Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #8
Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #8
Another week of cooking with Perfectly Imperfect Produce's surprise box of produce! I feel like I am on Food Network's Chopped! I get a box full of surprise ingredients, and then I get to make meals out of it! (I'm just glad I get to prepare a full week of meals instead of having to put everything in one meal!) This week I made a lot of food I had never tried before! Check out what I did below!
What's in the box?
Carrots & Onion: Mini Chicken Pot Pies with Homemade Crust
The carrots this week definitely had character! They were twisted, curved, and a little odd-looking; but nevertheless, they went perfectly into my Mini Chicken Pot Pies. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite meals to make because it is warm, filling, and comforting. You can also make it easy with a store-bought pie crust, frozen vegetables, and a rotisserie chicken. Or you can go all out by making a homemade pie crust and cooking your own vegetables. This time I went the more labor-intensive route and made mini pies with homemade crust. It was a lot of work, but they turned out so yummy.
To make the pot pies mini, I lined a muffin tin with homemade pie crust and then spooned in the filling. My filling included rotisserie chicken, red potatoes, carrots (with character), peas, and lima beans. You can keep or omit any of those ingredients as pot pies are customizable! Add turkey instead of chicken, corn instead of lima beans, or store-bought pie crust/puff pastry instead of homemade pie crust... all are great possibilities. I blogged the easy version below... check it out!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I made my own pie crust, made double-crust pies instead of just topping the filling with a single pie crust, and I cooked my carrots instead of using frozen. My mini pies also cooked for an hour at 400 degrees.
Beet & Carrots: Roasted Veggie Salad
I am loving roasted vegetables lately! They are so easy to prepare and give the vegetables the perfect flavor and texture. All you have to do is line your baking sheet with tin foil (for easy clean up), cut up your veggies, toss them in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stick them in a hot oven. After an hour, they are browned and delicious. Easy, healthy, and tastes so good!
The beets and carrots from my box roasted perfectly with red onion and sweet potatoes. After all the vegetables were roasted, I tossed them with mixed greens and the yummiest homemade salad dressing. The combination of olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, and dijon mustard is one of my favorite salad dressings. The dressing is light and refreshing but has enough substance to stand up to the vegetables. Absolutely delicious!
My favorite part of the salad was the roasted sweet potato! The sweet potatoes browned nicely and tasted like sweet potato fries! After we ate, my husband said it's his new favorite meal. Very festive and fall-like! I attached the recipe below!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I omitted the parsnip and added an extra sweet potato. Instead of walnuts, I topped with almonds.
*I also think roasted butternut squash would be delicious in this recipe. Bacon would also be a great topping.
Cauliflower & Poblano Pepper: Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
I haven't interacted with cauliflower much in my lifetime. I did try making cauliflower rice a while ago, but other than that I have not cooked with cauliflower. I was excited to give the cauliflower a chance this week and decided to cover the white vegetable in a cheesy sauce with a kick. Inspired by Ree Drummond's recipe, I made a version of my own! The poblano pepper from my box gave the mac & cheese a distinctly delicious flavor while roasting the cauliflower kept the vegetable al dente with a bit of brown. With a mixture of cheddar and parmesan cheese, the cauliflower dove into the yummiest cheese sauce and then baked with a topping of breadcrumbs and cheese. I never knew cauliflower could be so yummy! My recipe is below!
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1-2 Tbs. of olive oil
salt and pepper
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 poblano pepper deseeded and diced
Sprinkle of dried chili flakes
Sprinkle of garlic salt
Sprinkle of black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese grated
2 Tbs. parmesan cheese
3 Tbs. panko breadcrumbs
Instructions:
Roma Tomatoes, Red Bell Pepper, Onion, Poblano Pepper, & Kale: Shakshuka
If you love tomatoes, this recipe is for you! Packed with flavors from the peppers and onion, this homemade tomato sauce is the perfect sauce to poach your eggs in. Topped with creamy feta cheese and served with toast, this is the perfect brunch meal!
Shakshuka is a fancy word that means poaching your eggs in a tomato sauce that is filled with spices and peppers. While this shakshuka recipe was not spicy, you could definitely add a kick with cayenne or jalapeno pepper. I love the addition of the kale as it wilted down and became soft. The peppers also rounded out the sauce flavor and paired perfectly with the feta.
My favorite part of this recipe was making the holes for the eggs and then adding each egg one by one. As the eggs poached in the sauce, the clear egg whites turned opaque, and then it was ready to serve! I attached the recipe below! Enjoy!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I used the Roma tomatoes from my box instead of 14 ounces of the canned tomatoes (I still added one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes). I also added a poblano pepper with the red pepper. We also could have cooked two more eggs with the amount of sauce in the pan.
