Hey guys! So we made our first HelloFresh meal the other day and it was super convenient and yummy. HelloFresh sends you all the ingredients in a nice little package so you don’t even have to go fumbling looking for what items you need, it’s all in one nice little baggy. The first dish we decided to make was their Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Roulades. Sounds super fancy huh? It was surprisingly easy to make in about 40 minutes.
Sometimes being a mom isn’t easy. Sometimes being a mom with three kids and trying to eat healthy isn’t easy either. I have a lot of tried and true, well tested and husband approved recipes that I love. However, it’s hard to venture out and try new recipes, especially when you have an extremely picky eater on your hands like me. I’ve found that recently going to the grocery store has gotten mundane. I’m buying the same items week after week, making the same meals and just overall bored with my palette and what I cook. That’s when HelloFresh came to the rescue!
The past couple weeks have been hell in this house for eating purposes alone. I've got one toddler who is super picky like her momma, one toddler who will eat just about anything, a husband who's fondness for Ramen Noodles and frozen pizza is overwhelming and then there is everything about being pregnant and food that sucks! Literally, it's felt like every day of the week we are either running out to grab something from a fast food place so everyone gets what they want or I'm making three and sometimes four different meals.
After enjoying Seattle's breakfast we had to head over to Pier 91 to get onto our beautiful ship the Star Princess, one of Princess Cruise Line's many ships, is about 933 feet long with 4 decks of interior, balcony, mini-suite and suites on board, 2 specialty restaurants, 3 dining rooms and a plethora of entertainment options!
One thing you have to know about my husband is that I spoiled him rotten when we got married in Las Vegas, since then he will NOT travel if he doesn't have a jacuzzi tub in the room, with this in mind and the thought of being cooped up in a small room for 7 days we decided to splurge on the Penthouse Suite! The 868 sq. ft. suite included a small office, mini/wet bar, living room, 2 TV's, a balcony with a 4 person sitting area, 2 lounge chairs, a queen bed, spacious closet, jacuzzi with separate shower and a separate wash area...quite the spread for 7 days but we used every square inch of it. David lived on the balcony most of the time we were at sea enjoying the views.
Our ship left the pier around 4 PM on Saturday and one of the perks of the suite was that on Embarkation night (the night we left Seattle) the ship gave us complimentary reservations to visit one of the two specialty restaurants on the ship. The specialty restaurants are an additional cover charge of $25/per person to dine in, one was the Crown Grill, which obviously was steaks and the second was Sabitini's which was an Italian style, we decided to go for Crown Grill, we both enjoy a good steak so why not? I had Filet Mignon and David gave the Porthouse a try, we were not disappointed at all and to our surprise when we came back chocolate covered strawberries had been left on our balcony, thankfully David doesn't have a big sweet tooth so I enjoyed myself.
Have you ever watched a movie under the stars? Well we did! Pretty much every night that we were at sea the ship offered Movies Under the Stars, they would put the lounge chairs out on the Lido Deck next to the bar (of course, haha) and played an assortment of movies. Our first night it was The Great Gatsby, which I hadn't seen before. So far our cruise was off to an amazing start and we couldn't wait to get to Alaska!!!
Although we would be on the boat for another day, the sunset, the views, the chill in the air and with my babe right beside me I am absolutely the most happy and lucky gal in the world! Next stop, Juneau!!
One thing you have to know about my husband is that I spoiled him rotten when we got married in Las Vegas, since then he will NOT travel if he doesn't have a jacuzzi tub in the room, with this in mind and the thought of being cooped up in a small room for 7 days we decided to splurge on the Penthouse Suite! The 868 sq. ft. suite included a small office, mini/wet bar, living room, 2 TV's, a balcony with a 4 person sitting area, 2 lounge chairs, a queen bed, spacious closet, jacuzzi with separate shower and a separate wash area...quite the spread for 7 days but we used every square inch of it. David lived on the balcony most of the time we were at sea enjoying the views.
Our ship left the pier around 4 PM on Saturday and one of the perks of the suite was that on Embarkation night (the night we left Seattle) the ship gave us complimentary reservations to visit one of the two specialty restaurants on the ship. The specialty restaurants are an additional cover charge of $25/per person to dine in, one was the Crown Grill, which obviously was steaks and the second was Sabitini's which was an Italian style, we decided to go for Crown Grill, we both enjoy a good steak so why not? I had Filet Mignon and David gave the Porthouse a try, we were not disappointed at all and to our surprise when we came back chocolate covered strawberries had been left on our balcony, thankfully David doesn't have a big sweet tooth so I enjoyed myself.
