Tag Archives: frozen meal

Sand To Snow

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Last week we ended our work-week early and took some vacation days to go home to St. Thomas! Runs along the ocean, iced coffees while walking on the beach, and family time were just what I needed! My mom’s entire side of the family was down and we had a fantastic family reunion.

I took no food photos, only (a thousand) beach photos. Things I ate of note – 1) Fish Bar‘s smoked fish dip at a delicious dinner with my cousins 2) Soursop coquito that was sweet and creamy and boozy and wonderful 3) My mom’s homemade dumb bread – with cheese and butter – that was the best thing I ate this quarter

I had to work the holiday so we flew back in time to celebrate our first Christmas/Hannukah in our new home! {have I mentioned on there that we bought a condo? It’s been a whirlwind}

Five holiday things…

1) This week’s eggnog iced coffee was the best yet. Farmland wins this year by a mile.

2) Chinese take-out for Christmas Eve dinner felt perfect and festive. From Orchid where we will be going again shortly.

3) Red and green nachos for Christmas dinner. Kettle chips / cheese / duck sausage / roasted red bell pepper / garlic sauteed broccoli rabe.

4) Abomination Brewing‘s gingerbread and eggnog double IPAs. 100/10. These are my favorite beverages (alcoholic or otherwise) of all time.

5) Trader Joe’s thoughts — frozen vegetable and cheese enchiladas – 0/10. They were watery and under seasoned; I gave up after three bites and threw them out.

Pink Lady cinnamon sugar apple chips – 10/10. These were perfectly sour and sweet and nicely crunchy.

Dips and Sips

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This post is late because my laptop was in the shop. Things from the week/end, many dips and sips, 50% seasonal!…

Kings Coast Coffee Company‘s The Griswald – espresso with cinnamon and housemade oat nog.

Iced matcha latte with candy cane syrup.

Cheesecake-y smoothie – cottage cheese, vanilla protein powder, water, and frozen blueberries, cherries, and pineapple.

A take on our favorite seasonal smoothie – plain Greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, vanilla protein powder, chocolate milk, and candy cane syrup.

Hint chocolate peppermint flavored water. Good but not something I would seek out again.

Chobani eggnog Greek yogurt with blueberries and Heritage Flakes (and tiny star sprinkles!).

I also had a really great bowl with fresh persimmons, blueberries, granola, and plain Greek.

I made extra chestnut cream cheese frosting so that I could scoop it with pretzel thins and that was a very good idea.

See also – Trader Joe’s blue cheese roasted pecan dip with garlic parmesan pretzels.

I tried two new-to-me Trader Joe’s prepared items – crunchy slaw salad and peanut udon salad – both 8/10’s; both had some nice spice and fresh vegetables.

This soup was so easy and so satisfying – baby bok choy sauteed with scallions and ginger, chicken broth, and Trader Joe’s mini chicken cilantro wontons.

Hedgehog roasted super-firm tofu – topped with a mix of thinly sliced scallions, gochugaru, sesame seeds, furikake, sesame oil, honey, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water – and roasted baby zucchini.

King

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Highlights from the weekend…

Homemade breakfast. A sandwich with scrambled eggs, sharp cheddar, and Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter. Plus wonderful berries and a Vietnamese iced latte.

Trader Joe’s jalopeno and cream cheese wontons. These are good, better and spicier than I was expecting.

Pumpkin beers! Southern Tier Caramel Pumpking (9.5/10 – this was so sweet and creamy, my favorite so far this year) and Schlafly vanilla pumpkin ale (8/10 – very nice for a pumpkin beer but not something I would reach for year round).

I got bar food take-out on Friday. Popcorn chicken bites with Memphis bbq dry rub and Cajun fries. Plus roasted broccoli from home. <– yes, we accidentally made too much broccoli last week

So that Saturday I had leftover fries available for chili cheese fries! Fries topped with leftover pumpkin turkey chili and tons of Trader Joe’s unexpected cheddar. Plus pickled jalopenos on top and Trader Joe’s buffalo chicken dip on the side. Plus more broccoli.

I am showing you Sunday’s dinner both to prove that I occasionally eat grown-up food and to remind me of how wonderfully this salad kept. Leftover kale salad with leftover roasted squash that I sauteed with a peanut butter gochujang sauce.

