Blue Apron Love

Happy Friday!

While I have taken a small break from cooking/baking, I have been receiving scrumptious meals from Blue Apron. Each week I opened my door Monday morning to find a huge Blue Apron box. Inside the items are kept in insulated wrapping and on top of two huge ice blocks. All meat items are kept closest to the ice. The box contained three recipes for the week (which you can pick/swap on their website) and each item needed to prepare the meal. We mainly did vegetarian options and two that included fish. Craig always adds some more meat to his portion if needed. It was fun to match all of the ingredients together with their respected receipt card and then pick which to try first. I was always excited about the ones with cheese! he he

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I was working late the day after our boxes arrival and came home to a rich and flavorful home. Either driven by hunger, curiosity or love, Craig surprised me with our first Blue Apron meal. It was the sweetest thing! The Indonesian-Spiced Salmon was delicious. It's something that honestly I would have never tried. I didn't know if my tummy or taste buds would be able to handle it but they did. The flavor was light but well seasoned. The freekeh paired well with the salmon and was indeed sweet, spicy and sour!

The Fettuccine with beet, goat cheese and poppy seeds quickly made it's way to the top of my love list. The noodles were so deliciously homemade and the added beets and chard turned them pink! The addition of the veggies and cheese took this seemingly simple meal to another level! I must recreate this he he!

The Za'atar-Roasted Broccoli Salad was another dish I would have strayed from but was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the Fregola Sada paired with the broccoli. Plus the egg brought in more flavor and the roasted almonds a bit of crunch! Good call Blue Apron! 

With our last dish done we felt so accomplished, so adult. We had put meals together before but none so simple yet intricate LOL!  I love that Blue Apron comes with everything you need, even if you still have to chop, slice and season yourself, it's fun and teaches you to try new things. I wasn't really sure how some of these would taste...I am always weary when it comes to spices but was pleasantly surprised. Each ingredient combination worked perfectly. 

Unfortunetly Blue Apron is a bit pricey, at least for us, but we still have a few recipes to try this week! I can't wait to share! 

They have shown us a peek into the amazing flavors the world offers. I would definitely recommend! 

https://www.blueapron.com/pages/sample-recipes

Thanks! 

-Bunny

Bunny Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Happy Friday!! 

To celebrate a bit of spring showing through all of the rain, I made bunny shaped vanilla sugar cookies. My sister-in-law gave me this little kit for Christmas! It came with mix, marshmallows and a cookie cutter. 

I simply added an egg and some butter, mixed until the it turned to dough. I covered it in saran-wrap and put the dough in the fridge for about an hour.

I preheated the oven to 350 and began rolling out my dough on a cookie sheet using plenty of flour. I cut out little bunnies and arranged them on the tray to bake for about 10 mins. *check on them to make sure they are a little brown on the edges but be careful not to leave them in for too long. A couple of my bunnies didn't make it...they were cut a bit too thin LOL!  For added awesomeness I sprinkled a few of the bunnies! I do love my sprinkles! 

After baked and still warm, add the marshmallows for little cute bunny tails. Voila! Vanilla Sugar Cookies ready to serve. Super adorable and tasty! 

 I thought that Craig might like them with some chocolate so I melted a half cup of dark chocolate chips and drizzled them on top. He was thrilled he he! Thank you Amy for this wonderful gift, perfect for a Cake Bunny!

Thanks for readin!! xoxo

Love, Bunny

Warm Almond Pastry w/ Father Anselm

Hi there,

Last night I took to my mixer and created the Outlander Kitchen Warm Almond Pastry w/ Father Anselm. It looked way to good to pass up! 

First things first, I set the oven to 375 degrees and started to mix the almond meal and flour in a small bowl. Then in my awesome pink mixer, on medium, I mixed together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then added the egg and vanilla. Once combined I slowed the mixer down and added in the flour and almond meal, creating a delicious paste/filling. 

It took everything I had not to consume the whole bowl of almond filling! I kept reminding myself that I had to share..so when Craig came home from work last night, the first thing I said to him was,"Do you want to know what heaven tastes like?" I handed him a small spatula with a bit of almond mix on the end. His eyes lit up and he said that it was probably dangerous to keep in the house ha ha!

Next I took my pastry dough (I went ahead and bought the pre-made dough, as I was not that confident in my skills) and cut it into a large rectangular shape. I scored two lines to help guide the dough and cut sections off the top and bottom of the pastry dough sides. These "flaps" would then be folded over the almond filling. I cut diagonal lines on each side, to interlace. Once I added the almond to the center of the dough, leaving some space on the top and bottom sections I folded over the "flaps" and began to weave together the rest of the dough. It was so cute and delicate looking.

Next, I lightly brushed on egg and a little bit of sugar onto each pastry. After topping it off with sliced almonds, it went into the oven for about 25 mins or until turning into a nice golden brown color. 

I did not want any of this masterpiece to be wasted so I used some of my extra almond filling and dough scraps to make little delicious pastries. Plus then I could try it before serving the main Almond Pastry.

Our apartment quickly filled with a sweet aroma as it began to bake...so delicious and mouth watering. I waited patiently as the dough rose and began to brown. They were perfect! After removing from the oven, I let them cool for a bit and plated the smaller pastries to try. So scrumptious! Thank you again OK!

To my surprise the almond pastry was not too sweet, it was perfectly balanced and a bit hearty. The almond slivers were a nice touch as well. The flaky dough paired well with the almond filling creating a wonderful balance between sweet and savory. Once again I had to try and control myself...it's a bit funny how something to little could be the highlight of our taste-bud's night ha ha!

I will, without doubt, be making this again! Thanks for reading, cheers 

- Bunny