Homemade Applesauce

I really enjoyed making and eating this applesauce. I could have made it more commercial by putting it in a blender after, but I don’t mind the chunkiness. It gives it a more homemade feel. I ate this mostly as Dean wasn’t fond that it didn’t come in an applesauce container. lol. I need to keep that and a pudding cup and make my own. This way, they are still in the containers that he recognizes and are used to. I love sharing these recipes with all of you and I hope that you share any pictures if you decide to make any of the ones that I post. Happy baking!

Ingredients

4 apples – peeled, cored and chopped

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Prep 10 m

Cook 20 m

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 121 calories; 0.2 g fat; 31.8 g carbohydrates; 0.4 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 3 mg sodium. Full nutrition

 

With Love,

Advertisement

Misfit Market 3rd Delivery

We are still loving this subscription box. I think this week is my favorite so far, because we will basically use up everything. The only thing I am questioning is the cabbage, which I will most likely give to my mom. I am not a big cabbage person. I don’t really like it all that much. I am for sure happy about everything else we received in this week’s box. I actually need to use up last week’s apples, so I am going to make an apple and pear apple crisp with oats from oatmeal that none of us has been eating. It will make the perfect topping for the baked apples and pears. I have a severe sweet tooth from that “time”, so I have been baking more recently. I just made squash bread that tastes like pumpkin bread. It is super good and nutritious. I am happy to get more veggies into Dean’s diet for sure!

2 Collard Green Bunches

This is the cabbage that I am taking about. This will probably get given to my mom, because I hate wasting food.

2 Pints of Cherry Tomatoes

This will be eaten and used up for sure. They go great in salads and on the side of many dishes. I am making American Chop Suey tonight and will add a few on these chopped up into it. It will add much needed color and veggies to the meal. Two pints will go fast. I had already bought a pint for the potato salad. I am thinking about making a roast of potatoes and sweet potatoes. These would go great with that being baked in the oven.

2 Bunches of Rainbow Carrots

I am going to be making some glazed carrots, methinks. I really love glazed carrots, but have never tried doing it myself. I also might make a ham soup with carrots and potatoes. I have a ton of carrots though that need to be eaten, so I will be looking at lots of carrot recipes.

2 Bunches of Broccoli

I have meal prepped last week’s broccoli and I am thinking of steaming them with a garlic and lime sauce. It sounds yummy. We really love broccoli over here, so I am happy to have more. I also eat broccoli raw with some veggie dip or ranch dressing. It is the best! Veggies also generally speaking keep me fuller longer when I have them as snacks.

2 Cucumbers

We have already eaten one of these in a salad. The other one will be gone soon enough. I am looking up a cucumber recipe to do something different with it. I stumbled upon fried cucumber slices. Kinda like fried pickles. I think I will try this because it sounds amazing.

9 Yellow Carrots

Like I said, we have a ton of carrots to eat through. I might wash and peel some for snacking, but I still need to put some into a few recipes. I love carrots personally, so I am sure that it won’t be a chore to eat them up and find things to make it with.

3 Delicata Squash

Squash bread was a huge hit this week. I plan on making it the same and making a squash “pumpkin” pie. Martin isn’t a huge fan of squash, so I have to find ways to disguise it as other things. It’s fun finding new recipes and making different dishes almost everyday.

16 Small Potatoes

I believe these might be baking potatoes or specifically made to have with a roast. I am thinking about making roasted potatoes with these. Also, I could make my homemade fried potatoes as well. I have enough to make a few options for sure!

8 Pears

We have already eaten a few pears as well. I plan on making a pear and apple crisp like dessert.

2 Heads of Lettuce

We already ate this. These were small and each head made 1 salad.

11 Oranges

I believe that 3 have already been eaten. These will go quickly since Dean loves oranges. He has one a day as a snack.

Dean is going to daycare starting June 3rd. I think I am going to cancel the box now, even though I love it. I want to see if we spend more on fruits and veggies or less from the cost of this box. It is a neat little experiment. If we end up spending less, then we won’t be buying this again. If we end up spending more, then I would go back to the box. It was nice to try and get a feel for it. I think we might actually spend less though. With meal planning our veggies and fruits, I think we will spend less than $38 a week on veggies alone. This will free up some money for Dean’s daycare since 1 day is $38. Skipping this will pay for 1 week of daycare for Dean.

