Potato and Corn Chowder with Charred Corn & Tomatoes

Periodically, I need to do a fridge cleanout and what better way to do that than to make soups and stews. I live in the Northeast. Chowders and bisques of any sort are pretty much a staple around here, but if you're making any half attempt at watching what you eat, the heavy cream involved is usually blacklisted. Potato-based chowders are a great way to eat a hearty, thick soup without adding the butter and dairy that comes along with some traditional ones. Today was a "throw everything in a pot" kind of day and see how we can add a twist on a chowder that already has a huge fan base. 

I started last night by frying a pound of bacon (I know, I know) in order to have some bacon bits as a garnish. My theory is, despite my weight fluctuations, I always lost the most when I compromised with my food selections. I can't eat a pound of bacon, but, I can have a pinch of crumbles on top. I roughly chopped it all up and threw it in my pan, turning and covering periodically until almost all the fat was crispy. This took about an hour. I removed it from the pan with a slotted spoon and laid it on paper towels. They were crispy and well done and easily crumbled further with minimal effort. I used Better Than Bouillion Organic Chicken Base (I find Costco to have the best price on this - roughly $6.89 for a 16 oz jar), but you could also use any combination of chicken or vegetable stock and broth to custom fit your dietary needs or preferences. 

The next morning, I made the chowder. 

In no particular order I used:

8C liquid (water or chicken/vegetable broth if omitting chicken/vegetable base)

8 medium potatoes, peeled and medium diced (I used Yukon Gold in this case)

2 medium celery stalks

1 small onion

1/4 red bell pepper, diced small

salt & pepper to taste

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 pint cherry tomatoes

2-3 cups frozen corn (you could also use 2-3 ears of fresh, kernels removed)

2 scallions

2 Tbsp butter or 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided (or any combination of these)

1-2 Tbsp Better Than Bouillion Organic Chicken Base (you can also substitute Vegetable Base for a vegetarian option)

pinch of bacon to garnish

Thinly slice scallions, reserving the green tops to garnish chowder later. In a pan on medium heat, melt butter OR olive oil and sautee celery, onion, scallion whites and pepper. Add chicken base (or substitute chicken broth for liquid), continuing to simmer vegetables. Peel and medium dice potatoes and add to the pan of vegetables along with 8C water (or whatever combination of liquid you choose) and minced garlic. Bring to a low boil, cover pot and continue to simmer for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are softened. 

While potatoes are cooking, grab another pan. In this pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and throw in frozen corn. BE VERY CAREFUL as it may splatter! I took mine off the heat before adding the corn, then once it was added, I put it back on the stove with heat on medium-high. Quarter cherry tomatoes and once corn is browned, add them to the pan. Salt and pepper to taste. 

By this time, the potatoes should be almost done. With an immersion blender, blend potatoes and vegetables until they have a creamy consistency. If you do not have an immersion blender, a regular blender would work just as well, or even a food processor. Alternatively, you can also mash everything with a hand masher if you prefer a chunkier texture. Hand stir in the pan of tomatoes and corn. Simmer 15 minutes on low to let flavors merge. Spoon into bowls and garnish with a pinch of bacon and reserved scallion greens. You could also garnish with a dollop of sour cream. More variations include substituting shrimp, crab or lobster instead of bacon or adding a small drizzle of sriracha sauce for a little heat. Costco is your best bet for the Better Than Bouillion base that I mentioned in this post. I have been using it for years and love it in my sauces, soups and stews for added depth of flavor. Costco carries beef, chicken and vegetable flavors. I also add it to the water when I cook rice.

Meal Delivery Services - Are They Budget-Friendly?

Recently, I read a blog from a woman in one of the travel groups I am in on Facebook titled "How to Save A Ton of Money Using Meal Subscription Service Promotions". It quickly piqued my interest and so I decided to do a little test run of these services.

If you're anything like many people, life can get super busy. The hours roll by so fast that it seems as though out of nowhere, 4 p.m. rolls up on a weekday rather quickly and now you have to figure out what to make for dinner. Yes, meal planning can be so helpful with this, but some days I just simply forget. Maybe I planned on having leftovers, but, either my husband or one of my kids took them to work for lunch and now there's not enough left for everyone for dinner. Some days I will forget to take something out of the freezer, which, by the way is a deep freezer and meats or pre-made meals just don't defrost as quickly as in a traditional freezer.

Cooking dinner for a family can get really redundant. Boredom can easily set in when you're  making the same 15 meals or maybe it just seems like you're making the same 15 meals. Whatever it is, after 18 years of marriage I was in some serious need for some serious foodspiration.

I saw some ads on tv for the various meal delivery subscription services available (Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, Plated, etc) and I happened to stumble across Rachel's blog the same day. I got the basic gist of applying the various promotions across the many services available and decided to give it a whirl. It worked out surprisingly well.

I knew I definitely needed to tweak this, however, to fit our family's needs. My kids - we have 4 - aren't super picky eaters, but they're not gourmet either. So, I decided that I would cook big 4 nights per week and order 3 meals weekly for 2 people. The 3 nights that we were cooking our boxes, the kids could eat leftovers. We called it our "date-less date night". For less than the cost of a dinner for 2 at our favorite restaurant, we could have three restaurant-quality meals. I was sold. I used the links from the blog post and began this exciting, quickie, culinary journey. Bonus points that most meals are 30 minutes or less!

Our first week was Blue Apron. I had someone e-mail me a free box the same day that I signed up using the link. I ended up gifting that one to my parents and using the 2nd box for myself. Blue Apron looked something like this:
1 week - 3 meals, 2 servings
Total: 6 meals
Retail Price: $59.94
Promo Code: $30 off
Bonus Promo Code: $7.50 off stacking with Rakuten
Price with Promo Code(s): $22.44
Price Per Meal: $3.74
Want a Free Box? E-mail Me!

The following week we tried Hello Fresh. I must say, this probably has the best packaging of all services we had tried because the entire meal comes in small, thin cardboard boxes that not only take up minimal fridge space if you stack them, but it's just as easy to recycle as well.
1 week - 3 meals, 2 servings
Total: 6 meals
Retail Price: $59.94
Promo Code: $40 Off
Price with Promo Code(s): $19.94
Price Per Meal: $3.32
Click here for $40 off your first delivery!

Week 3 and now it was time to try Plated. Now, this one was a little different in that I ordered a family box. This consisted of 2 meals with 4 servings each. I believe at the time, the promo was 3 free meals or so as the promo price doesn't reflect a whole dollar amount off. The kids actually loved the pork tonkatsu and the chicken bruschetta.
1 week - 2 meals, 4 servings
Total: 8 meals
Retail Price: $79.60
Promo Code: 3 free meals
Price with Promo Code(s): $55.70
Price Per Meal: $6.96
Click here for 50% off your first delivery (exp 9/27/17)

Lastly, we tried Green Chef. Eating organic is really important for myself and my family. I found this to be the one thing most of these delivery boxed lacked. Green Chef hits the nail on the head with organically sourced produce and meats. The food was absolutely delicious. It is the most expensive even with the promotional offer, however, in my opinion it was the best one. The only thing I didn't like about the service was that the menus are pre-made and there is no changing them. You pick a "diet" that you follow (vegetarian, paleo, omnivore, etc) and they will send you however many meals you choose to receive based on those selections. Thankfully, I loved all 3 of my meals. Green Chef does charge $9 for shipping.
1 week - 3 meals, 2 servings
Total: 6 meals
Retail Price: $71.94 + $9 shipping
Promo Code: 4 free meals (-$53.96)
Price with Promo Code(s): $26.98
Price Per Meal: $4.50
Want 4 free meals too? CLICK HERE

After a few weeks (about 8) I received an e-mail from Hello Fresh. If I reactivated my account, I would get 50% off my next box. Once again, I happily obliged. This time, I picked the family box. I skipped all the weeks up until September 1st because I already have other boxes coming. This will work out great for those first few days of the back to school craziness.
1 week - 2 meals, 4 servings
Total: 8 meals
Retail Price: $69.92 (NEW LOWER PRICE!!)
Promo Code: 50% off
Price with Promo Code(s): $34.96
Price Per Meal: $4.37
Want to try Hello Fresh? Click here for $40 off!

Another great service (and is probably my favorite at the moment) is Home Chef. Holy smokes these meals are easy and delicious! The packaging is great and easy to just toss right into the fridge. This service looked something like this:
2 weeks - 3 meals, 2 servings
Total: 12 meals
Retail Price: $119.40
Promo Code: $50 off given as $35 off 1st box/$15 off 2nd
Price with Promo Code(s): $69.40
Price Per Meal: $5.78
Want to try Home Chef? Click here for $30 off your first box!


Overall opinion on each service? Well for starters, if you're trying to save the environment and would like to avoid extra packaging, meal boxes may not be for you. They come with an excessive amount of packaging. The silver lining is that most of which can be recycled or reused.

Green Chef's Corn Pesto Flatbread

Green Chef has a bunch of little containers that has all of the additives pre-chopped. Each container or plastic bag has a color-coded label on it that coincides with the recipes. It's easy to get the kids involved in cooking when you can tell them to open the fridge and grab out everything with a blue, purple, green, etc. sticker. These containers are great to reuse for salad dressings or small snacks for lunch and kids. The fact that he bulk of the produce and herbs are pre-chopped also saves on time. The meals were packed with flavor and I really loved Green Chef. It was, however, the most expensive even with the promo, but that is to be expected when the entire box is organic. This would have been my favorite by a landslide had I had more recipes to choose from and more control over my boxes. I don't like that the meals are basically chosen for you based on the diet you select. It does, however, open your palate to try new things. When I am grocery shopping or cooking outside of the box I am MUCH more likely to buy organic produce and condiments. For boxes, I'd prefer that and plan on trying Sun Basket next.

Blue Apron's Crispy Catfish with Curry Vegetables

Blue Apron has quite likely been my favorite service so far. They have A LOT of different meals to pick from weekly and they don't seem to repeat themselves so I feel like, for me, this gives me the most choices. You can skip up to 6 weeks in advance. The recipes are slightly more involved than some of the other services but they are still between the 30 and 40 minute range to cook. I want to add as well that the recipes are absolutely beautiful! They're visually pleasing and make you feel fancy, which my husband and I love since we're using these for our "date-less date night"! Each insulated delivery box comes with all of the ingredients pre-packaged but not grouped together for each meal. I use Ziploc take and toss large containers and put the ingredients for each meal together in separate boxes. The boxes alsome come with a little brown bag of "knick-knacks" which are extra condiments. I refrigerate these as well as sometimes they come with parmesan cheese or butter.

Hello Fresh's Chicken Parmesan Salad

Hello Fresh by far has the best use of packaging and fridge real estate. It runs head to head with Home Chef. I have a small fridge. We bought it before we had 2 more kids. It worked for a family of 4 but it's challenging for 6. Hello Fresh comes in these small-ish boxes. Like think of a woman's size 5 shoe box that you can stack. I can manage to stack 3 high on the bottom shelf of my fridge. I wasn't a huge fan of the ground beef in Hello Fresh, but for the other items I did order I found them to be very tasty and very simple to make. I felt like Hello Fresh had these eye-opening recipes that had me thinking "Wow, why don't I make my own salad dressings?" or "Wow, this is a 6 ingredient meal and packs so much flavor!" Any food that can inspire you to make other sauces, meals, etc based on the ingredients given is a winner in my book. I have since started making my own varieties of viniagrettes. I LOVED the Chicken Parmesan Salad. To me, it was such a light, tasty dinner that was satisfying and yet didn't leave you feeling bloated. Hello Fresh has a variety of recipes to choose from and you can login and skip up to 4 weeks.

Plated's Pork Tonkatsu

Plated allows you to skip 4 or 5 weeks as well. I found these recipes to be varied and easy to prepare. Another feature that I really liked about Plated is that all of the meals are pretty much bagged together, with the exception of a few items, when the box is delivered. They are also labeled really well with what meal they belong to and so that makes any extra items easy to find thus cutting back time on gathering items. I have 2 older kids (1 just turned 18, 1 is 17) who really loved the pork tonkatsu. I also found that I definitely think of salads as a meal and don't utilize mixed greens nearly enough as a side. Once again, the recipes were relatively simple and tasted great. I recently was sent an e-mail offer, giving me $15 off of my next 2 deliveries if I reactivated. I reactivated, and tonight we're having peanut curry chicken over sticky rice.

In my opinion, Home Chef has the best packaging along with . There are some services that throw all the ingredients in the box which you then have to sort into meals. Home Chef does not! They all come in little baggies that zip, kind of like a bag of grapes. All the ingredients are in each bag and then there is a larger bag containing all of the proteins (meats, fish, etc), each individually vacuum packed. The meals are REALLY delicious and visually gorgeous. One of the meals I had was a seared salmon in a

Home Chef's Seared Salmon in Ginger Scallion Sauce

ginger scallion teriyaki glaze and it was not only beautiful but it tasted twice as beautiful as it looked. The chicken marsala was also incredible. Really easy overall from the time you open the box until you open your mouth and take your first bite.

Each delivery service was cancelled or "skipped" after the first week (literally the day after receiving the meals) to avoid getting any unexpected boxes or billing hassles. About 4 weeks later, I started getting e-mails featuring new promotional offers if I reactivated my account. I happily obliged. Plated offered a $30 credit, so this was applied as (2) $15 credits on my next 2 deliveries. Blue Apron offered a $15 credit for each box ordered in the month of July. This was a rolling credit, up to $60 that would be applied to my August deliveries. They also sent me a $10 coupon so between the 2 boxes and the (2) $15 credits, I now have a $40 account credit with them.

When I reactivated my accounts, I immediately went into my orders and "skipped" as many weeks as it would allow me. This not only gives me time to try the recipes but also to once again avoid billing hassles. One thing I may add is that all of these companies have made cancelling VERY easy.  For most of them, there is a button to click under the accounts section. With Blue Apron, I sent a secured message and they replied back with a cancellation link in a very timely manner.

It has been 8 weeks and the boxes are still coming and I do believe that I would likely keep 1 or 2 services in the long run, even if not using a promo. After all, some things we do pay for convenience.  Overall, I really like the service and they have made cooking exciting again. I am trying new foods and mixing flavors that maybe I wouldn't have done before. I'm amazed at the simplicity of the ingredients and how they yield interesting, complex flavors. The recipe cards are easy to follow. The meals are visually pleasing. I punch each set each week with a 3-ring hole punch and keep them in a binder. I don't order boxes every week, but I do order them quite often. So far, to date we have spent about $290 on 60 meals. It's absolutely budget-friendly if you're even just looking at it from a "date night" standpoint. 60 meals is the equivalent of 30 "date night" dinners and we would have spent way more than that had we gone out. I mean, really, where are you both going out to eat for an average of $10 a clip? We lack readily access to childcare and so when we do go out, it's few and far between. We are now enjoying our infrequent time alone taking walks along the boardwalk and not spending it in a restaurant eating. In other words, something we can do at home.

Have you tried any delivery services? If so, how have they worked out for you?

Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower and Leek Casserole

This was heavenly! I love side dish casseroles because once you get it all together you don't have to babysit anything and yet it feeds a few people. I love cooking dishes that can be ready at the same time as everything else so everyone can sit down together and eat food - when it's still hot!

You will need:
1 head of cauliflower
2-3 large leeks, cleaned (there is an amazing video that Melissa Clark posted on how to properly clean them here!)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/4C shredded parmesan

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a medium/large casserole dish (Corningware, I love you!) with non-stick spray and place 1 Tbsp butter and place in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until melted. Remove dish from oven.  Press or mince garlic, however which you prefer, and place in the casserole dish along with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Clean and rinse cauliflower and add florets to the olive oil and butter mixture. Toss to coat and place in the oven. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Clean leeks and chop the whites and light green parts into 3/4" diagonal sections. Chop 1 green onion. Remove the casserole dish of cauliflower from the oven and add leeks, green onion, salt and pepper. Toss to incorporate into cauliflower and add salt and pepper. Bake for another 12-15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle 1/4C shredded parmesan on top. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serves 6.

Each serving contains approximately:
Calories: 108
Carbohydrates: 12g
Fat: 6g
Sugar: 5g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 5g

Rainbow Farfalline with Pulled Chicken and Broccoli

Smaller box of pasta + shredded chicken + LOTS of broccoli =
FULL plate + FULL belly + FULL wallet!

Oh cream sauce, how I love thee! I adore alfredo sauce but it is so buttery and cheesy and nobody ever lost weight on a butter and cheese diet. This was amazing and so easy to make. I made the bulk of it on hold with a company for the bazillionth time.

There's an Italian specialty store near me who sells this rainbow bowtie pasta and I think it's just the cutest thing (I love everything rainbow). However, at $11.99/bag it's just not in my budget and therefore, it's not in my belly! Enter Costco. Costco with all of it's increasing organic selection has started carrying a 2 pack of Torino organic bowtie pasta for $4.99. The 2 pack consists of 8.8 oz boxes, one of which is rainbow striped and the other is solid colored. I had a giant head of broccoli from my D2DO order this week and couldn't wait to use it! Trick your mind into eating a stuffed plate by adding lots of broccoli and shredding the chicken. Plus, the box of pasta is only 8.8oz as opposed to the traditional 16 oz in a standard box.

For this recipe you will need:
2 large split chicken breasts (or about 1 lb chicken)
8 oz pasta (I used Torino organic rainbow farfalline)
4C lowfat milk (I used 1%)
4 Tbsp butter
1/4C grated parmesan
1 large broccoli head (or about 3C florets)
3 cloves garlic

In a large pot, bring 2 garlic cloves and water to a boil. Add chicken breast and boil for approximately 1 hour. Remove from water and set on a plate to cool enough to pull. Set aside.

In another large pot (unless you wash out the first, which I did) bring salted water to a boil for the pasta. Make sure there is enough water as we will be adding the broccoli to the water eventually as well. Bring remaining clove of garlic and water to a boil. Add pasta. Pasta will need to cook for 10-12 minutes, so while there is roughly 5-7 minutes left, add the broccoli (depending if you used florets or if you used stalks as well. less time for florets).

In a smaller pot, melt butter and whisk in 2 Tbsp flour (I used King Arthur Organic). Once it is whisked to a pasty consistency, SLOWLY whisk in milk and simmer on a medium/low heat, stirring frequently. Mixture will thicken as it increases in temperature. Add 1/4C parmesan and whisk to melt and incorporate. I love giving it a final combover with my immersion blender. It makes everything super smooth and consistent.

This makes roughly 6 servings.

Each serving contains approximately:
Calories: 409
Fat: 15
Carbs: 41
Dietary Fiber: 1
Sugar: 2
Protein: 27

Adapted Berry Pudding Cake

My mother has been a diabetic since she was about 45 years old. Recently, she subscribed to "Diabetic Living" magazine. I really like the recipes that they have because they seem to use real, whole ingredients. I think in reality, we can eat anything that we want, in moderation. I also think eating foods that our bodies were made to process as opposed to synthetic dyes, flavors and ingredients is a much better choice when faced with a plethora of cooking options. The original recipe can be found here. I love this because the end result is less than an inch of cake amidst a bunch of colorful berries. It's just sweet enough and doesn't leave you feeling like you missed out on dessert.
My version is as follows (which isn't that much different, but a few tweaks were done):

1/4C sugar
1/2C coconut flour
2 large eggs
1C almond milk
dash salt
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
Mixed berries - I only used about 2C as opposed to the 3C in the original
-4 large strawberries, sliced
-1/2 pt blueberries
-about 15 raspberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat  sugar, salt, eggs, milk, flour, baking powder and vanilla in a medium bowl. Set aside. Grease (non-stick spray, coconut oil, etc) a baking dish (I used my 8 inch round corning ware dish), and sprinkle a pinch of brown sugar on the bottom. Layer raspberries and blueberries on the bottom of the dish. Pour 1/2 mixture on top and spread evenly. Layer sliced strawberries on top of batter. Pour and spread remaining batter on top of the strawberries and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains approximately:
Calories: 120
Fat: 3g
Carbs: 17g
Protein: 4g
Sugar: 12g
Fiber: 4g

Naan Veggie Boards with Avocado Sauce

You can add some shredded
mozzarella, too!

