment and certainly worth trying but I won't order again. With the 2 free meals the cost was reasonable, the food was as easy to prepare as something I would usually fix, and the taste was plenty good enough for us. I just don't think it's a service worth paying for unless you just really don't like to shop, plan and chop/measure. Unfortunately, with Blue Apron meals, the cooking/cleanup part still has to happen and I don't think that's something that's going to change.

If you've tried it I'd love to hear what you thought!

what i love wednesday

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

source

I've just finished this book and it was unique. I love when you stumble upon a movie or book that doesn't fit one of the standard formulas. If you like to read, I think you'll enjoy this one.

-----

source

Kind Bars STRONG & KIND


Flavors like Hickory Smoked, Roasted Jalapeno, Honey Smoked BBQ, Thai Sweet Chili, and Honey Mustard.  Enjoy free shipping with code APRILSHOWERS on all orders over $25 from 4/20 to 4/24. The BBQ and Jalapeno are my favorites.

-----

This Boston Marathon story

I remember watching the Boston Marathon two years ago. I did the Boston Strong run one week after the bombing. I watched it this year and read all the news stories after. This was by far my favorite.


-----

This swimsuit

It's juniors sizing but adorable and there are tons of other cute ones by Arizona from JC Penney not just for juniors.


-----

This man

I'm not that great at this birthday shout-out thing but there is a certain husband of mine that turned THIRTY-EIGHT yesterday. He's spent 18 of those years with me and for that reason alone he deserves to have the most awesomest of birthdays. Happy birthday, Booger!

And that's what I love this Wednesday.
What are you loving lately?

half marathon recap

Some friends and I went to Myrtle Beach this weekend to run the Divas Half Marathon. We left on Friday and spent a couple of days on the beach and getting ready for the race Sunday. We picked up our packets and were shuttled to the expo by men in golf charts.... felt like a total diva...

We dressed in tutus and took goofy pictures...

We fixed a delicious spaghetti dinner for our pre-race meal Saturday night...

We left the condo before sunrise on Sunday morning...

We got to the starting line and took a quick picture...

We headed to our corral and had our picture taken by a drone flying overhead. Then the gun went off and we took off. We had to weave in and out of crowds for at least the first 3 miles. Even the 4th mile was too crowded.

I ran with Kristine and Jessica for the first 3 miles. Jessica pulled away from Kristine and I first and then I caught back up with Jessica later when Kristine stopped to walk through the 4 mile water stop.

I stayed with Jessica in my line of vision until about mile 10 or 11. She pulled way ahead of me then and finished 5 minutes ahead of me.

I walked a lot for the last 5k but mostly during miles 12 and 13. I figured Kristine, Laura, Sherri, or Rachel would come running up on me during one of my walk breaks but I never saw them.

I kept asking myself, "Who walks during the last mile of a half marathon?" and would make myself only walk three or four steps before running again. Still. The last two miles cost me my goal time of 2:20. I finished in 2:22:02

I had three goals: 2:20, 2:28, and 2:30. Despite not making the first one, I am pleased. It's a new PR for me and I realized that I haven't run a flat course besides the Richmond Full Marathon in over two years. It was a beautiful race, but too crowded for my liking and too many newbies that didn't know basic race etiquette like when you walk get over to the right or don't run three people across.

It was a great weekend that we finished off by sitting on the beach and hanging out at Ocean Annie's.

Next race in less than 3 weeks and looking at the elevation map I can tell you right now that my time won't be nearly as good. Even so, I can guarantee that it will be full of fun!

what i love wednesday {plus a giveaway}

If you haven't tried Chick-fil-A's new Frozen Lemonade, you need to get yourself there in a hurry! Mmmmm! It's so good! Many thanks to #ChickfilaMoms for sending me the coupons. I will most certainly be back for this again!

-----

I picked up The Runner's Devotional from Family Christian the other day. So far it's delightful.

-----

I won the WBFJ Birthday Bundle a month ago and I received several CDs. My most favorite has quickly become Lauren's Daigle's album How Can It Be. I am in love with the song, "Trust in You" and I play it on repeat in the car most days.

Check out her YouTube stuff here.

I'm also loving the Unspoken album. One of the kids had already gotten this for Christmas and then I got another copy when I won the birthday prize. I'd love to send the copy to one of you that is interested. Just fill out the widget below to enter. I'll choose a winner this weekend.

-----

I got this dress at the Old Navy Outlet last week in Myrtle Beach. It was only $12 after the coupons I had and the sale that was going on. It's adorable, comfortable, and stylish. I'm average height, not model tall so it comes to the very top of my knee. I love it.

Win a copy of Unspoken's new CD

recipe roundup

These recipes I made recently are both winners! I'm trying to branch out a little bit from our same-old-same-old and these did the trick.

Dragon Noodles from Budget Bytes

Triple the sauce except for the sriracha, add a smidge of peanut butter, scallions, lime juice, and chopped peanuts. If you want, you can add chicken for some protein. My kids don't like spicy, but they will eat this.

my version

-----

This one I got from a friend's Facebook status and altered a bit to fit our likes/dislikes. I've never had Korean food, but I've smelled the Korean BBQ food truck and these pork tacos are what I would imagine that Korean BBQ tacos taste like. Delicious and so easy!

pork tenderloin
2 Tbsp hoisin
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves chopped fresh garlic
1 inch chopped or grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 - 2 Tbsp garlic chili paste (adjust as needed for heat level)

Dump ingredients in crock pot and cook all day. Serve with soft flour tortillas and slaw.

I'll definitely make both of these again and I encourage you to try them. What good food have you eaten (or better yet, made) lately?

Leave me some comment love!