With Love,

Misfits Market 2nd Delivery

A second week of getting our produce delivered to us. Now, this week, I feel like I am giving away a good amount of what we received to my mom, but I’d rather they get used than go to waste. You can’t pick what you get in these boxes, so you will get stuff that you won’t use, I just make sure to pass it onto my mom, who I see at least once a week. This is still a great deal for us, but I will be canceling this service when Dean starts going to daycare. It is $77 a paycheck (2 weeks) and I rather have that to put towards a combined amount of groceries. I’d rather cancel it to be on the safe side. I can always resub if we can easily have this service, pay for daycare, and groceries. If not, I will wait until I get the daycare voucher and then go back to this service if we really miss it.

8 Apples

We love apples here, whether we have them for a snack or bake them in muffins. I might try my hand at an apple pie….

2 Turnips?

I am guessing that this is a different type of turnip. I am making a potato salad and I’m mixing potatoes, sweet potatoes, and one of these in the mix. I want a real variety salad for a unique take on potato salad. Plus, it is going to be delicious!

6 Jalapenos

These are great to cook with and put in the potato salad. Not so good raw, because it doesn’t have the best flavor. I think this type is more of a cooking pepper.

2 Acorn Squash

I still haven’t made the others, but I plan on making squash muffins and squash bread. Martin isn’t a huge fan of squash, so I am going to sneak it into other foods and make it tasty. I hope he doesn’t mind and he may even find that he likes how I prepare squash!

2 Zucchini

I love baking zucchini in the oven or on a grill. However, I think that I am going to try my hand at making zucchini fritters for dinner one of these days. I love making interesting and unique dinners and not having the same thing all of the time. Martin says he hasn’t eaten so many veggies in his life. LOL

2 Fennels

It is kinda similar to dill. You can eat the top and the bulb. I want to add some of the top to the potato salad and the bulb finely chopped. I think it will add a very good flavor to it. My potato salad is kinda like everything including the kitchen sink. I like to add a lot of different flavors that work together making a delicious dish.

2 Broccoli Bunches

I am going to be meal prepping all of this broccoli into a container that we have. I love to eat broccoli raw with ranch dressing or veggie dip. I am sure all of this will be eaten up in no time at all. I might even try my hand at steaming some of it to add some much needed greenery to some of our meals.

2 Roman Hearts

I already have these meal prepped and chopped up. I also already had a salad with it as well. It is turning slightly brown, so I know we have to eat this up in a few days or it will soil. Since we both love salads, that is literally not a problem in this house.

2 Kale Bunches

All going to my mom. We just had Kale chips and ate 2 bunches of Kale. We need a much needed break from it.

2 Leeks

These are like onions. I am giving one to my mom and keeping the other. It is interesting to give it a try, now that I know what it is. I can substitute it instead of having onion, have this in whatever I need.

I love discovering new produce and trying new things. I also love that I am able to pass on what we don’t use to my mom who does so much for us. It is a little way to give back and to reduce waste. I am so excited to use up the veggies with week. It for sure lasts us the week and over the week as well with certain items that we just don’t get to but have a long shelf life for veggies.

With Love,

 

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

This was super delicious and easy to make. I had all of the ingredients easily on hand. This recipe also only took like 5 minutes to make for four servings (It filled out two 15 oz mugs pretty well, but I do like my smoothies thick). This is a delicious filling snack or as a breakfast replacement. It has a good amount of protein and fat to energize your brain. The recipe calls for honey, but I didn’t have any on hand. My smoothie still came out fantastic without it and I added in vanilla yogurt for some extra thickness.

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, broken into chunks
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons honey, or to taste
• 2 cups ice cubes

Directions:

Place bananas, milk, peanut butter, honey, and ice cubes in a blender; blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Well, there you have it! A simple, but delicious smoothie recipe. Simple altercations and you could have a ton of variations of this like adding berries to it or agave syrup instead.

With Love,

Garlic Rosemary Chicken with Roasted Root Veggies

Okay, so I will be posting these recipes on my blog. I will be taking pictures of our plated meal and giving a review on each meal. I will be reviewing making the meal as well as consuming it. I am really excited to start making these meals. I thought that sharing the recipe would be nice if it is any good and so anyone could make these meals at home with their own ingredients.

The Stats:

COOKING TIME

45 minutes

NUTRITION PER SERVING

Calories 610kcal, Fat 25g, Saturated Fat 7g, Carbohydrate 63g, Sugar 12g, Dietary Fiber 11g, Protein 35g, Cholesterol 105mg, Sodium 370mg

ALLERGENS

Milk. Wheat

INGREDIENTS WE SEND

Carrot

2 unit

Sweet Potato

1 unit

Yukon Gold Potatoes

5 unit

Rosemary

1 unit

Red Onion

1 unit

Chicken Breast

1 unit

Garlic

2 clove

Chicken Stock Concentrate

1 unit

YOU’LL NEED

Vegetable Oil, Butter, Salt, Pepper, Flour

COOK THIS RECIPE IN 6 SIMPLE STEPS

1. 

   Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. Peel carrots, then cut into ¾-inch pieces on a diagonal. Medium dice sweet potato and Yukon Gold potatoes into ½-inch cubes. Leaving remaining sprigs whole, strip half the rosemary leaves from stems; finely chop leaves until you have 1 ½ tsp (3 tsp for 4p).

2. 

   Toss together carrots, sweet potato, Yukon Gold potatoes, 1 tsp chopped rosemary (2 tsp for 4p), a large drizzle of oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast until slightly softened, about 15 minutes (we’ll add the onion then).

3. 

   While veggies roast, halve, peel, and thinly slice onion. Finely chop a few of the slices until you have ¼ cup (½ cup for 4p). Peel and finely chop garlic.

4. 

   Pat chicken dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle all over with 1 TBSP flour (2 TBSP for 4p). Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over mediumhigh heat. Add seasoned chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Turn off heat. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

5. 

   In a small bowl, combine sliced onion, a drizzle of oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Once veggies have roasted for 15 minutes, remove from oven. Top with seasoned onion, then return to oven until everything is browned and tender, about 12 minutes more.

6. 

Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used to cook chicken over medium-high heat. Add garlic, chopped onion, remaining chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add stock concentrate and ¼ cup water (⅓ cup for 4p). Simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat; swirl in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4p). Thinly slice chicken. Divide sliced chicken and roasted veggies between plates. Top chicken with pan sauce.

Our Meal:

The Review:

This meal was very easy to make and it was delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed the rosemary chicken and all the root veggies! I couldn’t finish my plate and I had a little bit leftover for a good snack before lunch. I realize with making these meals that these are recipes you can easily make at home and buy your own supplies for cheaper. Its nice every once in a while or if they are having a good promotion. I am on the second delivery (and my last) and having this delivery service isn’t the right fit for us. It is a fun service to try out though.

With Love,

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup with Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese

The Stats:

COOKING TIME

40 minutes

NUTRITION PER SERVING

Calories 770kcal, Fat 47g, Saturated Fat 26g, Carbohydrate 67g, Sugar 14g, Dietary Fiber 5g, Protein 22g, Cholesterol 115mg, Sodium 1530mg

ALLERGENS

Milk. Wheat. Soy

INGREDIENTS WE SEND

Roma Tomato

1 unit

Garlic

2 clove

Yellow Onion

1 unit

Pepper Jack Cheese

2 unit

Sourdough Bread

2 unit

Crushed Tomatoes

1 unit

Vegetable Stock Concentrate

1 unit

Cream Cheese

1 unit

YOU’LL NEED

Sugar, Olive Oil, Butter, Salt, Pepper

COOK THIS RECIPE IN 6 SIMPLE STEPS

1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring 3 TBSP butter to room temperature. Wash and dry all produce. Line a baking sheet with foil. Halve tomato lengthwise; cut into ½-inch-thick wedges. Peel garlic, then wrap in a small piece of foil. Halve, peel, and finely chop onion until you have about ½ cup (1 cup for 4p).

2

Toss tomato on prepared baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place garlic foil packet on same sheet. Roast until tomato and garlic are browned and softened, 18-20 minutes.

3

Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, stock concentrate, and 1 cup water (1 ¾ cups for 4p). Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 8-12 minutes.

4

While soup simmers, evenly divide Pepper Jack between bread; form two sandwiches. If butter is not yet soft, place in a small, microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 5-10 seconds. Spread both sides of sandwiches with softened butter.

5

Heat a large, dry pan over medium heat. Add sandwiches and cook until browned and cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side. Turn off heat. Halve grilled cheeses on a diagonal. Carefully transfer roasted tomato and garlic to a cutting board; finely chop.

6

Stir chopped tomato and garlic, cream cheese, and ½ tsp sugar (1 tsp for 4p) into soup. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and/or another pinch of sugar. Serve grilled cheeses with soup on the side.

Our Meal:

Our Review:

I like the cute recipe cards. If we like the recipe enough, I will keep the card to make it again. Otherwise, I will find a new home for the card. My mom says she likes making new recipes, so I might given them to her to try. I’m disappointed that the ingredients were just tossed in and my bread was broken. I didn’t like that at all and I hope the next box improves upon the presentation and placement of delicate pieces like bread. However, the meal itself was delicious. You can’t really mess up soup and a grilled cheese though. Martin has said that every meal that I’ve made has been delicious. He cannot believe that I never really cooked before. I have finished making all three recipes and my only critique is that it takes longer to make everything than what they state. Could just be my crappy oven though.

