Blue Apron

Ryan and I continually kept seeing ads for meal/recipe ingredient boxes you could order and debated about ordering one for a long time. I am someone who loves to have variety in their diet and have different dinners to keep things interesting whereas my husband could have baked chicken, steak, or lean hamburger meat, and vegetables for every meal without complaint. My slight need for variety has gotten worse with pregnancy too! If I eat too much of anything over a extended period of time I tend to develop a small aversion to it and not want anything to do with it. The longest lasting being bananas, I haven't had those in about three months and I used to have one nearly every day for breakfast! After talking about it, and continually getting mail offers for small discounts, we decided to give it a go for both the sake of my stomach and him listening to me pester!

Our first order arrived last Thursday with all of the ingredients we needed to make three meals (minus salt, pepper, and olive oil... everything else down to the butter or milk was included). I went online and got to set a menu based on six different options for each week. Considering my husband has been going to the gym a lot and is on a major protein kick I have tended to stick to the ones with meat (or fish) rather then full vegetarian.

We decided to make the first meal that night, Trinidadian Chicken Curry.

Here you can see all of our ingredients laid out and helpfully labeled as well as the recipe card that came with step by step preparation instructions. We were a little excited and just sort of leapt in to cooking without reading through the whole recipe first, so some of our timing was off (ie the grits were ready fifteen minutes early...) but lesson learned!

Our finished product may not have been as pretty as the one pictured but it was delicious! I've never cooked with some of those flavor profiles before (lime and coconut and other spices) but we both really enjoyed it! It was also much more filling than we expected.

We decided Friday to cook our second meal, Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti, as it was a Friday during lent and I am Catholic and do not eat meat on Fridays. This time we made less of a mess and did more of our prep work properly (as you can see my fine chopping skills above!). We also were much closer to the timing of the recipe instead of taking an extra twenty minutes to cook everything!

This recipe was also pretty good, not as good as the first one in my opinion, but still delicious and filling. Ryan was unsure of his until he added more red hot pepper flakes to it and then he was quite a happy camper.

Saturday morning I had rehearsal and was starving when I got home, so recipe number three was prepared! I was so hungry to start I forgot to take any prep pictures and we just ended up with our finished product of Pretzel Burgers with crispy sweet potato rounds. This recipe was probably my favorite, so delicious! We did add extra ground beef as they sent us 85% and we tend to cook with 93% or higher thanks to my sensitive stomach, but otherwise we stayed true to the recipe.

This recipe included a cheddar cheese sauce made from scratch (olive oil, flour, milk, shredded cheddar, barley flowers and seasonings) that I was proud I did not burn or mess up! It was very easy and even though my whisking drove my husband nuts I saw him eating it out of the pot with a spoon after, so I think he was ok with it! It also came with whole grain mustard to put on the buns which just made everything more tasty.

I promise not to do this every week, but I was so excited for our first order I couldn't resist! We don't plan on having it for too long as it is a little pricey (really my only downside) but it is manageable in our budget right now. If you've been on the fence about it I recommend it for sure!

PS - This post is in no way affiliated with Blue Apron, I just wanted to share my own opinions on our first order! They do not know I exist, except for the fact that I am a customer.

Eat Right, Work Out.... Wait, What??

Last Sunday it happened.

I am not sure how exactly, but we were on the couch watching TV when my husband said, "Let's go for a walk." Ok. Rylie and I walked miles every day back in Alexandria... no big! So we started what has now become a nightly four mile (give or take) walk. We take the pup and head out as the sun is setting and the air is cooling. It's nice.

Somehow I got persuaded into doing an ab workout with push ups post walk. Did not enjoy that. My husband's ab work out is quick, fifteen minutes maybe, and it totally kicks my butt. Sore. Very sore. And somehow we are now eating better. Minimal snacking, less sugar, healthier meals, tons of fruits and veggies. I would kill for a brownie.

This all just sort of crept up on me! I think Ryan planned it that way to blindside me. Before I'd even realize what was happening we'd be working out (*shudder*) and eating better. It was a long time coming, I know, but man he is good. This week my abs hurt. The bottom, the top, the sides... add sore arms from push ups, sore legs from long walks and stretches and you have a 24 year old who sounds like an 84 year old trying to get out of bed. Or into it for that matter.

The food is a tiny bit easier than the work out... healthier recipes ala pintrest and yours truly being unemployed. Funny story how I got some fresh fish for us.

