PPMeowCooks – PPMeow!

August & September: Chef’s Plate

Can you believe we’re at the beginning of September already!? Geez….

And with the end of the month comes another culinary blogpost sharing my mis/adventures in the kitchen 🙂

My main mission for 2015 is a simple one: Getting and Staying Happy. In order to achieve this lofty goal I applied a START-STOP-CONTINUE approach. And so I’ve decided to START cooking more.

Earlier this month, a gf of mine told me about a little service called CHEF’S PLATE – a fab service that has fresh ingredients & delicious recipes delivered weekly to your door!

As much as I love cooking, it can sometimes be overwhelming never really knowing how much of an ingredient to buy and have it go bad in your fridge before you get to use it all up. And if you’re like me, often you fall into a rut of always cooking the same ol’ thing.

Chef’s Pate gets you unique dishes already planned out for you, with zero wasted food!

Here’s how it works…

They create 6 weekly menu options and put all the pieces you need to create them for you..
You pick out how many meals you want delivered: 2, 2-servings meals OR 3, 2-seving meals.
They deliver the exact ingredients you need to your door.
You cook the food and eat the food.

It’s Freakin’ Brilliant!

A recap of my very first order on the last week of August…

My First Order

I used a referral code from a gf …which gave her 2 meals for free….. and it got me 4 meals for FREE!!!!

(Do YOU want 4-free-meals too? Use this Referral Code: #PETITEPLUSMEOW and Click here)

On Monday afternoon, a delivery man came right up to my apt door and delivered a refrigerated box of food:

Inside my box was the exact ingredients to make 3, 2-serving meals. Here’s what I ordered and cooked up my very first week:

MEAL 1: CHARRED AVOCADO AND CUMIN SPICED QUINOA SALAD with kidney beans and red bell peppers

The prep. READ the entire cooking card fully before you being. This way you can get all the pans/knives/bowls ready to roll before you get your hands dirty.

This meal was rated “EASY” …and I have to agree, it was. Took less than 30-mins to get all the pieces prepped and ready. It was perfect for lunchtime, with leftovers for another meal during the week.

Total calories per serving: 725

MEAL 2: PISTACHIO CRUSTED STEAK with smashed fingerling potatoes and dino kale

Now this meal was a bit more difficult than the first. It required both oven and stove, and my slap-chop for chopping up the nuts.

But in the end … look at how beautiful this steak turned out.

THIS was my favourite meal of the week!!!! So delicious! And the leftover portions were just as tasty!

Took just about 30-mins also … and was 730 calories per serving 🙂

The Final Results – pictured perfect, right? Soo good!

MEAL 3: PAN SEARED SNAPPER over THAI BLACK RICE served with steamed broccolini

This last one was a bit more challenging also – but so long as you read and follow the steps as the card says, you’ll be fine!

This was my first time cooking Thai Black Rice. Cooking it in the rich coconut milk added such amazing savoury flavours to the fish and broccolini.

This one was also about 30-mins from prep-to cook-into my mouth and was 830-calories per serving. 🙂

FullSizeRender-14 — The Final Results. Check me out …getting much better at the platting huh, like a REAL Chef 🙂

Curious to see how much do you ACTUALLY save with Chef’s Plate vs. Buying your own groceries?

Me too! Click here to read more.

You can visit my Instagram page and look for the hashtag #PPMeowCooks for more adventures in my kitchen.

I just got THIS week’s refrigerated box delivery with brand new meal ideas within!

Can’t wait to get cooking – stay tuned to my Instagram channel to see how they turn out

So, you think YOU wanna try it? Get your 1st FOUR meals for free by using this link friends! You’re Welcome!!!

I’ve also created a sub-menu on my homepage under REVIEWS on the homepage for you – my readers – to find them easily…and hopefully try a few yourself. 🙂

Have you LIKE’d the Petite Plus, Meow’s Facebook Page yet?

LIKE. Comment. Share. 🙂

July: Kale Medley

My main mission for 2015 is a simple one: Getting and Staying Happy. In order to achieve this lofty goal I applied a START-STOP-CONTINUE approach. And so I’ve decided to START cooking more – using recipes I’ve never tried before and sharing my culinary mis/adventures on the blog once a month.

PS: I realize I've spelt KALE wrong here...forgive me friends. I (can't find original pic to alter text now) — PS: I realize I’ve spelt KALE wrong here…forgive me friends. (I can’t find original pic to alter text now.)

