Recipe: The Best Apple Crisp

Recipe and picture found HERE

If you read my honeymoon posts then you will know that our resort had THE BEST apple crisp and every night for 7 nights straight I ordered it from room service! I usually don't like hot fruit dishes like cobblers, fruit pies, or crisps but all of a sudden it is the perfect dessert.  I have played with different versions of my own little apple pies with random ingredients from my pantry but the other day I figured I would look up an actual recipe so I can get a good crumble on top...that's what makes it delicious of course. 

I had some apples in my fruit basket that were past the eating stage but not rotten.  I like to eat apples when they are very crispy and juicy and these were more at the soggy stage.  I found the above recipe and picture on Pinterest and gave it a go. This recipe is so simple as it is normal ingredients you would have in your kitchen already.  I didn't measure my apples I just used all I had and they filled up the entire 9x13 dish so it worked.  

To say the crisp was a hit was me is an understatement I at almost the entire dish by myself by Wednesday night and I baked it on Monday night!!!! Hendrik wasn't a fan....bummer LOL that just meant more for me!  I will definitely be marking this as a favorite but won't be buying many more apples otherwise I am going to have a big problem on my hands....my weight gain! LOL

If you are needing a quick and easy dessert for a gathering or just to make then this is for sure it.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  

Follow my Pinterest food board GET IN MY BELLY for other recipes that I have tried or plan on trying. 

Blue Apron Trial

A couple months ago I listened to an awesome podcast called S Town.  If you haven't listened then check it out HERE!  It is completely fascinating and binge worthy!  So in the end of the credits there's a plug for Blue Apron and they give you a web address to go to to get a discount on Blue Apron.  I made a note in my phone to check it out.  I love cooking...or used to a lot more than I have time for now so can't see the use of these services...not to mention I gather they can be quiet expensive.  When we got back from our honeymoon I was going through my notes and found my Blue Apron note.  I went to check it out and signed up to receive 3 meals for $29.95 or something right around that which is half the full price.  Without a discount you would be paying around $60 for 3 uncooked meals delivered to your door.  I thought since I was only out $30 sure I would give it a try for something different and fun.  I know several people have tried Blue Apron on occasion and a few others who use other services like this.  I received my package of food on Tuesday May 16th and cooked two out of 3 meals on Wednesday and then Friday of the same week.  

The box came neatly packed with cold packs and every ingredient you needed of your recipes.  It also had large recipe cards of each of the three recipes that we received on our menu that week.  I closed the box back up and put it in the frig until the next day.  

I never got around to making the chicken and sweet pepper tostadas recipe but I did use the ingredients for a little mash up of my own.  I sort of got unmotivated by the end of the week and had several different items laid out so I didn't waist the ingredients I just didn't follow their recipe either.  

The first recipe that I made was the shrimp and squid ink spaghetti dish.  All the ingredients were in the box except the cloves of garlic.   I was a little annoyed since all the recipes called for the garlic and it wasn't in the box.  I had garlic on hand but I felt like the point of the services was FULL service but whatever....  Everything else was there.  I laid out my ingredient and my recipe card and started reading. It took me a bit longer than the time shown on the recipe card simply because I had to stop, read the next step, and so forth and not being familiar with their set up it took me a bit of time.  

The recipe turned out just like the card shown and it was really good.  I messed it up a bit by adding too much sea salt to my noodle water so my pasta was REALLY salty.  That took away a bit of the flavor I think but overall it was a different and fun dish that we had never had before.  Also after making it once I could see myself grabbing these quick and easy ingredients and cooking this meal at other times.  It wasn't a difficult task just new and different. 

On that same week Friday I made mozzarella and arugula paninis with a zucchini and arugula salad.  I loved this dish but Hendrik didn't.  The arugula ruined it for him but I thought it was light, clean, and easy.  I could see myself eating this again on a weekend or a night when Hendrik would be working late.  

Again my finished product looked just like the picture which makes you feel good once its complete.  

So that was my Blue Apron trial menu that I got for half price.  My opinion...I'm glad I got a discount because there is no way in hell that I would pay $60 for the food that I got.  I mean I guess you are really paying for the convenience of not going to the grocery store and not using your brain to think what to make for dinner because you still have to make the food and it is quick and fast stuff.  Yeah it looks gourmet and it is different than your Wednesday night spaghetti or Tuesday night tacos or Friday night leftovers but I can't see and won't be subscribing more to this service.  It was fun and different to see what it is all about but definitely not worth the hefty price tag.  I would like to keep an open mind and if I get discounts at the other sites that do this I would give them a try as well...not because I want to do this permanently to feed our household but just to try new things and compare the services to each other.  I'm sure there is one out there that would actually be worth it but to me Blue Apron isn't it.  Fun and different but not a permanent fixture for my household or my checkbook.  

Have you tried any of these food services and if so what are your thoughts?

Honeymoon Bliss Part 3

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the honeymoon HERE and HERE!

We love our food.  Not only do we not indulge in drinking very often we spend our weight in food on vacation and to us it is very important.  El Dorado Maroma Beach hit gourmet inclusive food out of the park.  This was our first time experiencing the gourmet inclusive and it was worth it.  What gourmet inclusive means is that its all inclusive food and drink but gourmet and top of the line alcohol.  No limit on how much EVER!  It was amazing and I still dream nightly of the apple crumble that I indulged in EACH night we were there.  Below is all the different food we had with the name below in the caption.  I always get pictures of our vacation food because it is always so pretty but this was beyond pretty food. The taste was phenomenal and absolute perfection.  

lunch appetizer of assorted dips L to R- roasted red pepper and tortilla chips, apple and cucumber salsa with sweet potato chips, hummus with pita chips, and guacamole and plantain chips

chefs special fish ceviche with plantain chips

herb bread and grapefruit bread with assorted butters- plain, garlic, paprika, grapefruit,and pistachio 

raw oysters

cream of mushroom soup with shaved truffles

cheesecake with chocolate crumble and dots of strawberry and lemon sauce

roasted Cornish hen with roasted herb potatoes

in our room from our butlers the first night, crumble and chocolate covered strawberries with assorted berries

pancakes with strawberries

fruit plate

our beach picnic that they surprised us with.  guacamole and sirloin tacos with a dish of pico

beet root salad

beef carpaccio

truffle ravioli with egg yoke inside

beef filet with potatoes, onion, and mushrooms

from our butlers, bread with honey and assorted cheeses and nuts

my light breakfast we had delivered to our patio every morning before the gym. Whole wheat toast with assorted jams, bananas, and coffee

white fish carpaccio

black risotto with octopus tentacle 

Alaskan snow crap

surf and turf- NY strip with french fried onions and scallops

beach picnic that we loved so much we had the same thing delivered for the next 4 days but we had them bring it to our patio

fish ceviche, pasta salad, chips, guacamole, pico, steak wrap and a chicken wrap

fish ceviche with a creamy cilantro sauce

tuna

watermelon and berry salad with blue cheese

duck dumpling in a tomato soup

filet of Chilean sea bass in a avocado cream mousse 

beef filet with vegetable tips and avocado mousse 

dark chocolate mousse with dots of berry sauce and crumble

filet of pan seared salmon an a citrus salad

As you can see and I'm sure taste as your mouths are watering by the end of this post the food as presented beautifully and it tasted just as good as it looked if not better.  We didn't have any bad food experiences.  Every detail of the food was thought through and they even accommodated Hendrik with his onion "allergy".  We were really impressed and besides the beauty of the resort were sad to leave behind the chefs LOL.  

Up next are all the remaining pictures from our honeymoon of our actives and random pictures that didn't fit into the resort or the food post!