I really love sharing recipes, pictures, and my opinion on the food. I will be continuing to share with these kinds of posts. I hope you enjoy them. I have been getting most of my recipes from an amazing app that Dean’s ABA therapist turned me onto, because she enjoys cooking as well. I will be sharing my thoughts on that once I have used it more as well.

With Love,

5 OUT: Product Reviews

So, I have uncovered more old reviews that I have written and never reviewed on my blog. I thought that I would share another 5 of these today. I am happy to see that my drafts on my blog are getting smaller in numbers. I mean, I always a few in there so as to not forget to write about them like my Monthly Reads, Movies, EI, ABA, Semester, and Project 200 pan posts. I always have a draft with the titles in there for those. Other than that, I am free to write whatever posts that I would like. It is a great feeling. I used to have a ton of posts that I planned in there. I have greater freedom now to do what I feel like doing and not feel guilty about it. I still plan on doing some cooking/baking posts now that I have a camera! I am looking forward to those posts!

New England Coffee in Blueberry Cobbler

This was just terrible. I usually enjoy coffee from this brand, but this flavor tasted terrible. Not even coffee creamer could redeem it. I love trying new flavored coffees and would buy from this brand again, just not this flavor. I’m very picky when it comes to my flavored coffees. It has to be just right and hit all the right notes. This coffee just tasted burnt to me, even though it was never burnt once or left out too long. I brew by the cup, so no chance of that happening. There was definitely no “juicy, berry flavor” like they claim. This did not taste like fruit at all. I figured it would taste good like fruit and chocolate but no.

Yankee Candle Tropical Island Breeze

The candle scent was so good that I burned through two of these that I bought at Marshall’s. It is sweet and light and perfect for those muggy summer nights. It smells like summer. These are huge candles and I burned through them so fast, because the scent was always there but never overwhelming. The candle itself burns clean and there is very little wax left in the jar. I would repurchase this if I saw it at Marshall’s again and I am going to be keeping an eye out for more Yankee Candles at my local store. $13 is such a steal!

Gerber Sweet Potato Puffs

Dean really enjoyed these puff snacks, but he had to be in the mood for them. They are kind of bland, so I am going to see if there is any healthy adult cereal that he can try with more flavor to it. I would purchase these again, but he is over them. He loves strong flavors.

MJCARE Snail Sheet Mask

I was really afraid of trying this mask, but I had nothing to fear. It smells light and perfumey. I didn’t notice anything but more moisturized skin and a more plump appearance. I find that all sheet masks do the same thing, but I love the experience when I have the time for it. MJCARE masks are also really basic and a dollar a mask. I’ve tried Tony Moly masks and I feel like they only perform a little bit better, giving me a little more glow or a bit clearer pores. I will repurchase on my next Amazon order and I don’t buy very often from them.

Avon Advance Techniques Keep Clear Anti-Dandruff Treatment

Anytime I had a bit of dandruff, this leave in scalp treatment did the trick. I can no longer find this on Avon’s website. I’ve had this for a very long time. I no longer shop Avon, because they are not cruelty free and that’s a big thing that I am trying to stick by now when it comes to beauty products. Avon is also a big pyramid scheme but that is a story for another time.

There you have it. 5 more reviews of products that are no longer part of my collection (besides the other MJCARE sheet masks). What have you used up lately? I still got a ton of reviews that I need to write and share on my blog. I am very backed up. Doing this 200 pan, I am using up stuff faster than I can review it and with school, I don’t even try anymore. I need to start writing these at least twice a month. I know everyone says that they are busy, but I mean, I really am. I’m not sitting here watching Netflix. I am blogging and getting my papers edited to upload for school that’s due today. Speaking of which, I should probably get those done now before I start another procrastinating blog post.

With Love,

River Queen Honey Roasted Peanuts

These were delicious and only three dollars on sale. They were a great pick me up snack throughout the week. It was the perfect amount of sweetness to the saltiness. I would buy these again on sale. Nuts are so expensive, but if I can get it on sale, I make sure to splurge. I highly recommend these.

With Love,

February Empties

I have another month of empties to share with all of you. I used up a lot of items this month and I am hoping to finish up even more in March. My skincare cabinet has a bit of room to it now. My first thought was to bring in more items from my back stock, but I have refrained from doing that so far. I wanted to bring in another face mask, but I already have 5 open. lol. I love skin care products, but I am trying to convince myself that a little bit of room is good to be able to comfortably reach everything without knocking bottles over.

