Blue Apron ~~ My New Order Came

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a beautiful day....it was gorgeous outside today, wasn't it???? I heard the sound of the locust today, I just love that sound, it reminds me of those lazy, hazy days of summer when I was a kid. All I had to do was enjoy the summer and play before school started the Day after Labor Day in September. Yeah....those were the days!!!

So, in my post yesterday I mentioned I was waiting for my next order from Blue Apron. It came about 7:00 pm in a refrigerated FedEx truck. Makes me wonder just how long my box from last week actually sat on that neighbors porch. Because the ice block was partially melted. The order that came today....nope, the ice had not even started to melt. So everything in the box was still cold.

Here is what the box looks like...... it felt like Christmas when it arrived.

I Pulled everything out of the box and laid it all on the table....looks pretty good huh?? So dinner tonight will be "Vadouvan-Spiced Lamb Burgers with Crispy Curried Zucchini Rounds" and fries and fruit. JP was VERY ok with the menu for tonight. Gosh, I love cooking!!!!

The 2nd meal in this box is "Chicken Milanese with Summer Corn, Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad" The 3rd meal is "Cod & Miso Soba Noodles with Multicolored Cherry Tomatoes & Eggplant" Can you see the beautiful eggplant and zucchini in the picture....yum!!! I like that there are different things in the box that I have not ever tried. Been in such a rut lately, I think this new experience will help me spread my wings a bit. I get so tired of cooking the same stuff week in and week out. This will put some pzazz into my cooking.....I think!!!

I was sitting on the porch this morning, getting some sun on my legs.....they are still very white!!! So for a half hour I sat on the steps and took a few pictures of the pretty sky and clouds. What do you see up there......I think that is a turtle......maybe a duck, maybe a kitten????

Gosh, can you believe today is the last day of July.....where in the world is this summer going??? Next week Wednesday I have my second cataract eye surgery at 8am or so. I have to be at the clinic by 6:50 am to sign in and change clothes, and get that WARM blanket put on me....that is such a comfortable feeling. The lady that sang on the phone to me "Pack up all your cares and woes, singing low, bye, bye black bird" will be there too. She said she would have a new song for me. Will be fun to match the voice on the phone with the real person.

Well, I guess it is time to go walk Kylie around the block, the sun is going down, so it won't be too bright on my eyes. You all have a great evening and see you in August!! Cheers ~ Louise

Blue Apron Meal #3 ~ Vietnamese Chicken Wings

Hi there everyone. Well, as I said yesterday, I would post the 3rd meal from Blue Apron  here today. The "Vietnamese Chicken Wings with Lemongrass Brown Rice" was really delicious. On my comment to Blue Apron about this dish, my only complaint was that there were not enough chicken wings to share between two people and I would  have liked a few more. Well, I guess I shall have to buy a whole package of chicken wings and cook some up using this recipe real soon.

So in this picture is the recipe card, the back of the card shows step by step how to make this recipe.

Here are the items that made up this recipe....everything is sent in the box to make the wings, rice and salad.

And in this picture is the finished dish.....yes, I would make this again. But maybe on a cooler night. The kitchen was really, really warm after having the oven on for 25 minutes. It was one of the warmest days of the season so far and our air-conditioner unit was not working. Lots of fans blowing in this house lately.

Well, as I sit here typing this post, I am waiting for our next order to be delivered by FedEx.....yeah, it's 5:15 pm. Gosh, hope it did not get dropped off at another address again. I already contacted Blue Apron and FedEx today about that order....we shall see what happens in the next few hours.

It seems the box of food left New Jersey, Tuesday at 9pm. They give you a tracking number, so you can follow it....I think after I finish here, I will go to FedEx and see if it's been delivered....if it was, it sure was not delivered here.

So you all have a good day and keep looking up. My next post probably will be tomorrow with an update about my order and a few pictures if it was delivered.

Cheers ~ Louise

Blue Apron Meal #2 - Summer Soba Salad

Hi there everyone. How is your day going. It's been warm here and our window air conditioner in the kitchen konked out....sucks!!! So needless to say, it has been warm in the kitchen when I cook.

Just to let you know.....card making has not been a priority on my list of late....that's why you have not seen any cards. My only excuses are:
#1- no inspiration,
#2- hard to see, (as I am now going through cataract surgeries)
#3-still disorganized from home improvements that were made in May. I look at the mess in the basement and just don't know where to start organizing first.
#4-summer has been the priority with planting, watering and enjoying the season.
#5-just not feeling up to par the past couple of months.

