Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #12
Perfectly Imperfect Produce: Box #12
Another week of produce! I was super excited to get the red pears and mushrooms, as those are not things I usually buy. Check out what I did with all the produce below!
What's in the box?
Tomatoes & Onion: Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
I love a good tomato soup recipe. My all-time favorite tomato soup is Snowbasin's tomato soup with asiago cheese. That warm soup on a cold day after skiing is just perfect. Another favorite tomato soup is Zuppas. While the flavor profile is a bit different than Snowbasin's, it is still yummy. With Snowbasin and Zuppas far away, it was time for me to try to make tomato basil soup. I made the soup in the Crockpot with the tomatoes and onion from the box. The soup starts with homemade pesto and sauteed onions and is finished with orzo and asiago cheese. Yum! While it was not exactly the same as Zuppas' soup, the soup was a very delicious creamy tomato soup. Recipe below!
Recipe: Here
*Tweaks: I halved the recipe. I also substituted some of the canned tomatoes for my fresh ones. Instead of half-n-half, I added cream. I paired the soup with homemade French bread, orzo, and asiago cheese.
Mushrooms: Morgan's Mushroom Chicken Pasta
My favorite way to cook is to see what I have in my fridge and pantry and to make something new. That's what happened this week with the mushrooms. I had everything I needed to make a creamy pasta with sauteed mushrooms, so I went for it. The dish that emerged was my Mushroom Chicken Pasta. Essentially, this pasta dish reminds me of chicken alfredo with sauteed mushrooms. Creamy sauce with buttery, caramelized mushrooms, and shredded rotisserie chicken tastes delicious. Definitely a meal I will be making often! Recipe below!
Recipe: Morgan's Mushroom Chicken Pasta
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. Butter
1 package of mushrooms (around 8ish oz) - sliced
2 garlic cloves
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 package of pasta (16 oz)
1 cooked chicken breast (shredded)
3 Tbs. Butter
2 Tbs. flour
2 c milk
1/4 tsp. thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 c parmesan (plus more for serving)
Parsely (for serving)
Directions:
Broccoli: Chicken Broccoli Crepes
Do you ever think of that special meal from your childhood? The one that you did not eat very often but always tasted so good? For me, that meal is Chicken Broccoli Crepes. I have the best memories of these growing up. While I am not the biggest fan of broccoli, I actually really like the broccoli in these crepes. Cheese, chicken, broccoli, and sauce wrapped in a buttery crepe is absolutely delicious. If you make the crepes the day before and use a rotisserie chicken, this meal becomes so easy! The stuffed crepes are comfort food to the max and make me smile every time I eat them. With my husband finishing a week of exams, I knew I had to make them to celebrate. Recipe below! Enjoy!
Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Crepes
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c milk
1 c water
6 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c flour
2 cooked shredded chicken breasts
2 heads of broccoli
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
Directions:
Crepes:
Broccoli:
Sauce:
Assembly:
Acorn Squash & Kale: Decorated Roasted Squash
The holidays are finally here, and this decorated acorn squash is definitely festive! Sweet roasted squash with tangy cheese, crunchy walnuts, fresh pomegranate seeds, and nutty pesto looks and tastes amazing. Once you have all the components, the dish is very easy to put together. This would be a great side dish for your Thanksgiving meal. Recipes below! Enjoy!
Pesto Recipe: Here
*I used walnuts instead of almonds
Squash Recipe: Here
*Because I made a kale and walnut pesto, I toasted walnuts instead of pinenuts. I also halved the recipe since I only had one acorn squash. Also, remember you don't eat the outside of the squash! You may want to take off the skin after you roast it and before you plate it.
Sweet Potatoes: Loaded Sweet Potatoes
Mini marshmallows toasted on a buttery, perfectly cooked sweet potato? That is exactly what these sweet potatoes are! Delicious and easy too! Once the sweet potatoes are scrubbed clean and poked, stick them in a 375-degree oven for an hour. Once done, cut them in half, add butter, a dash of cinnamon, and a lot of mini marshmallows. Back into the oven they go, on broil, until the marshmallows are toasted. (They brown fast!) Then serve! Easy and a perfect side dish or dessert.
Artichoke & Avacado
This week the avocado went onto pesto chicken sandwiches, and the artichoke was steamed and eaten with lemon and butter. Check out Box 11 for more details on how to prepare an artichoke!