I figured we live close enough to the beach I should be able to find a fish market, right? The commissary doesn't even have a fish section (just a deli of sorts) so I was a woman on a mission. I googled a few places and asked around before deciding to head down to Snead's Ferry. Of course the instant I go outside it starts pouring down rain. I get on 17 S and STOP. Accident closes all but the left lane so my thirty minute trip took about an hour and a half. Because, naturally, once I get past the accident the rain starts again so heavily I can barely see the road. I have my wipers on full force and I am driving ten under the speed limit just to turn off 17 and have it be dry. It was weird, like it didn't even rain in Snead's Ferry yet.

Anyway I get to the first market on my list. I turn down this gravelly road (after passing, I kid you not, a street named Poverty Line Road) and see this concrete building on the water. No one is around. So I park and get out of the car and walk towards the building. Four very nice old men look at me like I am from Mars.

"Can we help you ma'am?"
"Um, yes. I'd like some seafood please?"
"Welllll we only have clams today. You want clams or fish?"
"I was hoping for some fish..."

I felt bad, but I really wanted some fresh fish, not shell fish. The guys recommended another place further down the road. At this point I have to pee like no other but I don't want to bug the old men any more. The next place is the same deal, only a slightly bigger concrete building.

"Yes ma'am, can I help you?"
"I was wondering if you all had any fresh fish?"
"What kind are you looking for?"
Aw hell. Um...
"I am not sure, tuna tilapia.... anything you have?"
"Ma'am, you'll be hard pressed to find fresh tuna 'round these parts. Tilapia is a fresh water fish. I have fish one, fish two, fish three, flounder and shrimp."

Well flounder was the only fish I recognized so I asked for that. Even now I have no idea what the other kinds were.

"Ma'am, do you know how to clean a flounder?"

I look into the big concrete freezer room and see a large, flat fish looking at me from the two eyes on the side of its head. Oh boy.

"Um, no. But maybe my husband does?"
"Do you want to call him and find out before you buy it?"
"Well, he is at work and probably won't pick up. We'll just wing it if he doesn't."
"Aw, shucks ma'am. If my brother was here I'd have him clean it for you. He does a nice job, but I'd probably just ruin the thing. I'm sorry."

I told him it was fine and paid $9 for my big ol' fish and got back in my car. At this point my eyeballs are swimming, I have to pee SO bad. I make it to a gas station, use the restroom, and find this gem of a sign.

It was on the condom machine in the ladies room. Only in the South, right?
So I finally get back into my car as the rain catches up to me in Snead's Ferry. Sigh. Another long, slow drive home. I get to the bridge the accident was on before on 17 and there is ANOTHER one. This time on the other side. The side I am on now. Great.

Overall trip time: 3.5 hours
Total fish purchased: 1

Next time I am going to Food Lion.

This is our flounder. Ryan scaled it mostly before I got this picture and then with the help of google and youtube tried to fillet it!

 Flounders and flat fish have four fillets. We got about two and a half. Oops. It is apparently a lot harder to fillet a flat fish than a normal one! I felt pretty bad about it, but the next day I made a pretty darn good dinner if you ask me...

Baked/breaded artichokes with grilled flounder and mango salsa. Plus a glass of fruity V8 yummy-ness.

The mango salsa, found online, was pretty amazing. We were just eating it with a spoon even after the fish was gone! And the artichokes are something my mom taught me to make that I just love in the summer!

So... we're getting there. I would still kill for chocolate at times, but I know it is better like this for a bit. And if I manage to tone up/lean up/whatever I know I will be happier in my body. Especially in a bathing suit. Now that we live near the beach I have to keep that in mind!



Don't forget to enter my give away!

Cooking With Pintrest

I have much better luck with the recipes on pintrest than the hairstyles!

Last night, after doing laundry, my neighbor Carrie and I had this lovely dish I found on pintrest a few weeks ago. The two of us getting ingredients and Christmas decorations in Target the other day was hilarious, it reminded us both of shopping with room mates in college. I am glad that Carrie and I have gotten as close as we have, her friendship has been a real blessing in my life!

So the Cheesburger Crescent Bake:

1 lb ground beef, cooked, drained
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dill pickle relish
1 1/2 cups shredded American cheese (6 oz)
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls


Now Carrie is a vegetarian, so I used these fake meat crumbles from Morning Star that were just as delicious as ground beef! I highly recommend them if you want to try the recipe vegetarian!! Excuse the iPhone photos, I know some people make them into works of art, but mine are SO not there!


Directions

In 10-inch skillet, mix beef and ketchup.



Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Then stir in relish...



and 1 cup of the cheese.



Spoon into ungreased 9- or 10-inch glass pie plate.




Separate dough into 8 triangles; roll up 1 inch on shortest side of dough. Place dough on top of meat mixture in spoke pattern.


(Ok, my spoke pattern needs work...)

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake at 375°F 15 to 20 minutes.



Ta Da! It was delicious!!!! And I am having leftovers tonight (: It is super quick and easy to make, I highly recommend it.

And to link with Goodnight Moon, some Journey... because it has been in my head all day. Especially since Ryan showed me a certain youtube video with this song, have you seen Action Figure Therapy? Warning, some language, but after hearing my husband talk about work sometimes I am sure we all have similar stories!

Hey Pintrest!

Thanks for the delicious dinner idea!




I am sooooo full now. :P

Fried Oreos

This is a pre-scheduled post, the hubby and I are loungin' in the sun in Myrtle Beach!

When Ryan re-enlisted we decided to have a celebratory bbq with steaks and friends to let loose. Of course we invited everyone to the park near our house (since an apartment is not ideal for grilling) where grills were abundant. Well apparently they were, but they vanished. In the week between our visits the grills were ALL removed! Luckily Russ and Lauren were awesome and invited us all to their house for use of kitchen and grill.

We had a blast and Lauren had the best idea for a dessert.... fried oreos!!! Her neighbor Michele was there helping too.

They are pretty easy to make!

If you buy some pancake batter mix (the kind that takes milk and eggs, not just instant with water, is much better.... we used water mix and ended up adding milk and eggs to thicken it) and make the batter according to the instructions on the box, you are basically ready. Add some chocolate syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon to the batter and whisk well.

Heat up so oil on the stove and then grab your oreos. We used double stuffed, much better. We then dipped the oreos in the batter, put them on a spoon, and dropped them in the oil. The oreo will sink to the bottom then float back to the top. With the spoon turn the oreo over a few times until it is nice and brown. Add some powdered sugar and you're ready for a nice summer treat. We even used the left over batter to attempt to make funnel cake. It didn''t look perfect, but it was delicious.

Look and see!



Michele has very good oreo spinning technique!
I was the dunker
Make sure to cover it in the batter!
Funnel cake!!
Yum!
Our first oreo versus our later oreos.... the batter with just water was too thin, adding more powder, milk, and eggs fluffed it out. If your oreos aren't perfect just experiment. You will figure it out!
See? YUM! It makes me think Jersey Shore and boardwalk, where I always had them. I will so be making these again! Serve right away and enjoy.

Friday Fun

I did a Guest Blog for Simply Sunshine and Daisies today, wedding themed! So please check it out, let me know what you think.

Now for the Friday Fun!


Hosted by Wife of a Sailor

1. What do you see your life like in 10 years?

I am hoping by then I will be a mom, with one or two kids. We will have a dog and a house and be living somewhere we really like. Ryan will be home and not deployed and he will be preparing for his last re-enlistment round.

2. What do you like most about your job?

The people. Whether it is clients in the office or on the phone, most are wonderful. Some are pains in the butt, but they are the minority. Some of our clients get very interesting callers (I've spoked to Dominique Dawes, Glenn Beck, Jeff Gordon, and Anderson Cooper's Personal Secretary!). And it is close to home!

3. What are three things you do every day, no matter what day it is?

Oh geeze... besides the basics? Well, usually check my email, put on chapstick, and kiss my husband (whenever possible at least once a day!)

4. What would you do with an extra five hours in the day today?

SLEEP. Ooooh so sleep.

5. What is your favorite Christmas (or whichever holiday you celebrate) cookie recipe (please share!)?

See here and here!

Thank you!


Hosted this week by Ines from The Few, The Proud, The Wife!


I feel like such a grown up, but our office Christmas Party is tonight. Since we have about ten centers in the DC area we are all meeting at a restaurant our owner co-owns so it will be nice to put names with the voices I hear all the time on the phone. Ryan is coming too. Wish me luck!

Day 13

Hosted here!

Day 13: Favorite Cookie Recipe

I did this for my favorite holiday recipe, but I will share one more my mom and I always made! (Ok more my mom, but I have helped!)



These pizzelles are light and crisp. Serve them plain or dusted with powdered sugar. Also, they can be easily shaped while still hot right off the iron and formed into a cone, cylinder, or even a cup and filled with your favorite filling. To keep them crisp, store them in an air tight container.