So much for my tail of woes. In the next few pictures is the food I received from Blue Apron last Thursday to make this tasty meal Monday evening. Here is the site for Blue Apron.

Summer Soba Salad with Corn and Soy-Mirin Dressing

Here are all the vegies prepped and ready, one thing not prepped was the ginger....did that after I took the picture. The ginger was added to the corn....just may do that again....now's the time with corn being so fresh. The ginger gave it that extra spicy zing!!!

So in the below picture is the finished product....oh yes......this was delicious, I most definitely will make this again. When you order  your food, you can order for two people or four. Even for two people this was more then enough for the two of us.

If you go on the Blue Apron site, go to their "cookbook" and type in "Summer Soba Salad",  you can get the recipe there if you are interested in making this tasty salad. Tomorrow, my new order comes. I will take pictures.

I told JP this afternoon...."you sure have been eating well this week"....there has been plenty of left-overs for his lunch before leaving for work.

Tomorrow, I will post the 3rd meal, "Vietnamese Chicken Wings with Salad and Rice". Another winner in my books.

Have a good evening and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

My 1st Blue Apron Meal

Hi there everyone. Sorry I have been a little "missing in action" lately. Last Sunday I came down with some stomach virus again. Guess the ulcer was bothering me again. 

Then Monday JP had his 4 teeth removed and was layed up for 2 days convalescing and taking care of his jaw. Which has been black and blue for a couple of days. He is finally eating today, solid foods and yes, he did eat today's meal I made from Blue Apron.

By Wednesday, he was able to take me to the clinic to get my first eye surgery. I was a little nervous to say the least and almost did not follow through with it as I was still dealing with stomach cramps. I finally decided to go through with it and now I am glad I did. I can see out of one eye clearly, the other is blurry. So typing this post is quite the challenge for me, cause I have to lean in to see the screen every now and then.....so far so good. Will be doing eye drops 4 x a day for the next several weeks....I can handle that if it means seeing better.



Thursday was my 1st Blue Apron delivery, which did not show up at my door step till almost 7:00 pm. It was delivered by a neighbor on the next block. The box sat on her porch for an hour.....(she said.) Gosh, I hope that does not happen again. The right address was on the box....but the delivery guy missed delivering it by one block. I shall have to let Blue Apron know.

By the time the box came, I opened it....was not supposed to lift anything, or bend down past the heart.....geez!!! Took everything out of the box and put what needed to go in the refrigerator and what could sit on the counter....that's where it sat.

So this is the first meal I made today. It was actually a lot of fun. I did add another pepper to the recipe. This recipe made quite a bit of rice and beef stuffing. Gosh, it was so very good. The recipe card comes with step by step directions....and I actually did follow the recipe pretty much to the Tee. The only thing that was spoiled was the tomato paste they put in a container. I will tell them about that also. I did have a tube of tomato paste in the fridge.

I learned an interesting thing, when sauteing the onions and garlic to the right consistency and browning the meat....the tomato paste and cumin is added to the onions....I never though to do that before....a must try again. Then mix the meat, rice, currents and pumpkin seeds together. Yes, this is a "must do again" meal.

So then in this picture is what it is supposed to look like.

In these two pictures is what my stuffed Poblano pepper looks like. I should have added a few cilantro leaves to it....but I mixed it all in the lime-crema sauce which really added something special to these peppers. And the peppers....were not as spicy as I thought....maybe I might buy them and make this dish again. JP really liked it and actually had a second helping....guess he is ready to eat solid foods now.

My next meal will be "Summer Soba Salad with Corn and Soy-Mirin Dressing" and the 3rd meal is "Vietnamese Chicken wings with Lemongrass Brown Rice" that should be fun, I will learn how to use a lemongrass for cooking, which I have always wondered about. I am not sure if I mentioned, all the food you need to make these delicious meals comes all packed in a box and ice...so it stays cool most of the day if you have a late delivery, like I did.

I have been wanting to go to the next level in cooking and making different things....this just might help me get there. Here is the Blue Apron Website if you would like to find out more. I may do this just for the summer....just to get some new ideas. There are a few other companies out there. If you are on Facebook and "like" Blue Apron....suddenly you have other companies that do the same. Some charge more though, so you have to be careful.