Food:

1.2. 3. 4. Gerber Lil’ Beanies

5. River Queen Honey Roasted Peanuts

Drink:

6. 7. International Delight Coffee Creamer

8. New England Coffee Donut Shop Blend

9. Equate Pediatric Electrolyte Oral Solution

Toys:

10. Soft Baby Mirror Toy

Makeup:

11. Mary-Kate and Ashley Tropical Burst Vanilla Sugar Body Mist

12. Elizabeth Mott Liquid Eyeliner in Glitterati

13. Caitlin Lip Gloss in Love Spell

14. Sephora Lipstick in Red

15. Grande Lips Lip Gloss

16. Marc Jacobs Daisy Perfume

17. JCat Beauty Lip Pain in Love

18. Becca First Light Primer

Body Lotion:

19. 20. Equate Moisture Car Cocoa Divine Body Lotion

21. Body Co Sweat Pea Moisturizing Body and Hand Lotion

22. Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Lotion

Skincare:

23. Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Eliminating Astringent

24. Simple Exfoliating Facial Wipes

25. The Ordinary Hylauronic Acid + B5

26. Milk Cooling Stick

27. Farmacy Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer

28. Origins A Perfect World Eye Cream

Hair Care:

29. Alterna Caviar Miracle Multiplying Volume Mist

30. Gliss Ultra Moisture Conditioner

Random Bathroom Supplies:

31. Dial Hand Soap Miracle Oil

32. Arm and Hmmer Essential Fresh Deodorant

33. Plackers Micro Mint Dental Flossers

34. Crayola Color Bath Dropz

35. Band-Aid

Household Items:

36. Zesty Paws Mobility Bites

37. Halls Breezers

38. B&BW Naughty Candle

39. 40. 41. Paper Mate and Random Pens

Gosh, 41 items in the month of February is a lot of items to get through in a very short month. I am very excited to see what March brings. So far, my basket is empty, but that was how Feb started and I ended up with 41 empties. I love getting rid of so much stuff and not wasting it either. I am excited to see how many of these items count towards my Project 200 pan. I feel like at this rate, 200 might be a real achievable goal for me. If I reach it too soon, then I will up my goal depending upon how many months are left in the year.

With Love,

 

January Empties

Remember when I said that I would be doing a new format for my empty series? Well, here it is, the moment you all have been waiting for. I decided to show my empties in group photos and flat lays to be able to store more pictures of my products rather than have everything in a single photo. It makes more sens to me this way, since I am a reviewing channel and have been deleting a ton of photos to make room for more photos. I hope you all like this new format. Give me a like if you do!

Drinks:

1. International Delight Coffee Creamer

2. Boston’s Best Jamacian Me Crazy

3. Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate

4. Nestle Mini Marshmallows Hot Chocolate

Food:

5. Act II

6. 7. 8. Gerber Lil’ Beanies

Body Care:

9. Nivea Shower Sample

10. Aveeno Daily Nourishment Body Lotion

11. Equate Moisture Care Cocoa Divine Body Lotion

12. 13. Softsoap Body Scrub Coconut Butter

14. Nickelodeon 3 in 1

Skin Care:

15. Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water

16. Clarisonic Mia

17. Makeup Forever HD Serum

18. Drunk Elephant Serum Sample

19. Olay Face Cream Sample

Hair Care:

20. Wen Sweet Almond Mint Volumizing Treatment Spray

21. Rusk Texture Dry Finish Spray

22. Wen Sweet Almond Mint Defining Paste

Makeup:

23. OPI Nicole Selena Gomez Mi Fantisma Nail Polish

24. B&BW Strawberry Lip Gloss

25. Vincent Longo Eye Shadow Trio

26. Mica Loose Eye Shadow

27. Dangerous Cologne

28. Laneige Cushion Foundation Sample

Toiletry Items:

29. Tom’s Simply White Toothpaste

30. Hello Toothpaste

31. Power Stick Deodorant

32. Eco Tools Mask Remover Sponges

33. Lofa

34. Equate Kids Toothbrushes

35. Equate Ultra Thin Pads

36. Hair Comb

37. Dial Hand Soap in Raspberry Limeaide

38. Equate Cotton Rounds

Household Items:

39. Zesty Paws Probiotic Bites

40. B&BW Balsam Candle

41. Little Remedies Honey Cough Syrup

42. Sharpie Highlighter

43. 44. 45. Papermate Ink Joy Pens

WOW! That was a ton of stuff that I used up in January. I don’t think I have ever used that much up before. I will be posting my update post on my Project 200 Pan soon after this one, which will show you how many out of this 45 I will be counting towards my 2018 challenge. I might be adjusting the challenge and make it harder. I guess, it all depends upon how much of this stuff I am using up.

With Love,