Home Chef unboxing!

 I’ve been rotating between Home Chef and Hello Fresh meal delivery services for over a year now and I’ve shared a few of my meals and experiences with Hello Fresh over that time. This time I wanted to take a moment and share my experience with Home Chef. Check out my video below to learn more about Home Chef and the types of meals they offer. If you like what you see, sign up and save $35 on me using code marquitad02.  You are not obligated to continue the service and can skip or cancel at anytime! *Code valid for new subscribers only*

Also be sure to check out some of my finished meals (and other goodies!) in the Keeda’s Kitchen section of my blog!

Hello Fresh Unboxing

 If you know anything about me, you know that I love to eat and I love to cook. What I don’t always love is making that trip to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. It never fails I either end up buying waaayy more items than I went for or forget something (usually vital) to the recipe! One way I’ve solved that problem is by signing up for Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh basically does the shopping for you and you still get to enjoy cooking a home cooked meal. As a picky eater, I’m still able to find several meals I like and get to explore new dishes or ways of preparing things in a way I wouldn’t have ordinarily done. Check out my latest unboxing video to learn more about Hello Fresh and see one of my dishes. 

             ** I am not sponsored by or affiliated with Hello Fresh, just sharing some deliciousness!**

Yes! Healthy food seasonings do exist! - Flavor God Seasonings review

Happy Easter ya’ll!  I’m from the south and one of the things we do is eat and eat GOOD! By good I don’t necessarily mean healthy, but I mean good as in flavorful and well seasoned. Unfortunately, many of the seasonings we and most other people that use seasonings and spices to add more flavor to their food often have deal with the fact that most of those flavorful  seasonings are high in salt/sodium content, possibly high in calories and generally aren’t healthy for our bodies. This is especially true if you come from a family that tends to have a history of health conditions such as high blood pressure and/or diabetes. In the African-American community, these conditions did to run strong and in many cases our diet is at the root of the problem. 

I had been hearing about Flavor God seasonings for a while so I decided to give them a try. I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far. The flavor is still there yet many of the seasonings are 0 calorie and much lower in sodium (if it has any at all) than our traditional seasonings like McCormick, Mrs. Dash, Webber, etc. I still use those other brands from time to time but it’s great to have healthy alternatives available that don’t compromise flavor. Take a peek at my video to learn more about some of my favs and how I use these seasonings in my everyday cooking. Don’t forget to like & subscribe while you’re there!

                   To save 5% on your first purchase, use my referral link when you shop! 

Wine Wednesday! - Signing up for a Winc Wine Membership!

 If you’re like me then you LOVE wine! My preference is typically sweet/semi-sweet but I’m not afraid to branch out to try other types or new brands. When the pandemic first started, I had a chance to explore different types of delivery services such as food boxes, groceries and of course WINE! Winc was a company I discovered from watching a Youtuber I follow. They offer an affordable (and skipable) monthly membership that also gives you special member pricing on all of the wine. The monthly fee is 59.95 but you can skip each month or allow your card to be charged and build up the monthly credits. Who wouldn’t love getting wine delivered directly to your door!? I explain more about how the membership works and showcase some of my selections in the video below!

If you’re interested, you can use my referral code to get $22 off your first box! 

Referral code: https://www.winc.com/hi/mjmyyhjt4qe

Also be sure to like & subscribe while you’re there!

Chicken Alfredo Recipe with Sauce from Scratch!

 

Chicken Alfredo

One of my favorite pasta dishes is chicken fettuccine alfredo. I tend to be a creature of habit and if I go to Olive Garden this will most likely be my order! With the pandemic going on, I have been doing a lot more cooking from home, not only for safety but also because it’s cheaper and usually healthier. For some reason, I was afraid to tackle my favorite dish until now and I’m so glad I did! This was my 2nd attempt with my first attempt using the Prego Alfredo sauce. I was somewhat underwhelmed and thought this just wouldn’t be a dish that I would make at home, but then I came across this wonderful alfredo sauce recipe and life changed! I honestly think I like my homemade version BETTER than Olive Garden! 😮This does not mean I will not be ordering up my favorite dish from OG anymore, just that I have an alternative option. I want to note the recipe is only for the alfredo sauce, but all you have to do is add the chicken and make noodles. Check out my YouTube video where I show my suggestions for what to add and a peek at my sauce in the making.