3 eggs
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. anise seed or extract
1/2 c. butter (1/4 lb.)
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Do not use more than 1/2 cup butter and don't use oil as a substitute.
Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooled melted butter and vanilla and anise. Sift flour and baking powder and add to egg mixture. Batter will be stiff enough to be dropped by spoon. Batter can be refrigerated to be used at a later time. Makes 30 pizzelles.




You need a pizzelle iron, but it is totally worth investing in!


This isn't the exact recipe my mom and I use, but they are delicious. I promise! Pictures from here and here

Day 9

Hosted here!

Day 9: Favorite Holiday Recipe

I LOVE Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies!!!!



Ingredients
48 Hershey's kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.


My family only makes them around the holidays and I just adore them. I used to sneak all the hershey kisses off the cookies when I was little and my mom would get so mad at me! Enjoy!

Halloween

Halloween was a lot more low key this year than it has been for me in the past. I had shows all weekend and Ryan and I had no plans, so we didn't want to spend a lot of money on costumes to wear once (boo). During the day Ryan and I went shopping for stuff to have people over for a Halloween dinner and we carved a pumpkin! Saturday night I had a show but my friends from college invited me to the Drama Department Halloween Party after. Ryan said he was going out so I decided to stop by. I didn't have a costume and did not want to pay a cover charge so I made one in the tech shop. My friend Kim gets 100% credit for it and I blatantly stole it (ok I texted her permission and she said I could) but basically I carried a picket sign that said, "Nudist on Strike".

Think about it... I can wait.

Hey I thought it was funny!

Anyway, I went with Jay (my friend and the opera director) over there and let me tell ya the drama dept has gotten a lot more risque since my time!!! So much cleavage... I had no idea where to look without turning red for them! Four Freudian Slips... wearing slips naturally, two belly dancers, vampires and lingerie models (I am guessing because that is all they had the fabric for? Maybe they were supposed to be a slutty story book character but I digress) and I felt very out of place wearing pants and a tshirt! Ok maybe my old married self is a bit bitter (... yea that's it) but we definitely were not like that back in my day!

It was still nice to see some of the people I knew from school. The seniors now were sophomores when I was there, so most of the kids at the party I had never even seen before. If I heard, "OHMYGAWD You're married?! You're like, an adult!" one more time I may have had to crack and break my one beer and driving later rule and start chugging. But after an hour or so I said my goodbyes and went to pick up my husband.

I thought he was going out with friends from work, but they couldn't line up plans so apparently he walked himself to King St and went to the bar. Yes, by himself. And he makes fun of me for ONE TIME going to the movies alone because I wanted to see The Proposal and no one else did! So I find my very very drunk husband talking to a cop on a bike, as in bicycle, and somehow get him to the car. Man oh MAN he was completely and totally smashed. I don't think I have seen him that drunk in a looooong time. Insane. I somehow get him home and to bed, but get gets up insisting he has to clean the Navy Seal vomit off of his shoes.

That is when I decide I am better off not asking questions.

Sunday I get up and go to my matinee and finish the show! Yippee no more rehearsal/shows til midnight! I get home and Ryan was awake, sober, cleaned, AND cooked! We had three of his friends over and one of them brought their wife Lauren. I was a bit worried because the last time I met one of Ryan's friend's wives it did not go over too well... but Lauren was great! It was nice to have someone female AND sober to talk to! We're going to get our hair done together for the ball Saturday and I just may have a date to see Harry Potter 7!



Our decorations included this spooky black lightbulb in the hallway.
We made witches brew with diet 7UP, orange juice, pineapple juice, rum and vodka. We also got those fun cups at CVS! Josh and Jack brought the pies with them.
I found this recipe on another blog and I cannot remember where now! If you know remind me, but it is basically a beef, rice, veggie dish cooked IN a pumpkin. It was amazing!!!! Ryan may have left it in too long, it said 1.5-2 hours and we did the whole 2, and our pumpkin sort of fell apart and sprung a leak!
But it was still DELICIOUS. The pumpkin added a nice sweetness and it was just so yummy.
And this is Jack, our Jack O'Lantern. Ryan "scored" it, aka drew the lines lightly with a knife and I had to cut it out because I am "better at those sort of things." .... whatever that means!! But I think it is cute. Next year he promised we could do a crazy design one because I let him go traditional this year.


Also checkout this AMAZING giveaway by Mrs S (and Mrs from Mr Mrs and a Little Miss!) that I am dying to win (:

No Power = No Camp!!!

