Cooking from My Loffredo Fresh Produce Boxes

Do you remember when going to the grocery store seemed like a chore? The one weekly errand that seemed dreadful? I know I do! And now, like many others, I find myself struggling with getting anything from my local grocery store. And longing for more fresh produce. I know I'm not alone. So, how happy was I to partner with Loffredo to help spread the word regarding their fresh produce boxes!

Loffredo is a full-line produce and specialty company that services Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, and the Quad Cities. And recently, they have added fresh produce options to the public to their list of growing services. So what does this mean for you? It means you can order fresh produces boxes that contain enough food to feed a family of four for a week! Their produce boxes come in two different options, one fruit or one vegetable, and each box is only $25! 

When they approached me, I told them yes immediately! I wanted to share with all of you the steps involved, what the boxes contained, and how I planned/cooked from these boxes over the course of one week. And cook I did! And baked. What a pleasure it has been to serve fresh foods daily and experiment with new recipes. I'm honestly thinking of ordering another set of each box next week! So how do you order? Read on....

To place your order for a fresh produce box, simply head here to the the Loffredo myshopify link. Scroll through until you find Pick Up in Kansas City. Upon ordering, you can pick up your curbside order at Loffredo Fresh Foods warehouse located at 750 Wyoming St, Kansas City, MO 64101. You will find their schedule for pickup on the site. Once your order has been placed, it will be available based on the schedule provided. Ordering is quick and simple and outlines the contents within each box. Again, you can order one of each box. 

Just check out the amazingness!

I cleaned all of my produce in a water bath of apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. I let them soak for about 15 minutes and I scrubbed the items that have harder exteriors. I let them all air dry on the counter top.

This entire process also lead me to cleaning out my fridge! Man, does stuff get pushed to the back! I threw out all the old, cleaned every single shelf, and then placed all the produce in pretty bowls, if it allowed.

 

The first night I served up leftovers, but cut up one of the heads of lettuce to make wedge salads. I added grape tomatoes I already had on hand, along with some feta cheese, and added the desired dressing. So simple, but so much crunch!

 

And I simply added sliced strawberries to McKinley's plate!

Found out my dad loves blackberries, so I made some blackberry bars for him the next day. I kept a few for us as well. Man, they were so good. A breakfast treat or for a snack during the day. I did both!

For dinner on night two, I made stuffed peppers! I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe, but made modifications based on what I had. I used mild Italian sausage instead of hamburger and the peppers, Roma tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow onion from the box. This was a two night meal that lead into a third day lunch. See below....

Day three, I made apple bread from one of the apples from the box. 

Lettuce from the box made lettuce cups with the extra filling from the stuffed peppers dinner! 

Day Four, Saturday if we're keeping track of days I'm cooking from the box. (This doesn't include leftover days.) I made broccoli salad as a side for our dinner. I used the two heads of broccoli, two apples, and one of the giant carrots.

We eat daily on the grapes, oranges, and grapefruit. I am going to cube up the pineapple and freeze it for smoothies. I made a fruit salad with the cantaloupe, kiwi, and other fruits. And, I plan to make potato boats from the baking potatoes that were in the box as well. Leave your potatoes and onion in a cool, dry space until you plan to use them. This will keep them from rotting. 

Going into this week, I still have a zucchini, that I may use for zucchini bread. I'm using my lemons and limes as add ins when needed. Apples are still being used for snacks. Grapes are almost gone. And a slice of orange, or two, make it into my Blue Moon during much needed Happy Hours! 

Honestly, this box has been a lifesaver this past week. And I'm truly ready to order my next round. I love having fresh fruits and veggies and I've really enjoyed advancing my culinary creations! A huge shout out to Pinterest!! 

If you decided to order, share your recipes and how you used the contents! It's too good an option to pass up!!

XO,

Andrea

*This is a sponsored post, but all opinions expressed are my own. 