Recipe

For the alfredo sauce

1/2 cup butter

1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp garlic powder

1tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Additional ingredients needed:

Chicken (1-2 chicken breasts) or use a precooked chicken breast or grilled strips like the ones mentioned in my video

Fettuccine or linguine noodles

Instructions

1. Add butter, whipping cream, and cream cheese to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat and whisk until melted.

2. Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth. Add grated Parmesan cheese.

3. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Toss with your favorite pasta!

*This usually makes 3-4 servings depending on your portion size.*

** I usually cook my noodles as I make the sauce so they finish up about the same time.**

Recipe found on https://therecipecritic.com/the-best-homemade-alfredo-sauce-ever/

Homemade Peach Jam Recipe - No Pectin required!

 

Peaches are one of my favorite summer fruits! There aren’t too many things that have peaches in it or are peach flavored that I don’t love to eat or drink, from wine to desserts! I wanted to find a recipe to experiment with since this would only be my 2nd time making a homemade jam ever in life. I do have pectin available but I figured that I’d save that for another time. Pectin can shorten or eliminate cook times and can sometimes give the jam a fresher fruitier flavor. I will tell you this non-pectin recipe is not lacking in sweetness. I almost thought it was too sweet upon my first tasting, but when I spread it on my toast the next day for breakfast, it was delicious! I would advise to taste it as you are adding sugar just to make sure the jam is to your sweetness level. My peaches were very ripe which also contributed to the sweetness and flavor factor. You do not need to wait for your peaches to be super ripe, just as long as they are ripe enough to eat at the time. 

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds Peaches (1lb= 3-4 medium peaches)

2 1/2 cups of sugar

Juice from 1 lemon 

** Note: I only used a little over 2 pounds of peaches in my recipe which yielded 1 1/2 pints of jam.**

Instructions 

1. Peel, pit and cut peaches into chunks.

2. Add peaches and lemon juice to a medium saucepan.

3. Bring peaches to a a boil over medium-high heat.

4. Use a spatula or masher to crush the peaches to desired consistency.

5. Reduce heat to medium. Add Sugar, while bringing peaches back to boil stirring frequently.

6. Continue to boil and stir until peaches reach desired consistency (usually 15-25 minutes), Jam should stick to the spoon when lifted and turned sideways

7. Let the peach preserves cool and then can. If the jam is not at the consistency you like after cooling then boil for another 10 minutes and then let cool again.

* Recipe found at https://www.scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com/easy-homemade-peach-jam-no-pectin-recipe/

Chocolate Raspberry Coffee - 😋

Even though it’s a million degrees outside, I still want coffee with my breakfast sometimes. Check out this video on how I make my Chocolate Raspberry coffee from Great Mornings Coffee & Tea. Use my code Keeda to save 10% on your purchase.


Coffee type: medium roast, ground
Flavor: chocolate & raspberry - both flavors are present in both the scent and taste!


Available in an 8 oz bag in ground or bean format as part of the Chocolate Lover’s Bundle or in the July self-care box.

*Disclaimer on my messy kitchen lol: I use my K-cups for my garden since they are 100% compostable. They are the Lady Brew medium roast vanilla K-cups also available on the Great Mornings Coffee & Tea Website.

Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam - 4 ingredient recipe! No pectin required!

Hi everyone! As I continue to enjoy my time social distancing (I'm an introvert and only child so this is heaven for me) I've been experimenting with some new recipes in the kitchen. I came across this easy, 4 ingredient recipe for making homemade strawberry jam in one of my Facebook gardening groups and decided to give it a try! This recipe will make about 1 pint of jam and should be good for at least 2 weeks. Can be stored in the refrigerator. No pectin required.

Ingredients:

• about 4 cups of sliced strawberries
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Cookware:

• 1 large pot
• potato masher (or something similar to mash strawberries when finished cooking)
• spoon
• jars/containers for storage (I used Ball glass canning jars)

Cooking instructions:

1. Slice strawberries in halves.

2. Combine strawberries with honey, lemon juice and sugar in large pot.

3. Cook on a low heat setting for one hour stirring occasionally.

4. Remove from heat and mash strawberries with potato masher.

5. Pour into storage jars.

 

                     Watch the video below to see how I prepared my jam!