When we lived in Kansas City, our lives felt so much more traditional.
We owned a home {ok still do}.
We spent weekends mowing, pulling weeds, painting things!
We shopped at Target more than once a year.
And with a grill handy we spent a lot more time making meals together.
It appears since moving to Florida we have become FOOD lazy. Condo living is just way too easy.
Dishwasher broken? Call the super.
Want to go to the pool? It’s downstairs.
Tiny balcony? Toss the plants!
Until Blue Apron arrived last week, I didn’t realize we haven’t shared kitchen time for eons! It was a great reminder that I really enjoy those moments of no background noise, working together and then sitting down to the same meal! For a two person household we tend to have very different tastes and don’t often share the exact same meal.
SHALL WE COOK
Our first problem…no consensus on what to eat. The issue here wasn’t a dislike of any meal, but instead a weeknight preference for one over another (I think David was factoring cook time with his growling stomach).
So we went the mature route, eyes covered I picked one of the recipes. Tada looks like we were going for the Mexican-Style Chicken Tortas!! Time to gather the fresh ingredients, the included spices and fresh herbs! When I went to pick up my Blue Apron box at the front desk, I noticed a stack 5 high!! I guess other people in our building appreciate having a refrigerated box of fresh ingredients delivered free on their schedule {since there is no commitment}.
The second surprise was for David, he was in charge!
HAHAHAAAAA that lasted about 2 minutes, I wanted to eat this week. He might be handy with tools, but in the kitchen he likes to prepare one thing at a time. We had a Valentine’s dinner that took 3 hours once and nope he wasn’t whipping up some fancy French meal. It was good ol’ Turkey day favorites like turkey, potatoes and stuffing…from a box.
I sent him off with the chicken and spice packet to cook on the foreman (since we are sans a grill in the condo), while I got to work on the chopping and dicing of the fresh veggies for the side salad. I marinated the onion in red wine vinegar, then tossed with tomato and cucumber.
Not only did this get us in the kitchen together, laughing and connecting, but it busted us out of our normal food choices. Because every ingredient was there with step by step instructions what might have seemed too complicated quickly became very easy to do.
Doing it alone always feels like more work than necessary since David is often satisfied with frozen pizza rolls. That being said, one bite of our finished creation and he lit up “It tastes like something I’d get at a restaurant!”
Mexican-Style Chicken Tortas
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Torta rolls
- 1 red onion
- 1 avocado
- 1 to mato
- 1 lime
- 1/2 lb summer cucumber
- fresh cilantro
- 1 oz cheese they used fresh queso
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp spice blend, chile powder, oregano, sweet paprika, garlic, cumin
Instructions
- Turn on skillet or oven to cook chicken
- Sprinkle chicken with the spice blend
- In oven, bake for 30-35 minutes
- Slice tomato, cucumber and 1/2 red onion
- Toss vegetables with red wine vinegar and squeeze of lime
- Slice avocado
- Remove chicken and let it cool
- Place chicken on torta roll, top with veggies, avocado and cheese
- We then pressed ours in the George Forman to get a bit of a panini feel!
I left the cheese off mine (obv), but couldn’t agree more it was fresh and delicious! I made one of the other meals on my own the night before and admit to hiding the leftovers because I didn’t really want share. Does this make me a bad wife??? Nahh, I say it makes me a hungry runner who hoards veggies.
In fact, a few other Blue Apron recipes that jumped out us to try in the future:
– Za’atar – Spiced Eggplant & Squash Pitas (ok so this one is mostly my choice!)
– Summer Ratatouille & Parmesan Polenta
– Spiced Chickpea Burgers
Think this sounds like a great idea for you or your family?? You can choose the family or 2 person plan to ensure you don’t end up with too much food and of course we have a discount for those ready to try!
DISCOUNT: First 25 readers will get two free meals on their first Blue Apron order! Click here to check it out!
How often do you cook together?
How often do you change up your meals?
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This post is sponsored by Blue Apron, all giggles and drool belong to us.
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Allie
We almost NEVER cook together because of my husband’s working hours but, it’s really better that way! I tried Blue Apron a little while ago and absolutely loved it but, there are so.many.steps and so.many.pots but the food? Totally worth it!
RunToTheFinish
I've tried it a few times now and some recipes were right up my alley and yup others were just too many steps for me. But the food always amazing and fresh!
Laura - Chronicles of Passion
We love cooking together, although most of the time he just has too short of an attention span and I take over. Fine by me haha! At least we start out with the best of intentions!
My recent post How to Start Running
Kathy McElhaney
I do most of the cooking but I did get him in the kitchen this week to help with homemade ravioli – rolling/filling those babies through the pasta maker is a two person job!
Clean Eating & Focused Training
So fun! Tyler and I love to cook together in the kitchen – it is one of our favorite things to do!
-Liz http://www.TheCleanEatingCouple.com
RunToTheFinish
Well based on the name I hope so, I LOVE what you share!!! such an important thing for everyone to get in there!
egb
We frequently cook together. It's a great way to chat about our days and make sure we stay well fueled.
My recent post Snakebite Training Recap Week #14
Happy Fit Mama
We used to cook together all the time pre-kids. But now one of us is usually entertaining while the other is chopping and stirring.
My recent post High Five Friday
alisamarie
How fun! I think these types of meal services are great for getting out of ruts … speaking of … we do still share a lot of kitchen time, but mainly because we've become so pathetically routine! Same 5 meals practically. I'm dying to start mixing things up!
maryedooley
Danny and I definitely do NOT cook together. He cooks, I clean. I hate cooking, he hates cleaning. It's a good arrangement :)
My recent post Kaitlin is my homegirl
RunToTheFinish
See i'm totally good with that scenario! It definitely happens around here.
fitlivingblog2
We never cook together – I can count on two fingers how many times Mike has cooked, but I've been wanting to try Blue Apron! Looks like you guys had so much fun!
My recent post Friday Favorites: 3 Things I’m Loving in my Pursuit of Healthy Living
RunToTheFinish
So glad to hear it's not just us!!! Let's make another plan to get together ASAP!!
fitlivingblog2
Yes! Emailing you now :-)
My recent post Why I run: Some Monday motivation
Michelle @ Unbound Wellness
Mmm those look delicious! My husband Daniel and I definitely don't cook together haha he's a perfectionist and takes forever while I'm always multitasking and trying to get everything done quickly :P I've been wanting to do a couples cooking class though! I try to change up my meals, but with my diet I'm a bit limited… it's fun to cook for Daniel and switch things up ;)
My recent post Easy Baked Paleo Parsnip Fries (Paleo, Autoimmune Protocol, Nightshade Free)
RunToTheFinish
YES i think that is why David takes so long. it's like every chop must be the perfect slice…hence the reason I'm not a food photographer ha!
Derek @ HealthierDay
Amanda,
My wife and I are in a similar boat. We almost never cook together. I don't really like cooking, but she enjoys it a bit. We need to do better about cooking dinner together, as it can really be quality time to decompress after a long day :-)
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