Thought I would add a picture of my newest hibiscus plant I just bought at Shopko. Hopefully I can nurse this one through the winter also. Need to transplant her before the first frost. (oh uge...did I just say that???)

Well hope you have a nice rest of the Sunday. Once it gets a little bit darker, I shall walk Kylie....too bright for my eye right now. Take care and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Hi there everyone....hope you are having a super day. Well, I guess the weather is going to be hot and steamy over the weekend. 90 degrees....uge, I shall either stay in the kitchen where the air conditioner is or go down stairs where the temp is cooler.....yeah, we still have a few places to run to, to keep cool. The back yard is pretty shady too, not going to exert myself too much this weekend, that is for sure.

I have been putting my pressure canner to use quite a bit lately....today I am going to make the corned beef that has been marinating in the frig for 7 days. I bought a small cabbage and some potatoes yesterday....so I am ready to make this dish. Oh and I got the rye bread ready for some sandwiches. Easy, peasy cooking weekend.

I am really loving this appliance and would recommend it to you or anyone else. I say, where have you been all my life????? I called the company yesterday, as there is a rack for canning that I did not get with the canner....geez, you would think that would be something that would be included with the canner, wouldn't you? So now I am looking forward to doing some canning, maybe tomatoes and pickles to start.....we shall see.

So in the top and bottom pictures are the piece of brisket, I have marinating....it's looking pretty good here. Will take a picture of this lovely piece of meat after it is cooked. I did buy a manager's special spoon roast for a meal next week....hopefully it will get tender enough for JP to chew on one side.

Here is the finished product....all cooked up. I put his plate of food on the table...and by the time I got his fruit on the table his plate  was almost gone except for some potatoes. "Was it good JP?" "It's almost gone!" he said.

 

I shall do this again, as I have another hunk of brisket in the freezer. My next experiment will be roast beef sandwiches with onions and peppers and Italian seasonings. I am having fun with this canner, that is for sure.

JP has his appointment on Monday to have 4 teeth pulled....please keep him in your prayers. He will have Monday and Tuesday off from work, so hopefully he will be a fast healer.

I have my first eye surgery on Wednesday, pray for me also. A nurse called today to ask some medical and medicine questions. Would you believe she was actually singing to me on the phone. I said I was a little nervous about the procedure and she said, Oh no need to worry, it's quick and fast and she went through the whole thing, explaining step by step what will happen. Why, she even sang to me about the "Black Bird" "pack up all your cares and woes, here I go singing low...by-by black bird" Not to worry, maybe I could get something from my Doctor to kind of calm me down. Guess that is why I need some prayer....I was nervous about the deep cleaning at the Dentist and that went well....now this, hope it goes as fast as the teeth cleaning went.

Well, time to close, need to take a little nap before the Schwan's man comes. Ribs, fries and guacamole sauce....yummie!! Then next Thursday comes my first box from "Blue Apron." Will be fun to see what they send. Since I signed up with Blue Apron, I have seen other Companies that do this same thing....some do not tell how much it costs....or it's hard to find. Then another company is $10 more....so we shall see....I may do this just for the summer, I need to see if this is cost effective for us. The thought of having your meals come to the house is intriguing....a savings on gas and time shopping.

Well, I was going to close here...guess I will do just that. Have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Signs Along The Way......

Hi there everyone....how is your day going? The weather has been stormy with high winds and lots of rain. Our power went out the other night, along with 13,500 other homes, but came back on 4-5 hours later. Guess there were still people without, longer then that. One sure can be lost without the "POWER"!!!

We headed downstairs with a candle, a little flashlight, and a transistor radio ((yep, I still have one of those....why, I am STILL from the OLD SCHOOL)) We stayed down there till the warnings of tornadoes passed. The sirens were blowing too. I said, "Oh oh....tornado's!" JP says, "How do you know?" I said, "the sirens are sounding....that's how I know"..........geez Jay, do you think I am stupid or something?! We have to go downstairs....boy I tell you, he sure did not move very fast!!! Like everything....I have to drag him or push him to move or go to the Doctor....tired!!!

Some people like storms....me, I don't. I feel like I am in spiritual storms constantly....I would like a little calm and quiet now and then. Don't you?? My mom used to always say, "Everything is/was calm and quiet." Geez....what planet was she on??? I have yet to sense that "calm and quiet" in my life!!!!