Have you ever watched a movie under the stars? Well we did! Pretty much every night that we were at sea the ship offered Movies Under the Stars, they would put the lounge chairs out on the Lido Deck next to the bar (of course, haha) and played an assortment of movies. Our first night it was The Great Gatsby, which I hadn't seen before. So far our cruise was off to an amazing start and we couldn't wait to get to Alaska!!!
Although we would be on the boat for another day, the sunset, the views, the chill in the air and with my babe right beside me I am absolutely the most happy and lucky gal in the world! Next stop, Juneau!!
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| with my dad's mom just after I was born...on the screened in porch |
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| my dad and me...on the screened in porch |
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| with my dad's dad just after I was born while my mom and aunt watched...on the screened in porch |
Most of you probably don't know that David and I got married in Vegas, yes, we eloped but our wedding was just what we wanted, with people we love around us (our families were even able to watch over a live internet feed so they were there in spirit)...I was dusting in our bedroom and like always I have to move a ton of our
wedding memorabilia but for some reason today I really looked at these
items and realized how important they were in our wedding day and how
perfect they are to how we got married.
First there's my bouquet, it was white roses. I'm not really a fan of roses, I think they are generic and easy to get (I mean 7-11 has roses) but these roses are probably the most beautiful I've seen, there was exactly 12 of them which was perfect because David and I met on July 12th. I don't think I would have felt like a bride in Vegas without this bouquet, but what I've never told anyone is that I broke 1/2 the stems walking down the aisle with how hard I was squeezing it. I was cool calm and collected that whole day but that moment I walked down the aisle I could barely keep my knees from collapsing I was so in love. They are obviously dried out now but just having them in our room helps me remember that day and I love that they dried so perfectly...not a single petal fell off, still intact.
One of the next items we have from that day still makes me laugh...it's the champagne flute that we took our first drink as husband and wife, now I'm sure you ask, why is that funny? It's funny because David had never had champagne before, so instead of sipping it, he took it like a shot...that's my classy man right there! The whole room, reverend and all burst into laughter, every time I see these flutes I think of that moment.
The final wedding favor we have is probably my favorite, after our wedding we had a dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab inside Cesar's Palace. We ordered a very nice bottle of wine and all of our guests, David's brother (best man), my best friend Dawn (Maid of Honor) and our 4 cousins signed the cork for us. We really love this piece of memorabilia because again when we see it we remember that amazing meal surrounded by people who love us and support our relationship and marriage so much.
I really love having these pieces to look back on and remember what was one of the most important and memorable days of my life! What are some of your wedding items that you kept that are special to you?
First there's my bouquet, it was white roses. I'm not really a fan of roses, I think they are generic and easy to get (I mean 7-11 has roses) but these roses are probably the most beautiful I've seen, there was exactly 12 of them which was perfect because David and I met on July 12th. I don't think I would have felt like a bride in Vegas without this bouquet, but what I've never told anyone is that I broke 1/2 the stems walking down the aisle with how hard I was squeezing it. I was cool calm and collected that whole day but that moment I walked down the aisle I could barely keep my knees from collapsing I was so in love. They are obviously dried out now but just having them in our room helps me remember that day and I love that they dried so perfectly...not a single petal fell off, still intact.
One of the next items we have from that day still makes me laugh...it's the champagne flute that we took our first drink as husband and wife, now I'm sure you ask, why is that funny? It's funny because David had never had champagne before, so instead of sipping it, he took it like a shot...that's my classy man right there! The whole room, reverend and all burst into laughter, every time I see these flutes I think of that moment.
The final wedding favor we have is probably my favorite, after our wedding we had a dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab inside Cesar's Palace. We ordered a very nice bottle of wine and all of our guests, David's brother (best man), my best friend Dawn (Maid of Honor) and our 4 cousins signed the cork for us. We really love this piece of memorabilia because again when we see it we remember that amazing meal surrounded by people who love us and support our relationship and marriage so much.
