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. 

Easy Weeknight Dinner

Raise your hand if you find yourself asking every morning what to make for dinner? Keep your hand up if you've just come back from a week long vacation, where every meal was made for you, and you didn't miss making dinner every night? Well, I've raised my hand high and this is exactly where I found myself Monday night! I had created a weekly menu, made my grocery list, purchased all the groceries over the weekend, but when it came to making dinner Monday night, I just didn't really want to. And I think that's because I didn't really know what to have. Yes, I just said I created a weekly menu, but sometimes even then it doesn't sound good. So, I provided a couple of ideas to my husband, and he picked one. (He too didn't really care what we had either. No help!) 

When I'm shopping, I usually pick up a few things along the way that could be made into something down the road, and one of my go-to's these days is smoked sausage. I use them in foil packets on the grill or browned alone and then tossed in pasta. But on Monday, I decided to just wing it and make something of my own creation. I don't normally do that. Like ever! I am a recipe follower kind of cook. But, I had a few ingredients on hand, from one of the items on my menu for the week, and just started cooking!

Here's what you'll need! 

I started by heating some olive oil in a skillet and then added half of a diced white onion.

And then I decided it might need a little garlic, so I finely diced one glove. Add more if you're a fan!

I roughly chopped two large tomatoes and added them to the onion and garlic. If your tomatoes are as juicy as mine, that's going to create your sauce. You can always add a splash of chicken or vegetable stock.

I seasoned along the way, with the addition of each ingredient, with salt and pepper. All that Food Network watching pays off!

The main ingredient for this meal was chili lime smoked sausage. Man, was it full of flavor!! Not super spicy either. Just enough to add a punch of flavor.

Add the sausage to the tomato mixture. What's great about any smoked sausage is that it's already cooked! All your really doing is warming it through. I love having one less step!

While shopping from my food pantry, I found a can of Mexican corn. With the sausage having a chili lime base, I thought that the Mexican corn would be a great addition. It already has a spice base with jalapenos and red peppers. And again, you're just warming the corn through. 

While picking up the corn from the pantry, I found a box of corn bread mix and a box of rice. Dinner came together with all of these extras.

This meal came together in less than 30 minutes! I'm like Rachel Ray over here! Honestly, the things that took the longest were the corn bread muffins and rice, each taking 20 minutes. The main dish took 15 at the most! 

To serve it up, add a base of rice and then spoon over the sausage mixture. Place a couple of muffins on the plate and grab yourself your favorite beer! I just happened to have a Corona available and kept with my Mexican theme. 

And there you have it! A week night meal, that took roughly 30 minutes too make, with ingredients that you probably have on hand! (Seriously, I sound like any Food Network host!) It was enough for two night, I love leftovers, and Joel took it for lunch today! When you can get roughly three days out of one meal, and in essence five meals, that's a recipe to keep on hand! Even if you made it up!

XO,

Andrea

Mama Cooking: Lasagna Toss

I'm the kind of cook that needs a recipe for every meal. I love finding new ones to try, especially when watching hours of Food Network and scouring through their magazine. But I've been saying for years that I would love to just cook with freedom. Adding a little here, a little there, and mixing spices like I had attended Le Cordon Bleu. But the fact of the matter is, I don't know which spice pairs with another and which will overshadow a different one.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've become a little more brave when it comes to cooking and modifying recipes I've either seen or read about, and making them my own. It started with this lasagna toss. I call it that because you just toss all the ingredients together and it comes straight out of the pot and onto a plate. No layering or baking needed. Want to know more? Then keep reading.

I have all the ingredients I need here:

With the Italian sausage, I've kind of cheated in the seasoning department because all of the seasoning I need is in there! Love when I can take the guess work out of it! I also have pasta noodles, olive oil for the pan, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, two different cheeses, and some garlic.

I added a little olive oil to a pan to heat up and then minced the garlic. I added the garlic to the oil and let them start to soften. From there, I added the sausage. Remove it from its casing! And while you're doing all of that, bring a large pot of water to a boil. 

If you don't have this amazing tool, you need it! It's the Mix and Chop and it does all the work for you when chopping your meat while browning it! Simply twist and chop the meat to your desired groundness and let it continue to cook. I love it and use it constantly. You can get it here, and if you need a Pampered Chef consultant, I recommend Laurie Milbrodt. She's great! (And she doesn't know I gave her the shout out....)

After the sausage was cooked, I drained off any excess fat. From there I added a 15 oz can of tomato sauce and 15 oz can of diced tomatoes.

I've also added my pasta to the salted boiling water. I used Rigattoni noodles, but you can use anything have on hand.

Okay, back to the meat sauce. I added half of a 15 oz container of Ricotta cheese and about half a bag of shredded mozzarella. You can take the time to shred your own, but who honestly has the time? Stir until combined and melted. 

By now your pasta should be ready. I don't take the time to drain my pasta. If Giada doesn't, then I don't need to either! I use my trusty pasta strainer and add ladles of pasta at a time to the meat sauce. Toss until completely coated.

And then it's time to put it on a plate! I added shredded Parmesan cheese to the top. You can also add fresh basil, but I didn't have any. Mine had all dried up in the planter.... I guess you do need to tend to it from time to time. I also served it with hunks of French bread on the side. 

And there you have it! Lasagna Toss! It was so easy and it was all my own. And I loved playing around with ingredients and just making a dish with them. And it got thumbs up from my husband so I would say it was a success!

XO,
Andrea

Quick Weeknight Dessert

Over the weekend, my parents had us over for a little BBQ. Nothing says Labor Day Weekend like a little BBQ and family time! Along with all the amazing sides, my mom served banana pudding for dessert. It was amazing! Unfortunately, there weren't enough leftover for both houses, I guess I should let them keep it for themselves, so I decided to whip a little quick weeknight banana pudding for us! 

Yes, banana pudding can be labor intensive, but not this recipe! Follow along below to make yours tonight!

Here's what you need:

Vanilla Pudding Mix (and the ingredients needed), Vanilla Wafers, Bananas, and a cute little serving dish.

Fill the bottom of your dish, I used mason jars, with one wafer at the bottom and a couple along the side for the layered look. I had to split a couple in half to make them fit.

Slice up your bananas and layer those over the wafers.

Whip up the pudding according the directions and add a few spoonfuls over the bananas and wafers. Layer all ingredients one more time.

Crumble a wafer over the top of the pudding. Isn't is so pretty!!

And that's it! You have individual banana pudding for a quick weeknight dessert! Dig in and enjoy!

XO,

Andrea