My Fabulous Spice Apple Cupcakes - Pazazz Apples

"How 'bout them apples?" "An apple a day...." "You are the apple of my eye." We are all familiar with these phrases, but is everyone familiar with the Pazazz Apple? This type of apple is part of the Honeybear Brands of apples and is often compared to a Jolly Rancher candy because of it's ratio of sweet to tart taste. Available during the months of November to August, this apple is at it's peak!! And you can pick up yours at your local Hy-Vee or Aldi stores.

When Honeybear reached out to me asking if I would be interested in partnering with them, I immediately said yes! I am a huge apple fan, whether it's eating them raw, cooked for my version of applesauce, or baked within my spice apple cupcake, apples are always in my fridge. I mean, apples have so many health benefits. They are their own prebiotic, high in fiber and can help aid in weight loss, an antioxidant, and can help protect your brain! And when they asked if I would like to share a recipe with all of you, I said yes again! I've been baking this spice apple cupcake for a while now and the family loves them! It's a great dessert, but it also makes a hearty sweet breakfast, if you ask my dad. However, that might not be the weight loss aid they were speaking of!

So let's talk about that cupcake recipe. I'm a girl who loves a shortcut in the kitchen, especially when baking, so I reach for my favorite box spice cake mix when making this cupcake. What I love about using a box cake mix, is that you can start with the basics and then amp up the flavor with add-ins, like cooked apples, to create this spice apple cupcake! You want to add the ingredients suggested on the box which we all have on hand. Bake them according the package, however, I know for my oven, 14 minutes is the perfect bake time. From there, it's all about apples! 

For the apple filling, I treat it much like an apple pie filling. Prep your apples by washing them and getting them ready to peel. I used an apple corer to slice and core, then used my favorite knife to peel. I used three apples in total.

Once all of the apples have been peeled, it's time to dice. I dice my apples into thin pieces because I don't want a big bite inside my cupcakes. They will cook down a little, but you still want a small bite inside.

Once they are all diced, it's time to cook! I placed all my apple pieces into a skillet and add all the yumminess of an apple pie filling. 

I add a tablespoon of unsalted softened butter to the apples.

To that, I add light brown sugar and apple pie spice.

This is a true scientific measurement here. I use roughly one to just a little less than two handfuls of brown sugar. It's a "too taste" kind of thing.

A little apple pie spice goes a long way, so just sprinkle in a little for flavor.

Make sure to steal a taste, and if you feel it's a little too tart, add a little granulated sugar to help sweeten the apples. Cook down to tender. Again, you don't want a crispy apple bite. Since your cupcakes are already baked, you are adding these cooked apples to the center, so you won't have a chance to cook them more.

Now that your apples are cooked, and cooled, it's time to fill the cupcake! I use an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcake, but you don't want to go all the through. Just core mid way through the cupcake, remove, and place aside in a small bowl. You will reuse them.

Fill each cupcake with the baked apples. You don't want to overfill, but you also don't want to under stuff. It's a thin line between both. After each one is filled, replace the centers with the pieces you removed.

 

Lastly, it's time to frost! I made my own, but you can most certainly use store bought. I made cream cheese frosting using an 8 ounce softened cream cheese, one stick of room temperature unsalted butter, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Add it all to the mixer and mix until creamy. Add four cups of confectioner sugar, one cup at time, mixing in between. If it feels too thick, add a tablespoon of water to get to the desired consistency to frost the cupcakes.

Then you frost! I add mine to a piping bag, with a large star tip, and pipe in a circular motion starting on the outside of the cupcake. I added clear and gold sprinkles to the top! 

  

I served these up for book club on a cupcake holder. So cute and so yummy!! Everyone loved them!

 So there you have it! That's my spice apple cupcake using Honeybear Pazazz apples! It's honestly the easiest cupcake recipe, you just have to put in a little love when making them! 

Head out today and grab your Pazazz Apples and get started on your own apple creation!!

XO,

Andrea

*This was a sponsored post, but all opinions and recipe were my own.