Did I tell you....probably not, I mentioned this on Facebook. We got home from church on Sunday and there was a message on our answering machine. It was one of those computerized voices saying someone had sent us a text to our landline. We would not be charged for it (GOOD THING) and this was the phone number, but no name. (coward) and the message was...."I HATE YOU!!"

Oh my gosh....what on earth is this world coming to???? I ask you???  So my mind dwelled on that most of the day, wondering who in their right mind would do something like that??? I know there are some people that don't like us, but they usually stay away, but to come right out and leave a message???? Honestly, get a life and grow up!!!! I have been praying for them, whoever they are that God would convict them of their cowardly deeds. I just have to remember, "Vengeance is the Lord's" and what goes around, comes around. I am not one to do the same thing back, but I know "Pay day is coming, someday, to everyone.

I saw this sign somewhere on the Internet and had to save it.......It says it all, doesn't it???

 

Another sign that I must remember.....as I am very hard on myself at times. Not only do people criticize, but I do a pretty good job at criticizing and cutting myself down. Why, I probably have even told myself......I HATE YOU!!! So, I don't really need someone else telling me "I HATE YOU" also!!! Look who signed the sign.....another "Louise".

 

Yes, Blue Apron.....have you heard of this company? I saw it on Pinterest and checked it out Here is the site. What they do is send you three meals, with recipe, meat, vegies and spices. You do the cooking. Sounds like fun, plus you are trying things that may be completely new to you. The box comes all refrigerated and cold. You choose what you want to make that night or the next. I am going to try it a while see how price effective it is....I like to cook, so maybe this just might be a fun project for the summer.

 

Last night I made a scrumptious meal in the pressure cooker of pork, potatoes, carrots, onion and corn on the cob with Turkish seasonings and onion soup mix. OMG was that delicious. So between my pressure cooker, the Blue Apron and Schwans......we shall eat well!!!

 

Well time to close here for awhile....I am probably boring you by now and you have not read my whole post.....that's okay. You have a good day and keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers 2 X 2 and Brined Corned Beef

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a good day. My days are getting better, been sick lately with another round with the ulcer.  I guess JP's problem with his teeth got to me. He went to the Dentist on Monday and it has been decided that he has 4 teeth that need to be pulled. I had my second deep cleaning on the other half of my mouth Tuesday. Then got sick Wednesday and Thursday, finally throwing up with diarrhea Thursday. TODAY praise God I am feeling so much better and eating a bit more. Lost a few pounds...so that I will take.

Another thing I am dealing with is the cataract eye surgery on July 22nd and August 5th. All the pre-ops and post-ops that come with it. I suppose there will be the eye drops that have to be applied. Oh I don't know, this sure has been a tough year for JP and I....here's hoping things calm down for us in the next few months.

So below are my two lovely Brown Eyed Susan's that come back every year.....love these flowers. This year I got lots of seedlings to start....So I shall be planting them all over my yard....yayyyyyy!

                              Two lovely orange-red Lilly's

                         Two lovely red Bee Balm blossoms.

Two lovely yellow trumpet Lilly's. Not sure that is what they are called, but I do, cause they look like little trumpets to me.

                         Two lovely yellow Begonia flowers.

This is not a picture of my corned beef in the brine, but from the site I got the recipe from. I made the brine and heated it up, it is now sitting on the stove cooling down. As the recipe said, can't add the hot brine to the cold meat....both must be cold then let it sit in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. I made this years ago when we lived on our 20 acres and raised our own beef....yep, those were the golden days for us....lots of work but we ate really good.

I will let you know how this turns out, as I probably will cook it in my pressure cooker along with some cabbage and potatoes. (golly it is not even St. Patrick's Day!!) I cooked up some steamed broccoli in the pressure cooker tonight....delicious, that will go with the chicken and potatoes (that was cooked in the oven). JP's dinner is all cooked, now I just have to do the dishes.

Well you all have a good evening and a great Saturday.....oh how we love Saturday's!!!!! Keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

My New Cooking Toy

Hi there everyone, how are you doing this fine night??? Hope you all escaped the bad weather they were talking about tonight. The people north of us had wind damage and a few tornado's were sighted and touched down. I guess tonight the temperature will get down in the 40's and in the 60's tomorrow. Pretty cool...huh!!

Well, last week I bought this new appliance at Shopko. It's the Power Pressure Canner XL. Here is the sight. I am really liking it a lot. Tonight I did a roast with onions, garlic, cabbage, potatoes and carrots with onion soup. I picked up a pressure canner cookbook at the library today. Saw so many recipes I would like to try. 

