My First Basket!

I just picked up my first Bountiful Baskets basket. I don't know that I've ever been so excited about produce. Seriously, I got excited about seeing what veggies I'd get and I'm not a veggie-lover.

Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op that supplies produce as well as some other foods. The baskets are the main item and can be conventional or organic. Here's the catch: You don't know what will be in your basket until you pick it up. It'll be about half fruit and half vegetables but that's really all you know. You can order add-ons that are specific foods or food types but the main baskets are a surprise. (How's that for adding some surprises to your meal planning!)

Here's my first basket:

This is a conventional basket so it was $15 plus the processing fee and the one-time first basket fee. It ended up being right around $20 for all that produce! Included this week: two bags of carrots, one pineapple, one acorn squash, two heads of lettuce, several bananas, one bunch of spinach, one bag of apples, three avocados, one bunch of leeks, five tomatoes, eight tangerines, and eight new potatoes! It all came looking great!

Oranges, apples, and bananas will be snacks and breakfast fruits. The spinach, lettuce, and tomato will be used for salads. The carrots will be steamed for Alex (maybe I'll toss a few in the salad, but don't get your hopes up). Pineapple will likely be snacks or saved for Alex. I have no idea what to do with the acorn squash, avocados, or leeks. I have never cooked acorn squash or leeks and generally don't enjoy avocados. The new potatoes will also be interesting as we usually eat plain white potatoes.

I'm really excited about planning our meals for the next two weeks now!

Recipe: Pot Roast

This is one of our favorite recipes and is perfect for welcoming the cooler weather!

• Beef roast cut (.5-1 pound per person)
• Potatoes (I use baking potatoes but other options may work as well)
• Carrots (I usually get a bag of organic baby carrots that are washed and peeled. This saves so much time on  prep and helps to beef up the portion of our diet that is organic without adding too much to the grocery bill.)
• Onion
• Bay Leaf (or a few small ones)
• Beef Stock (Or can use vegetable stock or broth if you prefer. It's usually easier to find organic vegetable stock than it is to find organic beef stock. I prefer the taste with the beef stock.)
• Handfuls of each: pepper, salt, and oregano (I will often use coarsely ground sea salt and use a little less in the pot itself and then add salt if necessary to the final product.)
• A few cloves of garlic. (peeled but whole)

Peel and cut the potatoes into good size chunks. Peel and slice the carrots if using regular ones. Peel the onion and cut into 1/4s. Put all the veggies on the bottom of your crock pot or slow cooker. 

Salt and pepper the beef and sear in olive oil in a separate pan. I like to sear just long enough to get a few kinda dark areas. Place the beef on top of the veggies.

Add the salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaf(ves), and garlic cloves on top of the beef. Poor the stock into the crock pot covering at least most of the roast. It usually takes two boxes for my crock pot which is a 6 quart pot. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.