Puppy Cookies

Making homemade dog biscuits is something that I've always wanted to try.

I found this recipe on the Will Cook For Friends blog.  These pumpkin & peanut butter dog biscuits are safe for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

The ingredients are a little pricey for dog treats -- specifically the rice flour (I ordered it from Target.com) and the natural peanut butter (some natural peanut butter has sugar so you have to check the ingredients).

These were pretty easy to make.  I found that I needed to add a little extra pumpkin puree in order for the dough to hold together.

I found a Wilton 3" dog bone cookie cutter at Joann's in the baking section.  This recipe made 18 biscuits with that cutter.  (good size for medium to large dogs)

30 minutes was plenty of baking time.

I wrapped up a few biscuits for our dog friends!  (puppy paws ribbon from Joann's)

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

I save a lot of recipes that I see while scrolling through Facebook.  Some are from companies and bloggers that I follow (like King Arthur Flour and Smitten Kitchen) and others are posted by friends.

I saved this recipe for Raspberry Buttermilk Cake last summer.  A few days later, I found out that we were celebrating National Raspberry Cake day at work.

This cake was both beautiful and delicious.  And it was incredibly easy to make.

Fortunately I had the perfect sized piece of parchment paper, that I'd saved from some disposable foil cake pans.  That made it even easier!

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

My son loves red velvet cake, and he especially loves red velvet from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Last year I bought his birthday cake from there, but this year I decided to try a copycat recipe.

I make this recipe from Six Sisters Stuff and substituted semi-sweet chocolate chips for the white chocolate chips.  It turned out delicious!  I still prefer the chocolate chocolate chip Bundt cake, but I enjoyed this one too.

Blue Apron: Chicken Skewers

This meal was harissa chicken skewers with khorasan wheat & persimmon salad.

I really liked the cooking method for the chicken -- you coat it with labneh cheese (similar to Greek yogurt) before cooking it.

The extra labneh cheese was awesome for dipping the cooked chicken.  It was really the highlight of the meal.

I wasn't a fan of the wheat salad, but the persimmons were delicious.  I will definitely consider cooking with them again.

I'm going to to try Home Chef next.  The biggest difference I noticed is that Home Chef meals tend to be higher in calories and fat (several meals had around 1,000 calories and 60 grams of fat per serving).  I ordered two of their low fat meals.  I'm interested to see how they compare to Blue Apron.

Blue Apron: Shrimp & Pasta

Tonight's Blue Apron meal was Spicy Shrimp & Bucatini Pasta with kale.

This recipe required chopping, but not as much as the potato chowder.  Though finely chopping a full bunch of kale was a workout!

The steps were easy to follow.  Estimated cook time is 15-25 minutes plus 10 minutes of prep, but it took me closer to an hour.

The end result was good but it didn't knock my socks off.  There wasn't any sauce to it.  I added a little shredded Parmesan which added a lot of flavor and really improved the dish.

Based on the two meals I've made, Blue Apron seems to rely on heat to add flavor (cayenne and red pepper flakes) whereas I prefer to add flavor with other herbs and spices.  And cheese!

Perhaps my expectations are too high, but if I'm going to spend $20 on ingredients (to feed two people) and hustle in the kitchen for an hour, I want my socks knocked off!!

Blue Apron: Potato Chowder

A family member sent me a coupon for a free Blue Apron meal kit.  I've heard a lot about meal kits and how they're popular with working moms, so I was excited to try it.

Part of Blue Apron's mission is to encourage home chefs to try new ingredients and new cooking techniques.  That should tell you a lot about their recipes.

It took me a few weeks to order my box...I needed to wait for a week when I had time to cook, and when the meals were family-friendly.  I ordered a box with three meals that would each serve two people.

My first Blue Apron meal was Potato Chowder with cheddar cheese toasts.  The estimated time required for cooking is 35-45 minutes, plus prep time.

Blue Apron sends you all of the ingredients except salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.  They also send you a step-by-step recipe with photos.

The chowder required a lot of chopping -- Blue Apron sends a whole onion, potatoes, a carrot, celery stalks, etc.  The cooking steps were not difficult except for the fact that I was making the soup and the cheese sauce at the same time.

The chowder was good but not great.  I added some of my own shredded cheese which improved it quite a bit.  I actually thought the chowder was better the next day when it had had time to thicken.

The cheese toasts were a ciabatta-type bread with a homemade spicy cheese sauce.  They were delicious!!!  (cheese and carbs is a favorite combination of mine)

Blue Apron definitely eliminates the time spent on planning and shopping.  However, the prep and cooking time take a while.  It's definitely for people who love to cook and who are a bit adventurous in their eating.

Another meal kit like Hello Fresh would be a better fit for people who want simpler meals (kid-friendly and ready in 30 minutes or less).

I priced several meal kits and they run about $10 per person per meal.  You definitely pay a premium -- it's less expensive than eating a similar meal in a restaurant, but much more expensive than doing your own planning and shopping.

I was impressed that Blue Apron has instructions for recycling all of their packing.  Or you can ship your packaging back to Blue Apron and they'll recycle it for you.  Another benefit of Blue Apron is that they only send the amount of food you will need for the recipe, so there is no waste.

Bridal Shower Food

One of my very favorite girlfriends was married this fall.  She wanted something unique, so the host planned a "Pride & Prejudice and Zombies" bridal shower.  We decided to serve tea party food.

From my kitchen:

• Pioneer Woman's French breakfast puffs - mini size
• cheesecake stuffed strawberries
• cranberry scones with orange glaze

I'm not sure which I love more -- the French breakfast puffs that taste like a cinnamon sugar cake doughnut -- or the tender, buttery scones.  I will make both recipes again!

And of course strawberries and sweetened cream cheese are always a winning combination.

In keeping with the theme, we included hatchets, eyeballs and fake fingers.  The bride loved it!