Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #5
Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #5
Another week with another box from Perfectly Imperfect Produce! These PIP boxes are my favorite thing about Cleveland. Check out what I did with the produce below!
What's in the box?
Blackberries: Lemon Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce
I love the flavor of lemons... (Hence, the name of my blog is Lemon&Butter! Lemon and butter are two of the best foods because you can do so much with them!) ...and lemons pair great with blackberries! So this week I made lemon pancakes with blackberry sauce. For the pancake, I just added the zest of one lemon to my normal pancake recipe, and they were delicious. I will definitely be adding lemon zest to my pancakes again! They were light and airy with great lemon flavor. For the sauce, I added the package of blackberries to a pan with the juice from half the lemon (that I just zested) with a sprinkle of sugar. Then, I just let the blackberries cook down until they formed a sauce. Easy! The blackberry sauced paired perfectly with the lemon pancakes. What a treat these pancakes were! Highly recommend!
Roma Tomatoes, Zucchini, & Onion: Zoodles with Homemade Tomato & Meat Sauce
Last week I tried zoodles and loved them! So I was very excited when I found more zucchini in the box this week. On top of the zoodles, I made a homemade tomato sauce from the Roma tomatoes. I had never made tomato sauce before, and it was easier than I thought it would be. I cubed all six tomatoes and threw them in a pot with a drizzle of olive oil and a diced onion. Then on medium heat, I just let the tomatoes boil and break down. After about 15-20 minutes of simmering, I took my immersion blender and blended until smooth. In a separate pan, I cooked up some hamburger and then added it to the sauce. The sauce was done!
For the zoodles, I heated a couple tablespoons of butter in a pan and sauteed the zoodles for 90 seconds. Easy! I love the healthiness of the pasta substitute and the taste too!
Beets: Beet Gnocchi with Goat Cheese
This week I wanted to try something different with the beets instead of just putting them on a salad. So my husband and I made beet gnocchi with goat cheese! The recipe took us a very long time, but we had fun making it! I loved cutting up the gnocchi into the bite-sized pieces and then watching them float to the top of the water, indicating they were cooked. The beet also added a really nice purply red color to the gnocchi. The gnocchi tasted yummy, but you could definitely tell they were made with whole wheat flour. I think next time I will make them with white flour instead. But the subtle beet flavor with the goat cheese was absolutely perfect. We tossed the freshly cooked gnocchi in a pan with butter and sage and then once plated, added the goat cheese. If you haven't tried goat cheese, do it! It is so yummy! You can buy it in bulk at Costco for a good price, or we bought our little block at Aldi (for all of you who have access to an Aldi!) I also have blogged a yummy flatbread recipe with goat cheese on it. Link here! But back to the gnocchi, I would make them again because they tasted yummy! However, I would try white flour next time! If you make them, let me know what you think!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: Paired the gnocchi with goat cheese once cooked!
Green Peppers & Onion: Stuffed Peppers
With two medium peppers in the box, I decided to try stuffing them taco style! It was so fun to eat the filling out of a bell pepper! These pepper were stuffed with hamburger, onion, spices, corn, beans, rice, and salsa. Then I topped them with sour cream, cheese, and avocado. Definitely, a fun recipe that highlights the flavor of the bell pepper with a very yummy filling. After the peppers were gone, I ate the rest of the filling on top of nachos. Yummy! Link for the stuffed pepper recipe below!
Recipe link: Here
Plums: Plum Cake Round 2
We loved the plum cake last week that we made it again this week! I never thought I would like plums, but this cake is one of my new favorites. It is so easy and quick but looks really professional. The plums add the perfect tartness, sweetness, and moisture to the cake, so you really don't need ice cream or whipped cream to make it complete (however, whipped cream and ice cream is never a bad idea.) Give this plum cake a try!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I added a splash of vanilla to the cake batter and just used a normal cake pan instead of a skillet. I also cut out of a circle of parchment paper to line the bottom to help it come out of the pan easier.
Banana Peppers: Omelets
When I saw the banana pepper, I became really excited! I have wanted to recreate the omelets I made with my third box, and I finally had the pepper to do it! I blogged about it over on my Box #3 post. Link attached below!
Check out my Box #3 post: Here
Apples, Cucumber, & Carrots: Snacks
At Costco this week, we bought Kirkland's Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, and it is so yummy! I usually am not the biggest fan of peanut butter, but this one really tastes good. Sometimes the organic nut-butters can be dry and gritty, but not this one! Once opened, it needs to be mixed up really well. At first, the peanut butter seems runny but just keep mixing it. Once all the oil mixed in and the peanut butter is still at room temperature, the peanut butter has almost a sauce-like consistency. I cut up the apples and drizzled the peanut butter over the apples. It really tasted delicious. Then once we put it in the fridge, it hardened to the consistency of regular peanut butter but seriously tastes so much better. If you are looking for a good peanut butter for sandwiches or to eat with apples, head to Costco and try this stuff!
Also, the carrots and cucumber were delicious snacks for the week!
More Links:
Another week with another box from Perfectly Imperfect Produce! These PIP boxes are my favorite thing about Cleveland. Check out what I did with the produce below!
What's in the box?
Carrots
Roma Tomatoes
Blackberries
Apples
Cucumber
Banana Peppers
Green Bell Peppers
Onions
Beets
Plums
Zucchini
Blackberries: Lemon Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce
I love the flavor of lemons... (Hence, the name of my blog is Lemon&Butter! Lemon and butter are two of the best foods because you can do so much with them!) ...and lemons pair great with blackberries! So this week I made lemon pancakes with blackberry sauce. For the pancake, I just added the zest of one lemon to my normal pancake recipe, and they were delicious. I will definitely be adding lemon zest to my pancakes again! They were light and airy with great lemon flavor. For the sauce, I added the package of blackberries to a pan with the juice from half the lemon (that I just zested) with a sprinkle of sugar. Then, I just let the blackberries cook down until they formed a sauce. Easy! The blackberry sauced paired perfectly with the lemon pancakes. What a treat these pancakes were! Highly recommend!
Roma Tomatoes, Zucchini, & Onion: Zoodles with Homemade Tomato & Meat Sauce
For the zoodles, I heated a couple tablespoons of butter in a pan and sauteed the zoodles for 90 seconds. Easy! I love the healthiness of the pasta substitute and the taste too!
Beets: Beet Gnocchi with Goat Cheese
This week I wanted to try something different with the beets instead of just putting them on a salad. So my husband and I made beet gnocchi with goat cheese! The recipe took us a very long time, but we had fun making it! I loved cutting up the gnocchi into the bite-sized pieces and then watching them float to the top of the water, indicating they were cooked. The beet also added a really nice purply red color to the gnocchi. The gnocchi tasted yummy, but you could definitely tell they were made with whole wheat flour. I think next time I will make them with white flour instead. But the subtle beet flavor with the goat cheese was absolutely perfect. We tossed the freshly cooked gnocchi in a pan with butter and sage and then once plated, added the goat cheese. If you haven't tried goat cheese, do it! It is so yummy! You can buy it in bulk at Costco for a good price, or we bought our little block at Aldi (for all of you who have access to an Aldi!) I also have blogged a yummy flatbread recipe with goat cheese on it. Link here! But back to the gnocchi, I would make them again because they tasted yummy! However, I would try white flour next time! If you make them, let me know what you think!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: Paired the gnocchi with goat cheese once cooked!
Green Peppers & Onion: Stuffed Peppers
With two medium peppers in the box, I decided to try stuffing them taco style! It was so fun to eat the filling out of a bell pepper! These pepper were stuffed with hamburger, onion, spices, corn, beans, rice, and salsa. Then I topped them with sour cream, cheese, and avocado. Definitely, a fun recipe that highlights the flavor of the bell pepper with a very yummy filling. After the peppers were gone, I ate the rest of the filling on top of nachos. Yummy! Link for the stuffed pepper recipe below!
Recipe link: Here
Plums: Plum Cake Round 2
We loved the plum cake last week that we made it again this week! I never thought I would like plums, but this cake is one of my new favorites. It is so easy and quick but looks really professional. The plums add the perfect tartness, sweetness, and moisture to the cake, so you really don't need ice cream or whipped cream to make it complete (however, whipped cream and ice cream is never a bad idea.) Give this plum cake a try!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I added a splash of vanilla to the cake batter and just used a normal cake pan instead of a skillet. I also cut out of a circle of parchment paper to line the bottom to help it come out of the pan easier.
Banana Peppers: Omelets
When I saw the banana pepper, I became really excited! I have wanted to recreate the omelets I made with my third box, and I finally had the pepper to do it! I blogged about it over on my Box #3 post. Link attached below!
Check out my Box #3 post: Here
Apples, Cucumber, & Carrots: Snacks
At Costco this week, we bought Kirkland's Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, and it is so yummy! I usually am not the biggest fan of peanut butter, but this one really tastes good. Sometimes the organic nut-butters can be dry and gritty, but not this one! Once opened, it needs to be mixed up really well. At first, the peanut butter seems runny but just keep mixing it. Once all the oil mixed in and the peanut butter is still at room temperature, the peanut butter has almost a sauce-like consistency. I cut up the apples and drizzled the peanut butter over the apples. It really tasted delicious. Then once we put it in the fridge, it hardened to the consistency of regular peanut butter but seriously tastes so much better. If you are looking for a good peanut butter for sandwiches or to eat with apples, head to Costco and try this stuff!
Also, the carrots and cucumber were delicious snacks for the week!
What would you have done with the produce in this week's box? If you make any of the recipes or have any ideas for me to try, please let me know!
More Links:
**Box #4 Nectarine Vanilla Scones, Lemon Fajitas, Plum Cake, Zoodles Topped with Lemon and Parmesan, Sautéed Shrimp with Squash, Mango Salsa Salmon, Chicken Noodle Soup
Box #3 Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Omelet with Crispy Hash Browns, Butternut Squash Soup with Beet Salad, Pulled Eggplant Sandwich, Salmon with Roasted Zucchini
Box #2 Butter Chicken with Watermelon for Dessert, Very Homemade Sushi: Custom California Roll, Chicken Orzo with Vegetables, Waffles with Peaches
Box #1 Fruit Salad, Broiled Salmon with Vegetables, Eggplant Roll-Ups, Carrots with Hummus
**One of my favorite boxes
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