July’s recipe: Kale Medley

I’ve only recently began cooking with kale over the last few month, having heard about all of its many health and nutritional benefits. Kale, I find, is quite bitter on its own as salad, so often I eat it stir-fried, steamed or sautéed.

I have heard it is tasty baked, added to a stew or blended into a smoothie…but I personally haven’t tried any of these myself.

Summer has kept me super busy so far … but I have found myself cooking more often. If you’re following me on Instagram then you know most of my adventures in the kitchen usually begin without a plan, but rather a desperate need to use up the last of the contents in my fridge before they spoil or before I’m leaving on a trip somewhere.

So here’s a quick and tasty way to sauté your veggies into a Kale Medley.

Ingredients

One bunch kale
2 cloves garlic, crushed (you can never have too much garlic, but that’s just me)
Olive oil
2 tomatoes
Lemon juice (half a lemon) or white wine vinegar (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Chili flakes
+ Whatever veggies you want

STEPS:

Wash the kale thoroughly, and pat dry.
Slice or chop kale roughly, into bite-sized pieces.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and lightly brown crushed garlic. Watch it closely!
Dice your tomatoes and add to pan. This will create a tasty base coat to the kale leaves.
When garlic is lightly brown, quickly add kale.

STEP 6: Stir and toss until kale is coated with tomatoes, chill flakes and add other veggies and let the kale steam and slightly soften. Check the kale after about 3 minutes. It should be soft, still bright green, and NOT soggy. OPTIONAL: When it’s softened, and just before serving, add your lemon juice (or vinegar). Taste and season with salt and pepper and serve.

OPTIONAL: I added instant cooked rice directly to the pan and leftover cold cuts to make this an easy one-pan-dinner to yield leftovers for the next day.

Now, I’ve recently read a few articles speaking about “The Darker Side of Kale” … as there have been some findings that eating this veggie raw isn’t good for you. Cooking it seems to help eliminate some of the concerns. Still, it’s probably best not to go overboard with kale and to simply integrate it into an overall healthful diet full of other fruits and vegetables.

Have you tried cooking with kale? Will you? Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments below.

Want other PPMeow recipes? You can visit my Instagram page and look for the hashtag #PPMeowCooks for more adventures in my kitchen.

I’ve also created a sub-menu on my homepage under REVIEWS on the homepage for you – my readers – to find them easily…and hopefully try a few yourself. 🙂

Have you LIKE’d the Petite Plus, Meow’s Facebook Page yet?

LIKE. Comment. Share.

June: Yo’Berries

Alright friends — if you’re following me on Instagram then you know most of my adventures in the kitchen usually begin without a plan, but rather a desperate need to use up the last of the contents in my fridge before they spoil or before I’m leaving on a trip somewhere.

Well, it was this need that yielded this month’s easy peasy recipe that i’m fondly calling Yo’Berries! Get it –> yogurt covered berries… Yo’Berries. I’m hilarious 😉

With summer finally here…here’s an easy, creamy, icy, sweet treat that isn’t bad for you 🙂

June’s recipe: Yo’Berries

Ingredients:

– 1 (6oz) Container of fresh blueberries

– 1 (6oz) container non-fat vanilla yogurt. NOTE: Greek yogurt could totally work too.

STEP 1: Start by washing your blueberries and mini ice-cube trays. (Alternatively you could lining a small baking sheet with wax paper.)

STEP 2: Place 1 to 2 blueberries into each cube, and cover with a dollop of yogurt. Continue this until all blueberries are coated. (Alternative: using a toothpick, dip each blueberry into the yogurt and swirl until the blueberry is nicely coated with yogurt. Place on baking sheet.)

STEP 3: Place ice-cube trays into freezer, and let freeze for at least 1-hour.

STEP 4: After about an hour, your Yo’Berries can be put in a ziplock baggie and stored in the freezer. Take out what you need for tasty creamy icy treat and enjoy your guilt-free snack! 🙂

What do you think of this recipe? Do you think you’d give it a try yourself? How would you improve or change it for the better? Tell me your thoughts in the comments section below.

Want other PPMeow recipes? You can visit my Instagram page and look for the hashtag #PPMeowCooks for more adventures in my kitchen.

I’ve created a sub-menu on my homepage under REVIEWS on the homepage for you – my readers – to find them easily…and hopefully try a few yourself. 🙂