You can saute your vegies and meat in oil in the pot...then add extra water for the pressure cooking. After the meal I made tonight went through the pressure cooker.....I turned it down to do slow cooking till JP gets home from work. Looking forward to tasting the end product. It's nice to know....dinner is all cooked for JP, just have to dish up the meat and vegies and his fruit and dinner is served!!!

Friday night we took JP to the ER. His right cheek was all swelled up and he looked like a chipmunk. He has a couple of bad teeth....the swelling was not going down. Turns out he has an abscess. They gave him penicillin and Tylenol with codeine. By Sunday night the swelling was gone. I called the dentist this morning and we got him in.

So tomorrow, JP has an appointment at 11am and they will do x-rays and probe around and see what else needs to be done. My appointment is at 12pm and I will be getting the 2nd deep cleaning on the left side of my mouth....yeah, "Happy Gas" here we come!!! So, we will be busy for a few hours tomorrow.

Also on the agenda for me this month is cataract surgery on my right eye with 1 pre-op and 2 post-op visits. Then August 5th the right eye will be done with the pre-op and post-op visits. For me....work on my teeth will have to be put on the back burner for a few months till JP's teeth get taken care of.

Well time to close here for awhile, keep looking up!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Have a Happy 4th of July

Hi there everyone. Hope you have a wonderful day full of fun, food and fireworks with family and friends.  

Remember why we celebrate this day....

Happy Birthday America!

Land of the Free!

Let NO MAN take that away from us!!!!

Let us remember all those that have gone before us, who died to KEEP this Country Free!!!!

May God Bless this Country and keep us strong against the evil one and all his tactics to bring this great country down the road to hell.

AMEN

 

 

What I See ~ Looking Out My Kitchen Window

Hi there everyone, how is your day going??? I was reading Diana's blog this morning. She mentioned what she sees looking out her kitchen door. Here's her blog. I commented on her blog that this is what I see out my kitchen window......lovely isn't it??? I wish I saw what she did. 

I try to keep my back yard nice, but when you have neighbors that don't seem to care what their yard looks like.....it sure does make for bad feelings. They have condensed and reorganized a few things.....BUT it still is a mess.

They did put up this new fence a couple of weeks ago, but have not finished the process as yet. The flowers hanging from the shepherds hook is on our side of the fence. I have had a few comments from people visiting me in my backyard...."Can't you call the city to complain?" I guess I could, but I don't want to start problems....I just live with it. Guess that is why I suffer from an ulcer.

In this picture, you can see part of my back yard from the kitchen window. This is what I look at when doing dishes..........I dream daily of a 10 foot fence that hides all their stuff!!!!

Another few from inside.......would you like to do dishes here? It used to be nice scenery when the other people lived there....least they kept things looking nice with flowers and mowed grass.

This is a view of my backyard from the other kitchen window. If there was a way of moving the kitchen sink to this window......I would do it. BUT that probably would cost 5k if not more, who has that kind of money....no, not me. See the fan blades and post sitting on the table.....that is the start of my dragon fly that I want to make.

Here is a closer view of my back yard......yeah, daily I look out the window, just brings peace and quiet to my busy and noisy life. Can you see the 3 tires back in the far right??? That is where "Frieda the Frog" will sit and the Bird Feeders have a tire around them....I want to spray paint that too. Just a few projects going on here.

I have not been feeling all that well the last couple of days....but today, I finally am...guess getting older you have your good days and not so good days. I have another appointment on the 7th with the Dentist for a 2nd Deep Cleaning on the left side of my mouth. Hopefully this one will go smoothly as did the first deep cleaning the end of May. Then they will start on my 6 cavities. I am thinking I will wait till September for that...too much going on these next few months.

Also going on this month....I will be having cataract eye surgery on the 22nd on the right eye, then on August 5th, the left eye. Then there is the Pre-op appointments and Post-op appointments...yes I will be busy this month with all that. Not to mention, JP will be needing to go to the Dentist also....he has a bad tooth and the left side of his face is swelled up. I said, "you need to go to the Dentist." Do you think he will go???? Nope, he says the swelling is going down. Okay....have it your way.

Well....I guess that is enough of my complaints for one day. You all have a wonderful rest of the day and have fun on the 4th of July!!!!
Keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise