August 3- August 9 Latin and Asian Influences

This week our Produce Box includes:

• 4 ears of Corn
• 2 English Cucumbers
• Peaches
• Zucchini and Yellow Squash Mix
• Pepper Variety
• Personal Watermelon

The watermelon and peaches are great for snacks and sides for dinner!

Wednesday, August 3-  After delivering as a sub driver for the Produce Box as well as having company arriving, I plan on making it easy and simple.  Hamburgers with corn on the cob and sliced watermelon.

Thursday, August 4-  Sausage and Peppers served with warmed bread and a bottle of wine.  I will make a small side of pasta as well.  My company is bringing Italian sausage from the Northeast (the best in my opinion) and I will add some of the peppers from my box to them.  I will also be using the tomato sauce I made from my Box's tomatoes and froze a few weeks ago.

Friday, August 5-  Part of my company is going out, I am thinking the rest of us will dine out for dinner tonight too!  Maybe Tribeca Tavern or Red Robin....

Saturday, August 6-  Per special request I am making my delicious Chicken Enchiladas.  They are easy to make and even easier to double the batch for my house guests.  I'll also make a black bean salad using some of my box's corn.  I have made the salad before and enjoyed it!

Chicken Enchiladas  (I will be doubling the recipe tonight) approx. 7 WW Pts.
1 lb chicken
4oz can of chopped green chile peppers (I'll be using my hot green chiles from last week's Box)
1 small onion
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp chili powder
Small Can of Enchilada Sauce
1 package of large sized soft flour tortillas
1 package Mexican cheese (or cheddar)

1. Heat large skillet on med/high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat pan
3. Cook chicken through about 8-10 minutes.
4. While chicken is cooking chop onion
5. Remove chicken to cutting board, add chopped onion to skillet and chili powder
6. While onion is cooking, dice up chicken
7. In a small bowl combine the can of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup of sour cream & 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce. Mix and set aside.
8. Once onion is tender add chicken, green chilies, about 1/4 cup of sour cream mixture & enchilada sauce (add enough to add moisture to skillet about 1-3 tablespoons) Stir and Heat through.
9. In a 9 x 13 baking dish lightly cover bottom of pan with the sour cream mixture.
10. Add chicken mixture to tortillas and roll up, place seam side down in baking dish. (tortillas can be touching each other in dish)
11. Cover tortillas with remaining sour cream mixture and sprinkle with cheese
12. Bake in a 350 degree oven covered for 20-25 minutes then uncover and bake additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

**Meal can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. When ready to bake add 15 minutes to bake time or until heated through.

Sunday, August 7-I will use my remaining peppers in tonight's meal of either  Pork Fried Rice or Taste of Thai Peanut Noodle Recipe.  I am not sure which I will make tonight.

Taste of Thai Peanut Noodle Toss Recipe

1/2 Box (8 oz) Rice Noodles
1 TBSP oil
3 cups favorite vegetables chopped
1 tsp Salt
1 13.5 oz can of Coconut Sauce
1 packet (both inner envelopes) Peanut Sauce Mix
1 1/4 lbs chicken or beef thinly sliced

Soak noodles according to stir fry directions. Heat oil in wok over medium high heat. Add vegetables, salt and meat. Saute 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and peanut sauce. Mix. Bring to boil while stirring and boil 3 minutes. Add drained noodles and combine. Cook while stirring until noodles are firm but tender. Add peanuts for garnish.

Pork Fried Rice

• vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• half an onion finely chopped (I used a red onion but any variety or even scallions can be substituted)
• 2 pork chops cubed
• 2 cups of diced vegetable medley (I used my peppers as part of the medley)
• 3 cups of cooked cold rice
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Heat  a tablespoon of oil in a pan.  Add eggs and stir (like making scrambled eggs) remove from heat when just set.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok.  Add garlic and onion.  Saute for 5 minutes then add pork. 
3. When pork is cooked through add vegetable mix.  Cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add rice and soy sauce.  Separate rice and incorporate the soy sauce into mixture.
5. Once rice is heated through add eggs.  Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  If mixture is dry add some more soy sauce.

Monday, August 8- This has become one of my favorite new dishes, Squash and Zucchini Burritos. I discovered this dish through a friend. There after, I added my twist and viola! A sumptuous summer dish.  This will use the squash and zucchini from my Box.

Tuesday, August 9-  I am not sure what tonight's meal will be yet.  Maybe leftovers?  It will be quick and easy since it is golf lesson night.

October 20-26 Meals

This weeks Box contains 1 Large and 2 tiny Eggplants, 2 Bell Peppers, 3 Squash, 1lb. of Unshelled Striped Beans, 3 lbs. of Purple Sweet Potatoes, 3 Cucumbers and a variety of 10 Apples.

The White Bean and Sausage Cassoulet was a wonderful hearty meal. I am glad I threw it on the menu again last week! The Apple Stuffed Chicken was heavy on the thyme for my liking but the side dish of Butternut Squash Apple Bake was superb!

I had some zucchini left from 2 weeks ago and will make some more Zucchini Bread this week. I never made the apple muffins, most of the apples had been snacked on before the weekend! So maybe with this weeks apples I will try an apple cinnamon muffin recipe.

Wednesday, October 20- It's Mexican inspired dinner tonight. I will season ground beef with cumin and cayenne pepper, saute chopped pepper from my Box, add drained & rinsed black beans and diced tomatoes. The mixture will be served on flour tortillas and garnished with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Thursday, October 21- Thursdays are my busy hectic evenings. Therefore, my girls will dine on one of their favorites, Mac N Cheese with fresh fruit. My husband and I will eat later that evening, most likely cheeseburgers and a simple side.

Friday, October 22- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast served with potatoes and peas will be Friday's meal.
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

• Layer the bottom of your crockpot with one chopped sweet yellow onion, 1/4 cup chicken broth, and 1/2 tbsp. minced garilc.
  
• Rub the turkey inside and out with one packet of onion soup mix, also rub some oregano, thyme, and 1/2 tbsp minced garlic on the breast.
  
• Drizzle the breast with 1 tbsp. melted butter or olive oil. Place breast on top of onions and cook on high 1 hour.
  
• Reduce to low setting and continue cooking for 7 hours.
• During the last 3 hours, add quartered potatoes and/or sweet potatoes.
  
• While breast rests before craving, turn setting to high and in a small bowl or cup, mix together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup of liquid (chicken broth or water). Stir into crockpot, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until thickened.

Saturday, October 23- I will be entertaining company over the weekend and after late day soccer games we will be dining out, most likely at Tyler's Taproom in Apex!

Sunday, October 24- My husband will be getting some marinated beef from the Meat House in Cary to grill for dinner tonight. I will serve purple sweet potato fries, caramelized onions and peppers and a fresh salad with the beef.

Monday, October 25- I never made the Lemony Roasted Veggies and Couscous last week. So I will prepare it tonight using some of the potatoes from last week's Box and I will add some pepper and eggplant to the veggie mix. I will also add some minced garlic and serve it with shrimp.

Roasted Lemony Veggies & Couscous

1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound) peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups)
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound red-skin potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup baby carrots, halved
1 cup couscous

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together lemon juice, basil, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, squash, potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle mixture with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle with prepared lemon dressing and stir well to combine.
3. Pour vegetable mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake another 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. When there is 10 minutes bake time remaining, prepare couscous according to package directions. Remove vegetable mixture from oven and carefully stir in couscous. Serve immediately.

Tuesday, October 26- I think I'll use the yellow squash from my box to make my Squash and Zucchini Burritos. I'll look for some zucchini at the farmer's market over the weekend.

Menu for August 18- August 24

This week's Produce Box included 2 lbs. of Roma Tomatoes, 2 Bell Peppers, a Banana Pepper, 5 Peaches, 1 lb. of Red Potatoes, 2 Butternut Squashes, 1 lb. of Grape Tomatoes and a Sprite Melon.

Wednesday- Tonight is a busy night with our family eating in "shifts" due to our crazy schedule. Therefore, the kids will be having some chicken nuggets with peaches and grape tomatoes and my husband and I will have chicken salad sandwiches tonight. I'll add some cut up grape tomatoes to our chicken salad.

Thursday- We will be having Mexican tonight. I'll make cheese quesadillas with a side of fresh tomatoes, from our Produce Box, for my girls while the grownups feast of Beef Tacos. I'll saute the some bell pepper from our Box in olive oil. If I find the time I'll whip up my husband's awesome salsa using the roma tomatoes and peppers from my box.

Friday- From last week's menu, I plan on making the Grilled Shrimp Skewers. The recipe actually calls for apple but we have always omitted it. The spicy yet sweet flavors of the marinade are to die for! This has quickly become one our favorite ways to prepare grilled shrimp. I will serve it with perhaps some cheese and broccoli couscous and corn on the cob bought at DJ's Berry Patch. (Picture reproduced from allrecipes.com)

Saturday- Tonight I am thinking of trying something different with my butternut squash. Our Produce Box newsletter had a recipe for Glazed Butternut Squash. I'm intrigued, we'll see. I'll serve it along with grilled chicken and oven rolls. (I'll post the recipe later on.)

Sunday- Tonight we will be having Grilled Rosemary Pork Chops accompanied with Southern Green Beans and Rosemary Red Potatoes.

Southern Green Beans
4 slices bacon
1 large onion sliced
4 cans green beans
salt and black pepper

Fry bacon, remove bacon before it becomes crispy.
In bacon fat fry onion until tender.
Pour 4 cans of green beans into pot. If more water is needed add until green beans are covered.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add bacon.
Bring to boil then let Simmer for about 30-45 minutes. (add water as necessary)

Monday- This has become one of my favorite new dishes, Squash and Zucchini Burritos. I discovered this dish through a friend. Thereafter, I added my twist and viola! A sumptuous summer dish! Of course I'll only be making this dish if DJ's Berry Patch has the squashes.

Tuesday- There is good chance tonight will be leftovers to make room for our next Produce Box delivery!

Back to Basics Aug. 11-Aug. 17

Back to Basics

The contents of this weeks Produce Box were not among my family's list of favorites. So we skipped this weeks delivery. Now what is a girl suppose to do without her weekly Produce Box? That brought me back to basics.

Before I discovered the Produce Box and later in the early winter, I will be left to my own devices to plan my weekly menu. Where do I start?

My freezer and refrigerator are my first stops. Based on what I have stock-piled from previous meat sales will begin to shape my weekly menu. Any fresh produce that needs to be used up? This too will influence my menu planning. My last kitchen stop will be my cupboards and pantry. A couple of cans of black beans? Might inspire me to make chili or a Mexican dish. Lastly, I take into account what I currently have on hand and delve into my cookbooks and the internet for final inspiration.

Of course outside factors will shape my weekly menu too. Wednesdays my husband is usually not home for dinner. Therefore, I plan a simple meal or even a meal he isn't too fond of that evening.

It is Summertime and fresh produce is bountiful at local farm stands and farmer's markets. I plan on making what has become a weekly stop for me at DJ's Berry Patch to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables.

Wednesday- My girls and I are on our own for dinner tonight. At present time I am not sure what simple meal I will whip up but a good guess would be grilled cheese sandwiches or breakfast for dinner. Or maybe I'll treat the girls to Chick-fil-a (their favorite restaurant).

Thursday- Today's meal was actually the last dinner I decided upon. I think reading a recent Facebook post from a friend planted the inspiration of tonight's dinner, Flour Tortilla Pizzas. I'll use shredded mozzarella cheese, my homemade tomato sauce, slices of fresh tomato & onion and sliced chicken to make these up. I will season and cook the chicken earlier in the day and then use slices for the pizzas. I will also add some herbs and spices to kick up the flavor for our pizzas! I buy chicken breasts in bulk at BJ's so we always have chicken on hand. I made up homemade sauce over the past 2 weeks, so that was already on hand. I picked up some of the fresh produce on my weekly visit to DJ's Berry Patch.

Friday- I plan on cooking up Risotto with Tomato, Corn and Basil along with some Italian Sausage for dinner. A bottle of wine and fresh bread will nicely round out tonights meal. I enjoy making homemade risotto so of course I have an ample bag in my cupboard. Since I had a weekly menu plan, I was able to pick up the produce for this recipe while I made my trip to DJ's Berry Patch.

Saturday- This has become one of my favorite new dishes, Squash and Zucchini Burritos. I discovered this dish through a friend. There after, I added my twist and viola! A sumptuous summer dish. I will not use all the tortillas for Thursday's meal so I will use the remaining burrito wraps for this meal. I had canned black beans and salsa verde in my pantry. And of course with some pre-planning, the produce I picked up on my trip to the farm stand.

Sunday- I plan on making Grilled Shrimp Skewers. The recipe actually calls for apple but we have always omitted it. The spicy yet sweet flavors of the marinade are to die for! This has quickly become one our favorite ways to prepare grilled shrimp. I serve it with the remaining risotto I made Friday and a green salad. I usually have frozen shrimp in my freezer.

Monday- Again I buy most of my meats in bulk at BJ's. Unless the local grocery store is running a particular sale on a certain meat I find the prices normally lower at bulk stores. With an extra freezer in our garage storage isn't a problem. I recently restocked pork chops.

Tonight we will be having Grilled Rosemary Pork Chops accompanied with Southern Green Beans and Rosemary Red Potatoes.

Southern Green Beans
4 slices bacon
1 large onion sliced
4 cans green beans
salt and black pepper

Fry bacon, remove bacon before it becomes crispy.
In bacon fat fry onion until tender.
Pour 4 cans of green beans into pot. If more water is needed add until green beans are covered.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add bacon.
Bring to boil then let Simmer for about 30-45 minutes. (add water as necessary)

Tuesday- There is good chance tonight will be leftovers to make room for our next Produce Box delivery!

**pictures of food reproduced from allrecipes.com to depict recipe results**

July 14th - July 20th Menu

Wednesday is Delivery Day!
I was delighted to get my Produce Box early today. Why? Because that means we can have watermelon with lunch!

This weeks contents include a personal Watermelon, a pint of Blueberries, 7 Peaches, 2 Bell Peppers, a basket of Roma Tomatoes, Butternut Squash, 4 small Japanese Eggplants, 2 small White Eggplants and 2 Pickling Cucumbers.

Our family schedule this week keeps us apart for a few nights which in turn means leftovers Wednesday (to make room in the fridge) and possibly take out Thursday.
So the watermelon will be gobbled up with lunches, breakfast and snacks along with some of the peaches. Over the weekend I will make fresh Blueberry Muffins.

Our first meal made with our Produce Box will not occur until Friday with Eggplant Parmesan and homemade sauce using the 2 white eggplants, a pepper and the roma tomatoes. I will be making my tomato sauce for the first time. I altered the sauce recipe by using 10 tomatoes in the puree and 3 for the chopped tomato, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp dried rosemary, and 1 tbsp of basil. I actually forgot to pick up celery at the market so I omitted them. After 2 hours of simmering I added 2 tsp of ground pepper and 1 tsp salt. Since my family isn't especially fond of chunky sauce, I used a potato masher to smooth out some of the chunky pieces. The sauce was a success! And the white eggplants delicate flavor enhanced the meal. Husband gave it 2 thumbs up!

Saturday I will be using a fellow Produce Box's recipe for Peach Chicken using the rest of my peaches. We will have Garlic Grilled Red Potatoes and green beans with dinner. I hope to get those ingredients at a local farmers market, DJ's Berry Patch or Western Wake Farmer's Market.

Sunday I will make Butternut Squash Risotto with Shrimp and possibly a side salad or loaf of bread. I have made risotto in the past with pleasing results. I am eager to taste how this recipe will turn out.

Monday will be marinated chicken fajitas using the marinade from the steak fajitas we had last week. I told you it was DELICIOUS! Along with grilled peppers (from my Produce Box) and onions. I'm also thinking of a corn and bean salad again if I can find a different recipe or modify and tone down last weeks side. UPDATE: I found a Black Bean Salad recipe which I will make Monday.

Tuesday is Asian Peanut Noodle Toss.
Taste of Thai Peanut Noodle Toss Recipe
1/2 Box (8 oz) Rice Noodles
1 TBSP oil
3 cups favorite vegetables chopped (I used 3 of the Asian eggplants, the last pepper & a squash from our garden)
1 tsp Salt
1 13.5 oz can of Coconut Sauce
1 packet (both inner envelopes) Peanut Sauce Mix
1 1/4 lbs chicken or beef thinly sliced

Soak noodles according to stir fry directions. Heat oil in wok over medium high heat. Add vegetables, salt and meat. Saute 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and peanut sauce. Mix. Bring to boil while stirring and boil 3 minutes. Add drained noodles and combine. Cook while stirring until noodles are firm but tender. Add peanuts for garnish.

July 7- July 12 Menu

Wednesday is Produce Box delivery and therefore begins my week's worth of menus.

Wednesday was Ratatouille Pasta with sausage. I added pan fried cut up Italian sausage to this meal for my husband, who enjoys having some kind of meat in his dishes. A loaf of bread and a bottle of red accompanied this delicious meal.

Thursday's meal consisted of Zucchini & Corn Cakes made with fresh corn from my Produce Box. Honey Mustard Seasoned Chicken (4 chicken breasts pounded, placed in my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker with Honey Mustard Dressing spread over them & microwaved for 12 minutes) and home-made Peach Cobbler (recipe to post later) for dessert rounded out our meal.

The chef was off Friday as we celebrated my daughter's first day of school with dinner out.

Saturday was the first time I cooked or for that matter ever tasted spaghetti squash. I used the spaghetti squash from my Produce Box and cooked up Spicy Spaghetti Squash with a few alterations. I used chop meat in place of the ground turkey and I omitted the capers since I did not have any on hand. I also roasted the squash first instead of microwaving it. (Halved the squash, spoon out the seeds, a TBSP of butter in each, sprinkled some oregano and garlic powder over each half and roasted for about 1 hour) Again some artisan bread from my local supermarket and a bottle of red paired well with this first time meal. The squash had a slightly crunchy texture but was delicious and mimicked spaghetti noodles rather well.

Sunday my darling husband gave me the night off and prepared a Southwestern inspired menu of Corn and Black Bean Salad, again using a few ears of corn from our Produce Box. We enjoyed trying a cold salad like this however we felt the balsamic vinegar was too strong flavored for us. We also had steak fajitas which had been marinated. These were WONDERFFUL! My husband also grilled up some onion and peppers, of course using one of the red bell peppers from our Produce Box.

Monday I used the last of the corn and blueberries from our Produce Box. I baked Blueberry Pie, I think this may have been the first time I baked a blueberry pie. I altered the recipe based on other reviewers comments and used 1 cup of sugar and 5 TBSP of cornstarch. This is very good warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Dinner I prepared Corn Pudding using a fellow Produce Box's recipe which was served with fried chicken and gravy.

Tuesday I treated myself and my daughters to some take out. Hey we've been eating healthy and at home, we deserve a treat (and a night off)!