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Last Monday wound up being SUCH a treat. My office was closed for the President’s Day, as was the boys’ daycare, so it was just the three of us for a while.
We spent the morning playing around the house, and Lucas and I had a great time making/playing in/hiding in our forts.
Forts are fun, don’t get me wrong, but I am MORE than ready to be able to take playtime outdoors!!
A little later in the morning, we ended up getting a surprise visit from my dad, who was also off of work for the day (poor Jay was the only one who had to work!). Lucas just adores his papa, and he wound up leaving shortly after with him to go play at my parents’ house for the day.
On this particular day, Alex was absolutely rocking nap time, and I was actually finding myself with free time to do anything I want. It was incredible! First I cleaned up the disaster that was in our office (aka, second play area).
Then I cleaned up the kitchen, which needed to be done SO badly. Ahhhh, it was such a breath of fresh air to be able to see the counters again!
When it came time for Alex’s second nap of the day, I decided that it would be the perfect time to cook up one of the Blue Apron meals that we had received in our weekly delivery (which did end up arriving a day late thanks to Fedex, but it was still super cold and fresh thanks to the well-packed refrigerated box!).
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Occasionally, we might wind up with a meal in our delivery that Jay wouldn’t really be a fan of, so when that happens, I’ll usually use that as an opportunity to cook that meal to have for a couple of lunches for myself. It works out perfectly! And he seriously missed out on this Spiced Chicken Chili with Chickpeas and Currants…SO good!
So here I was, in a quiet house, cooking away and watching an episode of Scandal…it was absolutely dreamy!
You guys already know by now that we love getting the occasional Blue Apron delivery. I check my account frequently to see what’s coming up, and I’ll choose to skip or receive meals based on the upcoming menus. It’s super easy and convenient, and it gets us away from the normal rotations, allowing us to try a number of different recipes that we’d never wind up cooking on our own at home. They have so many great recipes <—check them out!
Fun Fact: They’re also working to develop a sustainable food system and use high quality ingredients. You can check out their vision page HERE!
It’s funny to say, but this afternoon of cooking in peace and quiet actually wound up feeling almost therapeutic. These days, dinnertime is usually a flurry of activity with trying to make sure that both boys are fed and/or entertained, our meals are cooked and ready, the clean up, the approaching tubby time and bed time…it’s just BUSY.
Some nights, the boys make it easier on us than others.
And some nights, we drink while we cook. 
Sure, we could stick with all freezer meals or stuff we can throw together in about two minutes (which, don’t get me wrong, we still totally do some nights!) but we both feel it’s important to still be cooking good, quality meals when we can. It may not be every night, but it’s better than nothing. And with the Blue Apron meals, having the food in the exact proportions makes prep so much easier, too.
So believe it or not, I was actually just putting the finishing touches on my afternoon meal last week when I heard Alex start to stir on the monitor. It really couldn’t have worked out any better!
A fresh meal complete + being greeted by this handsome face? Can’t beat it. <3
I left the chili on the stove to cool while the two of us played around.
And once it was set, I packed it up into two separate containers to have for lunches the next couple of days. It was perfect.
I’m actually totally going to keep this recipe card because this meal was absolutely delicious and super easy, too!
As for the other meals in this last delivery we received?
These Cheddar Cheeseburgers with Sautéed Onion & Romaine Salad were delicious. I love a good sautéed onion!
And these Baked Ricotta Cannelloni with Romaine Salad & Meyer Lemon Dressing were absolutely amazing. The ingredients were just so fresh, which really made a difference in the flavor.
Jay actually handled most of the prep on this meal while I got the kiddos fed, and I had to laugh at just how literal he is when he cooks. He made sure to check off each box as he went (so hey, Blue Apron, good change to the recipe cards!).
Oh, and in case you were wondering what he was writing?
We’re not big olive fans over here.
Discount Offer: The first 25 readers will get 3 FREE MEALS on their first Blue Apron order! Just CLICK HERE!
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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Blue Apron!
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