Box 11: Here
Zucchini: Pesto Salmon with Roasted Zucchini
Salmon with roasted vegetables is a go-to at my house. We keep our extra salmon fillets in the freezer, and when we are ready for an easy meal, we dethaw a salmon fillet in cold water. Once dethawed, I stick the fillet on a baking sheet with the sliced vegetable tossed in olive oil. I top the salmon with the pesto and into a preheated oven it goes. Stick the oven on broil for 8-10 minutes, and the salmon and vegetables turn out perfect. It really is an easy method for cooking salmon and vegetables.
Sorry for no picture! This time change has made it hard for me to take pictures in natural light! It gets dark here about 4:30, which is so early!
Apples, Orange, & Pears: Snacks
The apples, orange, and pears went fast this week! The red pears were a yummy treat. They taste very similar to a normal green pear but just a tad less sweet.
How did I do with this week's produce? What would you have made? Let me know your ideas and if you recreate any of the recipes above!
Another week of produce! I was super excited to get the red pears and mushrooms, as those are not things I usually buy. Check out what I did with all the produce below!
What's in the box?
Kale
Red Pears
White Mushrooms
Onion
Avacado
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Acorn Squash
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes
Orange
Apples
Artichoke
Tomatoes & Onion: Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
I love a good tomato soup recipe. My all-time favorite tomato soup is Snowbasin's tomato soup with asiago cheese. That warm soup on a cold day after skiing is just perfect. Another favorite tomato soup is Zuppas. While the flavor profile is a bit different than Snowbasin's, it is still yummy. With Snowbasin and Zuppas far away, it was time for me to try to make tomato basil soup. I made the soup in the Crockpot with the tomatoes and onion from the box. The soup starts with homemade pesto and sauteed onions and is finished with orzo and asiago cheese. Yum! While it was not exactly the same as Zuppas' soup, the soup was a very delicious creamy tomato soup. Recipe below!
Recipe: Here
*Tweaks: I halved the recipe. I also substituted some of the canned tomatoes for my fresh ones. Instead of half-n-half, I added cream. I paired the soup with homemade French bread, orzo, and asiago cheese.
 |
| Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Orzo |
Mushrooms: Morgan's Mushroom Chicken Pasta
My favorite way to cook is to see what I have in my fridge and pantry and to make something new. That's what happened this week with the mushrooms. I had everything I needed to make a creamy pasta with sauteed mushrooms, so I went for it. The dish that emerged was my Mushroom Chicken Pasta. Essentially, this pasta dish reminds me of chicken alfredo with sauteed mushrooms. Creamy sauce with buttery, caramelized mushrooms, and shredded rotisserie chicken tastes delicious. Definitely a meal I will be making often! Recipe below!
Recipe: Morgan's Mushroom Chicken Pasta
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. Butter
1 package of mushrooms (around 8ish oz) - sliced
2 garlic cloves
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 package of pasta (16 oz)
1 cooked chicken breast (shredded)
3 Tbs. Butter
2 Tbs. flour
2 c milk
1/4 tsp. thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 c parmesan (plus more for serving)
Parsely (for serving)
Directions:
- In boiling water, cook pasta to package directions. Once done, drain and set aside. (But while pasta is cooking, begin next step.)
- In a large pot, melt 2 Tbs. butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add sliced mushrooms and let cook until the liquid from mushrooms has cooked off (about 5-7 minutes). Stir occasionally to make sure mushrooms do not burn.
- Once mushrooms start to carmelize and brown, add minced garlic and cook for one minute.
- Pour mushrooms into a separate bowl and set aside.
- In the same pot the mushrooms were cooked in, melt the 3 Tbs. butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of milk and whisk.
- Turn up the heat to medium and add thyme and a dash of salt and pepper. Whisk to make sure mixture doesn't burn on bottom.
- Once milk has boiled and mixture starts to thicken, add parmesan cheese and whisk in.
- Turn off the heat and add the set-aside mushrooms, cooked/shredded chicken breast, and cooked pasta. Stir until everything is coated.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy!
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| Morgan's Mushroom Chicken Pasta |
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| Morgan's Mushroom Chicken Pasta |
Do you ever think of that special meal from your childhood? The one that you did not eat very often but always tasted so good? For me, that meal is Chicken Broccoli Crepes. I have the best memories of these growing up. While I am not the biggest fan of broccoli, I actually really like the broccoli in these crepes. Cheese, chicken, broccoli, and sauce wrapped in a buttery crepe is absolutely delicious. If you make the crepes the day before and use a rotisserie chicken, this meal becomes so easy! The stuffed crepes are comfort food to the max and make me smile every time I eat them. With my husband finishing a week of exams, I knew I had to make them to celebrate. Recipe below! Enjoy!
Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Crepes
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c milk
1 c water
6 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c flour
2 cooked shredded chicken breasts
2 heads of broccoli
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
Directions:
Crepes:
- In a large bowl, add eggs, milk, water, and salt. Whisk well. Add melted butter in slowly (if hot, make sure not to scramble the eggs). Add flour and whisk well. If desired, put batter through a strainer to remove lumps.
- Over medium heat, heat a medium to large non-stick frying pan (I use two to make it go faster). Add batter to pan and immediately swirl batter around pan until the whole bottom is covered. (Depending on how big your pan is, each crepe may need between 1/4-1/3ish cup of batter. Just experiment with the first few and you will be able to tell. You want the crepe thin but the bottom of the pan should be completely covered too...no holes in the batter. The first ones I make I always eat anyways... yum!)
- Once the circumference of the crepe starts to pull away from the pan, flip the crepe and cook for another 2 minutes until crepe is golden and done.
- Cook crepes until all batter is gone. We need around 10-12 crepes for the dish. The rest you can eat as you go or save for later!
- Shred and set aside.
Broccoli:
- Wash and cut broccoli into small florets.
- Steam broccoli until al dente. Set aside.
Sauce:
- In a small saucepot, add can of cream of chicken soup and one can's worth of milk (about a cup). Stir with whisk and cook on medium-low heat until boils and thickens.
- Set aside.
Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Take one crepe and add pieces of shredded chicken down the middle. Add a couple florets of broccoli, a sprinkle of cheese, and a stripe of sauce down the middle. Then roll up like an enchilada. Place in 9x13.
- Continue the process, placing each stuffed crepe next to each other in the 9x13, until pan is full.
- Cook in heated oven for 20 minutes.
- Serve with extra sauce.
- Enjoy!
 |
| Chicken Broccoli Crepes |
Acorn Squash & Kale: Decorated Roasted Squash
The holidays are finally here, and this decorated acorn squash is definitely festive! Sweet roasted squash with tangy cheese, crunchy walnuts, fresh pomegranate seeds, and nutty pesto looks and tastes amazing. Once you have all the components, the dish is very easy to put together. This would be a great side dish for your Thanksgiving meal. Recipes below! Enjoy!
Pesto Recipe: Here
*I used walnuts instead of almonds
Squash Recipe: Here
*Because I made a kale and walnut pesto, I toasted walnuts instead of pinenuts. I also halved the recipe since I only had one acorn squash. Also, remember you don't eat the outside of the squash! You may want to take off the skin after you roast it and before you plate it.
 |
| Decorated Roasted Squash |
Sweet Potatoes: Loaded Sweet Potatoes
Mini marshmallows toasted on a buttery, perfectly cooked sweet potato? That is exactly what these sweet potatoes are! Delicious and easy too! Once the sweet potatoes are scrubbed clean and poked, stick them in a 375-degree oven for an hour. Once done, cut them in half, add butter, a dash of cinnamon, and a lot of mini marshmallows. Back into the oven they go, on broil, until the marshmallows are toasted. (They brown fast!) Then serve! Easy and a perfect side dish or dessert.
 |
| Loaded Sweet Potato |
Artichoke & Avacado
This week the avocado went onto pesto chicken sandwiches, and the artichoke was steamed and eaten with lemon and butter. Check out Box 11 for more details on how to prepare an artichoke!
Box 11: Here
Zucchini: Pesto Salmon with Roasted Zucchini
Salmon with roasted vegetables is a go-to at my house. We keep our extra salmon fillets in the freezer, and when we are ready for an easy meal, we dethaw a salmon fillet in cold water. Once dethawed, I stick the fillet on a baking sheet with the sliced vegetable tossed in olive oil. I top the salmon with the pesto and into a preheated oven it goes. Stick the oven on broil for 8-10 minutes, and the salmon and vegetables turn out perfect. It really is an easy method for cooking salmon and vegetables.
Sorry for no picture! This time change has made it hard for me to take pictures in natural light! It gets dark here about 4:30, which is so early!
Apples, Orange, & Pears: Snacks
The apples, orange, and pears went fast this week! The red pears were a yummy treat. They taste very similar to a normal green pear but just a tad less sweet.
How did I do with this week's produce? What would you have made? Let me know your ideas and if you recreate any of the recipes above!
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