I think it was about a month ago or so that my husband and I
were talking on Facebook with his cousin and her neighbor who live in
Mississippi about a Gumbo recipe, somehow I ended up googling Jambalaya
recipes, I think it was because they said a Gumbo is more soupy where a
Jambalaya is more thick, which is much more up my aisle. Also, it was the first time someone really
told me not to follow the recipe, “if you don’t like it, don’t put it in or
find a substitute you like” the gals told me, why had I never thought of
that? Usually if a recipe has something
in it I don’t like I won’t make it, this one thought changed how I cook…I went
on a mission for a Jambalaya recipe I could tweak and make my own, here is the
original version of the recipe I found for
Jambalaya.
I’ve made this about 4 times now, one time even for my
in-laws when they came by for dinner, it feeds between 3 to 4 people depending
on how much rice you add but it’s easily doubled if you needed to make more and
everyone seems to approve and says it doesn’t taste like it’s missing any of
the ingredients I left out. Below is my
Jambalaya recipe or as much husband screams when I make it “MAMA’S MAKIN’
JAMBABLAYA WHOOO HOOO!”
First I start off with about 1 or 2 tsp of Extra Virgin
Olive Oil in a large cooking pot (best if it’s non-stick type), I turn the
stove on about 4.0 on my stove (so medium-low heat). While the oil is warming up I cut this Johnsonville
Sausage, this one has a spicy taste to it so it gives a little kick. I only use about half of the package for my
version on this recipe, anything more it’s a little overwhelming. Once I cut the sausage in half I do small
slices, this helps it brown up a little easier.
After it’s all cut up I transfer the sausage into the pot with the oil
and let it cook for about 8 minutes until most of the pieces have a golden
crust on the edges.
While the sausage is cooking in the pot I cut up my veggies, I use about ½ a white onion and a whole green pepper (sometimes I’ll add red pepper too, just depends what I have on hand) I cut these veggies as fine as I can get them. Once the sausage is browned on the edges I remove it into a small bowl next to the stove, next in goes the veggies…these need to soften up for about 5-8 minutes, they will take on a little of that brown color from the sausage that I just cooked up.
Once the veggies are nice and soft I add in one small tomato
pasta can along with 2 ½ -3 cups of chicken broth (again this can vary it just
depends on if you like a thicker texture or more soup like), once those 2
ingredients are mixed in you will have what looks essentially like tomato
soup…bring this to a rolling boil (takes only 2 or 3 minutes). I also add in a special mixture of spices (I
measure by my palm so this is all guestimation) I add in ¼ - ½ teaspoon of red
cayenne pepper, season all, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
Once the soup is at a boil bring it down to a simmer and add
in 3 bags (or 2 cups) of easy cook rice.
I prefer the bags because there’s no measuring, just cut the tops and
pour it in, also I add back the sausage that I put to the side earlier, cover
and the rice should cook up in about 10 minutes.
I usually already have my lemon cut in half and de-seeded
(there’s always a straggler) and my frozen jumbo shrimp set out, I buy the
pre-cooked, de-shelled, de-veined shrimp at the store but you could add fresh
if you wanted to. Once the rice is
mostly cooked and the Jambalaya is really coming together with a thicker
texture add in your shrimp and squeeze in the lemon juice on top. Give everything a nice stir and cover again for
about 5 minutes (shrimp don’t take long to cook up).
You can serve this on a plate, in a bowl or however you’d
like, you can garnish (we’re not that fancy around here) or add in more hot
sauce like my husband does.
Occasionally, I will add some garlic toast but most of the time this
meal is enough to stick to your ribs on its own.
Oh and my husband wanted me to let everyone know…this is
100% husband approved!
Every year since I've known The Chevalley's they've done a Memorial Day BBQ/Fish Fry, this year we hosted at our house. We had about 10-15 people at any given time and even a couple other babies/kids for the girls to socialize with!
Hubby put in work on the girl with burgers, hot dogs and chicken. I plattered it up with veggies, fruits and desserts. All in all we had a good day, the weather was perfect but we were definitely pooped after!
Even tired, we decided to go with another couple we know to see Hangover 3...SUPER FUNNY! Definitely stay for the after credits...I laughed so hard I cried, so that should tell you its good!
Monday we have tickets to the Orioles vs Nationals with my BIL and SIL. Looking forward to hanging out with my hubby for that :) Hope you all had a great weekend!