So a HUGE storm went through the DC area yesterday afternoon. Ryan and I went and saw Inception (REALLY good!) and the storm went through during that time, so we missed the whole thing! We go into the theatre and it is over a hundred degrees and we come out and it is about 20 degrees cooler. Then trees were down everywhere as we drove to the cast party to celebrate the end of the opera.

Well our campus where we have day camp had no power. All street lights around were out. So no day camp!!! They tried to keep us around a bit, in case it came on, but it didn't so I got free pizza and left by 1. So so nice. I even took the beltway home with no traffic!

I came home, napped, and then cleaned like crazy. I even made dinner. Then Ricoberto and his girlfriend Tanya, our neighbors who are both chefs, were outside and we all ended up talking and sharing wine. They even tried my meatloaf! It is a recipe from Nicole's blog at Flip Flops and Combat Boots actually for Cheeseburger Meatloaf... and they liked it! I was very happy about that. So thanks Nicole!!!

Now my Summer Essentials Partner, Michelle at ~A'Etonou Family Adventures~ sent me an awesome package... and an award! I only hope my package even somewhat measures up to how great yours was. So thank you. I am going to post about what I got tomorrow because my pictures of what I got aren't working.

But onto the award!



So what you're supposed to do is:


1. Copy & paste the award on your blog.


2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink)


3. List 10 things that make you happy.

1. My husband Ryan!
2. My family and my lovely lovely friends.
3. Being onstage, working in the theatre.
4. Travel. I love going to new places and trying new things and seeing amazing sights.
5. Fireworks. I LOVE fireworks.
6. Reading a really really good book.
7. Sitting on the couch with Ryan and watching a movie.
8. Rollercoasters.
9. Chocolate. Preferably with peanutbutter.
10. My puppy... well my mom's I guess now. Dippy is the best dog ever.

Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know!

I am going to pass this on to Skinnie Piggie as I love her blog!

CVS, TriCare, Dry Run, Recipe

Random post but I wanted to write it while I still remembered.

For all you wives... if you have TriCare and ever need a perscription filled know that CVS accepts TriCare!! The Naval Hospital here is over 45 minutes away and to get there is a real pain. I was waiting to see the doctor and I needed my old meds refilled so I went to CVS expecting just to pay an arm and a leg. They pharmacist and I were chatting and he just entered Ryan's information into the computer and it all worked! So if you all ever need perscriptions and don't want to do a long journey, ask the doctor for a hard copy (the paper) instead of instantly sending it to the pharmacy on base and you can take it to CVS. Since I can walk to CVS that is my new game plan for prescriptions! $3 generic, $9 regular... way cheaper than even my old insurance plan! Now aside from me this information may not be useful for anyone but I thought I would put it out there anyway.

Is it bad it took me one sugar free red bull and three diet cokes to get through the dry run of camp??? It also started two hours later than a regular camp day an there were no kids. Oh I am so so in for it! Pray for me for Monday. I am so nervous about my commute and doing it all right!

I see everyone sharing recipes so I am going to share what I made for dinner tonight... it is really easy to make, may not be exact, but it is quite yummy.

Apple Pork with Sauerkraut

4 Pork Loins (or whatever the boneless ones that look like chicken breasts are)
Bottle of apple juice
Jar/Can of apple sauce
Can of sauerkraut (can use fresh if you wish! but the can is easy and cheap and just enough)

Serves 4

-In a frying pan put the defrosted pork in with the apple juice. I use enough to just cover it basically.
-Simmer each side til pork whitens, a couple minutes each.
-Now if you use the canned sauerkraut open it and pour the sauerkraut into two or three folded over paper towels. Over the sink squeeze it out. This removes the excess liquid and makes the sauerkraut less bitter.
-Mix applesauce and squeezed sauerkraut in a bowl.
-In a 9x13 dish (or casserole dish, can cover with lid if you want to, I just did the glass 9x13 dish) coat the applesauce/sauerkraut mixture on the bottom in an even layer.
-Place pork from pan on top of mixture.
-Pour drippings/juice from pan on top of pork.
-Heat in oven at 350 for about 40 minutes.

Cooked pork should be 155/160 degrees when fully cooked. Serve with mashed potatoes and enjoy!!! This picture is sort of what it will look like...

picture from tasteofhome.com


You will have to let me know if you try it and like it! It is a recipe my mom uses and now I use. You can also substitute all the apple things for pineapple if you so wish...