Cooking From Scratch

/
I'm about to tell you how I used the contents in this box, to make this...(see below)

Brined Chicken with a Strawberry Basil Reduction and Zucchini Cakes topped with Yogurt Dill Sauce.
ScratchDC is a company serving up hand-prepared dinner kits that come "chopped, measured, marinated, and delivered ready to cook!" Perfect for working parents, newlyweds, busy professionals or those who typically get lost in the kitchen. Also perfect for foodies spending their summers working in DC:)
I first heard about Scratch when my boss came into work one day raving about the meal she had for dinner the night before. Her roommate owns a cafe/coffee/wine bar that is now a retailer for Scratch. They tested out the product and decided it was good enough to sell in his store.
Scratch sells their kits through retailers or delivers them to you office, home or doorman. After reading up on it, I knew I wanted to try it out. They have a different meal every Monday-Thursday and provide the menu to order from for up to two weeks. This cute brown box was delivered right to my office desk completely prepared for me to take home and cook up in about 40 minutes!
Scratch was started by foodies who have a passion for quality meals and awesome ingredients. Each kit is hand packed daily with pre-measured containers including everything you need. They even give you olive oil and salt and pepper. All you need are a few pans and kitchen knives.
Step-by-step instructions lead you through each dish. The kits serve two people. That being said, you could definitely stretch it two three people, we had tons of leftovers. They only thing is one person will be left out from the two chocolate chip cookies that each kit comes with to finish off your meal! How sweet is that! 
I wanted to test the product and make sure my meal turned out exactly as expected. I made sure to follow the instructions closely, especially the part where it says pour glass of wine while you wait 10 minutes. 
It really can't get easier that dumping pre-portioned containers into a bowl to be mixed up in to a gourmet dish.
The zucchini cakes cooked up quick and easy. Just heat a little oil in a pan and drop about three to four large spoonfuls of the mixture. Flatten them out and let them brown, give them a flip and they are done. 
This strawberry basil sauce was out of this world. I was licking the bowl and wanted to put it on everything. It was made from chopped strawberries, a little OJ, coconut oil and chopped basil. It was the cherry on-top of the meal!

I mean, I can't even tell you how amazing this meal was. I have strict plans to recreate this meal at home, so I will be sure to post the recipe. It won't be as convenient as using Scratch's kit but I'll see how it goes. If you are in the DC area you must give Scratch a try. This is another amazing Washington novelty I wish I could franchise to Oklahoma! 
Thank you to ScrachDC for the chance at letting me try your amazing product! Read more about their food and how it works on their website and Facebook page. 

Annie

Bites of My Life

/
The past two weeks have been filled with lots of blue, sorority songs, catching up with friends, getting settled, and celebrating the few days between recruitment and school starting. 
I personally don't mind school starting. I like having a routine to stick to and reasons to be organized. I love things the school season brings. Football games, sweater weather and in the words of Kathleen Kelly, bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils.
-Got to escape a few hours of work week to make my favorite sugar cookies.
-Kappa cookies for treats during our alumni/skit night!
-Pistachio, almond butter, white chocolate and orange liqueur rice crispy treat! Yes that is all packed into to one treat and sis brought it back for me all the way from San Diego!
-When a friend offered to buy all the ingredients for omelets as long as I showed her how to make one, I quickly obliged. 
-Loved getting to do my last recruitment week with the best PC around! Go Kappa!
-Cutie cups for the new house! 
-Loved exploring around the new West Elm in Classen Curve. Way to go OKC, now if we could just get a Trader Joe's, Zara and H&M....wishful thinking.
-A fresh coat of paint for my new room. Full bedroom tour to come!
-Can't wait for more breakfasts like this. Love having roomies who also enjoy things like coffee, breakfast foods, sriracha and smoothies. 
-A day of laying out and dinner at my dear friend's parent's house!
-Only good things went into this Saturday night salad. Avocado, dried figs, red onion, prosciutto and basil.
-To rap up my two weeks of bites; a back to school dinner with my Kappa family! Parmesan baked chicken with arugala salad, sautéed summer squash and watermelon feta salad!
Today is my last first day of school, hello senior year!
Annie

The Only Cobbler Recipe You Need

/

The best summer dessert, are you ready?

This cobbler is a family favorite. It's just about the easiest recipe and is always a hit!

It doesn't have a laundry list of ingredients like most recipes. It has two components: any kind of fruit you like then the delicious crumbly topping. Lot's of things are blue in my life right now so I kept with the theme and used blueberries, but I also love blackberries. Any combination of berries is also great!