Blaze, Bread, Ben

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Five things from the weekend…

We went to the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze and LOVED IT. It is a self-guided tour through a field with thousands of hand-carved lit-up pumpkins.

We made a pumpkin bread inspired frozen coffee – with coffee, ice, half and half, cinnamon, maple syrup, pumpkin butter, and vanilla granola butter.

We had a lackluster dinner at a fancy sushi spot and got a garlic sauteed Chinese broccoli side that was just delightful.

We made and loved another recipe from Recipe Tin Eats – Spicy Korean Noodle Soup. I used ramen instead of egg noodles. Plus Trader Joe’s frozen tofu kimbap.

We embraced the season/theme and bought Ben & Jerry’s pumpkin cheesecake ice cream (9.5/10).

Holy Mole

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I did not do a good job of taking photographs this weekend and we ate SO MANY good things! Possibly too many, I am still full.

Here were some highlights…

We love this Nola instant coffee from Blue Bottle. It is super tasty and mixes instantly even in cold water.

Noa A Cafe. Banana pudding iced latte with housemade oat banana milk and cold foam.

Concept Coffee. Coconut ube iced latte and cookie.

During the world’s most exciting trip to 7-11 I scored both the Oreo flavored Coke Zero and the Coke flavored Oreos! Super fun. I thought both were very successful and would definitely buy the soda again.

Casa Enrique. Their brunch is just as good as their Michelin-rated dinner service. Jicama and beet salad with queso fresco, mint, candied pumpkin seeds, and lemon vinaigrette.

Chicken mole enchiladas. Their mole is a work of art.

My mezcal tamarind margarita was the best drink of the weekend.

Katana Kitten. We thought the drinks could have been more alcoholic but loved the food. My amaretto sour was a standout – Wild Turkey rye, amaretto, salted plum, honey, lemon, egg white, and yukari.

We had deviled eggs with white miso, Japanese mustard, and salmon roe.

And an astonishingly good Sukiyaki Sando – soy-braised ribeye, caramelized onion, pickled ginger, jalopeno, and mayo on a baguette with au jus.

Foul Witch. The lighting was unflattering, the food was magical. We shared a great dinner. Their house bread was a 20/10.

Fairytale eggplant with heirloom tomato and fresh cheese.

Maine lobster bucatini.

Lamb shoulder with squash blossom and chimichurri. The very best bite of the night was a dessert that was too dark to photograph but blew our minds – carrot cake with meringue and husk cherry.

An easy but great homemade dinner. Mandu bulgogi chicken frozen dumplings / roasted zucchini / cold silken tofu / spicy peanut sauce (peanut butter with sugar, chili crisp, sesame oil, rice vinegar, dark soy sauce, and water) / furikake.

Comfortcana

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Things from this week…

We are on our second round of Wild Twist apples and I can say that they are my newest favorite.

I didn’t mean to do another birthday cake theme week but somehow it happened. Exhibit A – Oat Haus granola butter.

Eaten with plain skyr with plucot, blueberries, and cereal (Heritage Flakes and cinnamon Frosted Flakes).

Exhibit B – edible glitter (for cold foams) / Sprinkle’s cupcake cups / Barebell protein bar.

I hated the bar – both taste and texture were off-putting, nothing like their other flavors – but how gorgeous is this candy?!?

These berry (blackberry!) fruit gels are lovely.

Snack hour – honey mustard pretzel crackers (didn’t live up to expectations) with crab dip.

This week’s dinner theme was comfort food/Americana. Starting with “Polk Special,” aka a dish my husband’s family made growing up. Meat patties (I did ground turkey with panade, egg, urfa pepper, and smoked paprika) baked in condensed tomato soup and served on mashed potatoes (I followed this recipe but browned my butter). Plus roasted zucchini.

Leftover mashed potatoes and zucchini topped with egg tofu and sauteed mushrooms in a homemade chicken gravy.

Trader Joe’s frozen turkey corndogs (plus mustards for dipping). With green beans – steamed then sauteed with German mustard, yellow mustard, Sriracha, honey, and rice vinegar.

Disco fries! Trader Joe’s frozen waffle fries / tons of shredded mozzarella and sharp cheddar / garlicy baked chicken / gravy. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.

WBEC

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Things from the weekend…

I had a free drink at Starbucks so I took a chance on a Neapolitan-style cold brew and it ended up working out. Vanilla cold foam, mocha sauce, and raspberry popping boba. It was a bit too sweet but I thought the fruity boba paired nicely with coffee (the baristas were horrified).

Buzz’d Coffee‘s monthly special was a cake batter iced latte so of course I drove over.

I made brownies for a work party so of course I put one on a yogurt bowl. With plain skyr, plucot, and blueberries. P.S. My brownies always get rave reviews and they are just the Baker’s recipe using salted butter and adding a Tbsp of espresso powder and a cup of chocolate chips.

A more traditional yogurt bowl – pb&j. Plain skyr, fruit, peanut butter, and Chia Smash concord grape jam.

Lavash wrap with yellow mustard, bread and butter pickles, cheese, and leftover turkey meatballs.

Lunch at Honey’s Bistro, a cute spot in Glen Head. I had the “Eat a Jerk Don’t Be One” bowl and it was super satisfying and delicious. Jerk chicken, sweet plantains, mac salad, grilled zucchini, spicy corn, coleslaw, cilantro aioli, and white rice. P.S. The menu is rife with puns (Harissa Explains it All bowl!!).

Also a guava bomboloni.

And a coconut brown sugar cold foam cold brew.

This peanutty noodle bowl frozen meal from Trader Joe’s was edible but not enjoyable and I wouldn’t recommend it nor buy it again.

This dinner was simple but a total hit. Homemade coleslaw (shredded cabbage, Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon mustard, rice vinegar, sugar, and celery seed) topped with buffalo chicken (baked chicken tossed in a skillet with butter, Franks, and ranch seasoning).

Waffle bacon egg and cheese, aka WBEC, aka the best meal of the weekend. Whole Foods buttermilk protein waffles as bread with sliced Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, soft-scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and maple Sriracha sauce (with mayo and Dijon mustard). Plus roasted broccoli.

Staycation 2024

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We spent the second half of our vacation back home and had a fabulous time! The past four days were spent cuddling with the dog, catching up on errands, checking out new spots in Brooklyn, running on the Long Beach boardwalk, and spending a perfect day in Hudson.

Some highlights include…

Hudson Roasters. They have my favorite espresso in New York.

Blue Bottle. Vanilla Nola Cola. Also our favorite seltzer – Something & Nothing.

Mel the Bakery. We got a fantastic pistachio and almond twice-baked croissant (plus a chocolate chip cookie).

Bread and Butter. We got a key lime pie soft serve (a swirl of key lime and graham cracker).

And an insanely good ube roll.

Huckleberry gummy bears we brought home from Colorado.

Lady Moo Moo. Sprinkles ice cream with sprinkles.

Cafe Mutton. My “excessive garnish” Bloody Mary came with a lamb chop!

Plus we had an omelet with trout roe, creme fraiche, and potato chips and the best buttered toast of my life (and chicken congee).

Lido Kosher Deli. Love a deli with pickles! Plus pretty great cole slaw.

We had an outstanding brisket sandwich on a knish (and a bagel loaded with lox).

Hidden Gem Cafe. We shared a Knockout – shredded beef, caramelized onion, Swiss cheese, Hidden sauce, and hashbrowns on a garlic roll (also a smoked turkey with tomato, spinach, cheddar, and bbq Dijon on ciabatta bread).

Kitty’s. Toki Kollins – Suntory Toki whisky, yuzu juice, club soda, sea salt, and thyme.

Romaneso with green chickpea, puntarelle, broken parsley bay oil, and limequat young coconut sauce.

Spring lamb sugo with treccione, Kinderhook lamb shoulder, fennel, green garlic, and shaved Pecorino Romano.

Rotisserie chicken with roasted Yukons and sunchokes, citrus, date, and charred spring onion relish.

Salted devil’s food cake.

Miso butter bean dip with roasted broccoli, baby carrots, and Trader Joe’s chicken samosas.

Egg salad (shredded hard-boiled eggs / sauteed white onion, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, and garlic / Greek yogurt, Dijon, mayo, rice vinegar, mustard powder, smoked paprika, celery seed, and salt and pepper) / baby zucchini sauteed with a tahini harissa honey sauce / chicken chips and 7-11 garlic bread chips.