Happy New Year! I took a break from blogging, because frankly, with the holidays, I took a break from cooking *hangs head in shame*. So now it's all about "new year, new me" blah blah and I've resumed my place in the kitchen. I had a leftover avocado and for some reason everytime I eat them outright, it makes me violently ill. I'm not sure if my lack of gallbladder can't handle the fat, but I hate to waste them and the nutritional benefits are stellar. I decided to make a sauce out of the one I had. You can top this with whatever veggies you want. For this one I used red pepper, green, pepper, onion and broccoli. Honestly, the hardest part of this is making the sauce, which takes all of 5 minutes. This makes 3 veggies boards.

You will need:
1 medium avocado
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Juice from 1/2 lime (about 1 Tbsp)
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
3 Naan flatbreads
Assorted Vegetables for the topping
1 Tbsp grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 and "bake" flatbread for about 8 minutes or until slightly firm.

In a skillet, sauté veggies until they are about 1/3 to 1/2 cooked. Then remove from heat. I prefer them a little on the crispy side.

In a food processor, blend avocado, tomato paste, lime juice, and garlic. Mixture will be the consistency of mayonnaise. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir. Spread over the flatbread and top with veggies. For 3 flatbreads, I thinly sliced 1/2 each red pepper, green pepper and yellow onion. I also used 1 medium head of organic broccoli I had in my Door to Door Organics* order. Sprinkle with 1/2 - 3/4 Tbsp grated parmesan. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Each flatbread contains approximately:
Calories: 643
Fat: 28g
Carbs: 83g
Protein: 19g
Fiber: 12g
Sugar: 10g

*I am able to send out about 5 coupons per month to try them out (I think they are for $15 off a box). I've been ordering from them for about a year now and really have loved everything I have gotten. I cannot wait until peach season! If you want one, just send me your e-mail and I can send one  to you.

Easy-Peasy Pickles!

6 ingredient pickles! So easy!

I really haven't blogged in forever and for that I apologize. Summer came and went and we are amidst the ever-decreasing temperatures of fall in NJ. I bought a few organic cucumbers the other day and after visiting my parent's house yesterday found myself with a bunch of dill. Of course I could always dry it out and add it to salmon dishes or make some dill butter, but instead, I'd rather take a stab at some fresh pickles. I've also been pinning myself to death on Pinterest, and looking at all of the cute holiday DIY projects out there has me a bit inspired. So many are fat and sugar laden and while these contain both sugar and salt, they're not as horrible for you as the 500 cookies and gallon of eggnogg (cocktails?) that will be staring you in the face this holiday season. You could very easily dress these up with some raffia or ribbon with a tag that says "Happy Holi-dills".

With that being said, I present you with my pickles. I won't be able to eat these for a few days because they need to "marinate" but this is how I made them. I will update this post in a few days and let you know how they came out!

You will need:
1 qt mason jar
1/3 C white vinegar
2 C total of water - 6 oz of which came from the Keurig
a handful of fresh dill
1 garlic clove, quartered
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 C sugar

In a bowl, combine sugar, salt and garlic.Slice a large cucumber into 1/2" slices. I use organic cucumbers, so I don't peel them, however, if they were not, I would peel the outer skin off. Add 6 oz of hot water (small Keurig setting) and stir to melt the sugar and salt. Add vinegar. After it is mixed well (about a minute in) add 10 oz COLD water. You want the sugar/salt water to be cool enough as to not "cook" the pickles.

In a 1 quart mason jar, place fresh dill at the bottom and then placed the sliced cucumbers on top. Pour liquid mixture over the cucumbers, seal the lid tightly and shake a bit to incorporate the cucumbers, dill and liquid. Let sit, refrigerated for a few days (I would say 3 minimum) to absorb the flavors. Each day, turn the jar upside down and right side back up again to mix up the flavors.

Have you ever made your own pickles? Do you add different flavors such as lemon or Old Bay seasoning? Post in the comments below!