Tucker Family Cobbler
yields 8-10 servings (one 8x8 or 9x9 pan)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pints or 3 cups of fruit (you can use blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, peaches etc.)
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 stick of cold butter

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry your fruit then spread evenly in an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan.

In a bowl combine the flour and sugar. Beat your egg, then add into the flour sugar mixture with a whisk. Once you get it partially mixed, you can use clean heads to finish combining. Mix until your topping resembles pea size crumbs. Cover your fruit with the topping. 

Dice up the butter and place over the topping. The butter will melt in the oven and is essential to get that perfect crispy crumb top!

Bake for 40 minutes until lightly golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, homemade is preferred and this recipe comes out perfect every time! 

Buttered up and ready for the oven!

Like I said, this is the only cobbler recipe you will ever need!

Annie

Bites of My Life

/
11:59 p.m. bites post coming atcaha, still managed to get it up before Tuesday rolled around! My posts will still be few and far between for just a little bit longer. The second I came home I jumped headfirst into sorority recruitment. With days going from about 7:30 a.m. -11:30 p.m. its hard to find energy to exert into a blog post. I had to get my weekly bites post in though, even though it is awful sparse. Enjoy the random bits from my first week back at home!
-A touch of SCOUT to spice up the kitchen at my cutie new house! Say hello to our Trash Cache in Varsity Blues (my favorite pattern from the new collection).
-Me and my favorite gal. Just doing a little late night reading in my cozy new bed!
-Great to be back with these chickadees.
-A surprise visit from the Super Juice truck to keep us healthy and energized during the long days of work week!
-Get ready for the overload of food posts that are about to happen this year. Having my own kitchen is a wonderful thing. First up, my family's notorious cobbler recipe. 
Annie

Bites of My Life

/
Summer official came and went. I could gab for hours about how fabulous it was, but I think I've already covered that. Today is the last bites post with D.C. pics. It's the most bittersweet feeling being home and knowing my summer is over, but now it's time senior year and all that this year holds! 
I have one more D.C. Diary post in store and I can promise it's not the last you'll hear of my favorite city!
-Homemade crab cakes, coleslaw and corn outside on a beautiful Monday night. 
-Trader Joe's=cookie butter, which=me finally purchasing cookie butter and becoming utterly obsessed with it. A spoonful of cookie butter, dunked in granola makes me slightly weak at the knees. I brought a whole jar home with me. 
-Fulfilled my camo craving and pulled the plug on these Wamo Camo inspire crops from Lululemon. 
-Seeing the monuments at night sounds kind of touristy but it was highly recommend as something I must do. I think it was my favorite thing I did all summer. They look so much more grand in the moonlight. View from the side of Lincoln looking at the Washington with the capitol peeking around the corner. 
-When you work about 5 steps away from Georgetown Cupcakes it's just nonsense to not take advantage of their secret free flavor. Each day they make a secret flavor cupcake then tweet about it allowing the first 100 customers a chance at one if they mention the secret flavor. We stood in a semi long line in the rain Wednesday morning for free cupcakes. Worth it, until I dropped the box right on it's head...
-Took my last B3 Georgetown class on Thursday with one of my favorite teachers! Stole this pic from Kerry's insta to share! Going to miss Kerry, KQ, Vicky, Courtney and Stevie! Until next time!
-Cooked a delicious meal from the components inside this little box! Stay tuned for a full post on what it is and how I did it! 
-After the monuments at night, the monuments by sunrise were still a must! Anna and I woke up at 5:15 on our last day in D.C. to see the city in all it's glory. It was wonderful, but my favorite thing was seeing all the runners run by, stop right in front of the Washington, snap a pic, then run off! Even the locals still find beauty in their city!
-Last day breakfast at FFB's First Bake with my intern bestie! Scrambled eggs with bacon, Bird in the nest (in their chili cheese bread) and warm chai tea! I'll miss you Farmers Fishers!
-Not legit SCOUT employees till you get your t-shirt!
-The best summer with these two crazies! The most bittersweet last day full of presents, Baked and Wired treats, silly games, and sad goodbyes:( Wish more than anything I was walking into the East Wing this a.m.!
-Home Sweet Home and you all know what that means, food. Homemade burrata for a side along side short ribs, corn on the cob, and cantaloupe proscuitto appetizers! 
Can say firmly it was the best summer thus far. Filled with unforgettable experiences and memories. I'm home now, moved into my Norman house and start recruitment work week this afternoon. Goodbye summer, you were too good. 
Annie