Acorn Squash & Apples: Sausage & Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash
When I saw the acorn squash in my box, I was excited! Another new vegetable that I have never tried! As I looked up different recipes, the theme for acorn squash seems to "stuffed" acorn squash. So I decided to go with the "stuffing" idea and made sausage and apple stuffed acorn squash! The sweet apple complimented the slightly spicy sausage, and they both paired nicely with the sweetness of the squash. The dish felt very fall-like and a perfect dish going into the holidays. I would definitely make it again! Recipe below!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I drained off the grease from the sausage after it was cooked! Next time I would add only half the panko breadcrumbs (add 1/2 cup instead of a full cup).
Blueberries: Blueberries and Granola
Homemade granola is a favorite at my house. We love eating it for breakfast or for a snack! Even though the granola is delicious without any added fresh fruit, it is always a treat to add fresh blueberries. So this week for breakfast, we ate the homemade granola like cereal and topped it with blueberries. Recipe below!
Recipe: Here
Peaches & Plums: Snacks!
I was planning on making a crumble with the peaches and plums this week, but we just ate them as snacks instead! Yummy treats this late into the year!
How did I do with this week's produce? What would you have made with the produce? Let me know your ideas and if you make any of the recipes above!
Another week of cooking with Perfectly Imperfect Produce's surprise box of produce! I feel like I am on Food Network's Chopped! I get a box full of surprise ingredients, and then I get to make meals out of it! (I'm just glad I get to prepare a full week of meals instead of having to put everything in one meal!) This week I made a lot of food I had never tried before! Check out what I did below!
What's in the box?
Kale
Cauliflower
Carrots
Onions
Roma Tomatoes
Poblano Peppers
Peaches
Plums
Apples
Beets
Blueberries
Red Bell Pepper
Acorn Squash
Carrots & Onion: Mini Chicken Pot Pies with Homemade Crust
The carrots this week definitely had character! They were twisted, curved, and a little odd-looking; but nevertheless, they went perfectly into my Mini Chicken Pot Pies. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite meals to make because it is warm, filling, and comforting. You can also make it easy with a store-bought pie crust, frozen vegetables, and a rotisserie chicken. Or you can go all out by making a homemade pie crust and cooking your own vegetables. This time I went the more labor-intensive route and made mini pies with homemade crust. It was a lot of work, but they turned out so yummy.
To make the pot pies mini, I lined a muffin tin with homemade pie crust and then spooned in the filling. My filling included rotisserie chicken, red potatoes, carrots (with character), peas, and lima beans. You can keep or omit any of those ingredients as pot pies are customizable! Add turkey instead of chicken, corn instead of lima beans, or store-bought pie crust/puff pastry instead of homemade pie crust... all are great possibilities. I blogged the easy version below... check it out!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I made my own pie crust, made double-crust pies instead of just topping the filling with a single pie crust, and I cooked my carrots instead of using frozen. My mini pies also cooked for an hour at 400 degrees.
 |
| Chicken and Vegetable Filling |
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| Mini Pot Pies cooked in muffin tins! |
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| Double Crusted Mini Chicken Pot Pies |
Beet & Carrots: Roasted Veggie Salad
I am loving roasted vegetables lately! They are so easy to prepare and give the vegetables the perfect flavor and texture. All you have to do is line your baking sheet with tin foil (for easy clean up), cut up your veggies, toss them in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stick them in a hot oven. After an hour, they are browned and delicious. Easy, healthy, and tastes so good!
The beets and carrots from my box roasted perfectly with red onion and sweet potatoes. After all the vegetables were roasted, I tossed them with mixed greens and the yummiest homemade salad dressing. The combination of olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, and dijon mustard is one of my favorite salad dressings. The dressing is light and refreshing but has enough substance to stand up to the vegetables. Absolutely delicious!
My favorite part of the salad was the roasted sweet potato! The sweet potatoes browned nicely and tasted like sweet potato fries! After we ate, my husband said it's his new favorite meal. Very festive and fall-like! I attached the recipe below!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I omitted the parsnip and added an extra sweet potato. Instead of walnuts, I topped with almonds.
*I also think roasted butternut squash would be delicious in this recipe. Bacon would also be a great topping.
 |
| Roasted Sweet Potato, Carrot, Beet, & Onion Salad Topped with Almonds, Feta, and Homemade Dressing |
Cauliflower & Poblano Pepper: Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
I haven't interacted with cauliflower much in my lifetime. I did try making cauliflower rice a while ago, but other than that I have not cooked with cauliflower. I was excited to give the cauliflower a chance this week and decided to cover the white vegetable in a cheesy sauce with a kick. Inspired by Ree Drummond's recipe, I made a version of my own! The poblano pepper from my box gave the mac & cheese a distinctly delicious flavor while roasting the cauliflower kept the vegetable al dente with a bit of brown. With a mixture of cheddar and parmesan cheese, the cauliflower dove into the yummiest cheese sauce and then baked with a topping of breadcrumbs and cheese. I never knew cauliflower could be so yummy! My recipe is below!
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1-2 Tbs. of olive oil
salt and pepper
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 poblano pepper deseeded and diced
Sprinkle of dried chili flakes
Sprinkle of garlic salt
Sprinkle of black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese grated
2 Tbs. parmesan cheese
3 Tbs. panko breadcrumbs
Instructions:
- Turn oven on high broil and line a baking sheet with tin foil.
- Wash your cauliflower and cut into florets. Pat dry with paper towel and place on baking sheet.
- Drizzle 1-2 Tbs. olive oil over florets and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roast on high broil for 8ish minutes until florets are al dente and just starting to brown. Set aside.
- In a medium pan, melt 2 Tbs. butter over medium heat. Add de-seeded and diced poblano pepper and cook until soft. About 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle in chili flakes, garlic salt, and pepper and stir.
- Add flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute. Add milk and whisk until thick (about 2 minutes). Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 375.
- Take pot off the heat and add grated cheddar cheese. Stir until smooth. Add more milk if mixture is too thick or add more cheese if mixture is too thin.
- Add cauliflower into sauce then pour into a greased 8x8 pan.
- In a small bowl, combine parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the top of mac and cheese.
- Bake on 375 for 25-30 minutes until breadcrumbs are toasted and mac and cheese is bubbly. If needed, turn on broil to brown top.
- Let cool a bit then enjoy!
 |
| Cauliflower Mac & Cheese |
Roma Tomatoes, Red Bell Pepper, Onion, Poblano Pepper, & Kale: Shakshuka
If you love tomatoes, this recipe is for you! Packed with flavors from the peppers and onion, this homemade tomato sauce is the perfect sauce to poach your eggs in. Topped with creamy feta cheese and served with toast, this is the perfect brunch meal!
Shakshuka is a fancy word that means poaching your eggs in a tomato sauce that is filled with spices and peppers. While this shakshuka recipe was not spicy, you could definitely add a kick with cayenne or jalapeno pepper. I love the addition of the kale as it wilted down and became soft. The peppers also rounded out the sauce flavor and paired perfectly with the feta.
My favorite part of this recipe was making the holes for the eggs and then adding each egg one by one. As the eggs poached in the sauce, the clear egg whites turned opaque, and then it was ready to serve! I attached the recipe below! Enjoy!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I used the Roma tomatoes from my box instead of 14 ounces of the canned tomatoes (I still added one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes). I also added a poblano pepper with the red pepper. We also could have cooked two more eggs with the amount of sauce in the pan.
 |
| Shakshuka |
Acorn Squash & Apples: Sausage & Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash
When I saw the acorn squash in my box, I was excited! Another new vegetable that I have never tried! As I looked up different recipes, the theme for acorn squash seems to "stuffed" acorn squash. So I decided to go with the "stuffing" idea and made sausage and apple stuffed acorn squash! The sweet apple complimented the slightly spicy sausage, and they both paired nicely with the sweetness of the squash. The dish felt very fall-like and a perfect dish going into the holidays. I would definitely make it again! Recipe below!
Recipe: Here
Tweaks: I drained off the grease from the sausage after it was cooked! Next time I would add only half the panko breadcrumbs (add 1/2 cup instead of a full cup).
 |
| Apple & Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash |
Blueberries: Blueberries and Granola
Homemade granola is a favorite at my house. We love eating it for breakfast or for a snack! Even though the granola is delicious without any added fresh fruit, it is always a treat to add fresh blueberries. So this week for breakfast, we ate the homemade granola like cereal and topped it with blueberries. Recipe below!
Recipe: Here
 |
| Homemade Granola |
Peaches & Plums: Snacks!
I was planning on making a crumble with the peaches and plums this week, but we just ate them as snacks instead! Yummy treats this late into the year!
How did I do with this week's produce? What would you have made with the produce? Let me know your ideas and if you make any of the recipes above!
More links:
Box #7 Marbled Zucchini Bread, Triple P Pizza, Apple Turnovers, Grandma Sloots Potato Soup, Spaghetti Squash Tots, Tin Foil Shrimp & Veggie Packets
**Box #6 Crème Brûlée, Rose Petal Apple Pie, Cafe Rio Inspired Salads, Delicata Squash, Roasted Asparagus with Salmon, Minestrone Soup, Chicken Croissants
Box #5 Lemon Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce, Zoodles with Homemade Tomato & Meat Sauce, Beet Gnocchi with Goat Cheese, Stuffed Peppers, Plum Cake Round 2
**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
**My favorite boxes
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