I have to say one extremely cool thing about subscribing to Blue Apron is that after receiving shipments with hand-picked ingredients and trying out new recipes the family and I would probably never attempt otherwise, we are left with instructions to repeat on our own but with locally store-bought items. So that is what happened here tonight with a personal favorite, Shrimp & Fresh Basil Fettuccine with Roasted Broccoli. Yet on a side note: After having already cooked this up with Gallo Sauvignon Blanc wine a few months ago, which was also delicious as ever I must add, we switched it up with a Barefoot wine this time and were super surprised by how much flavor the crispy sweetness added to the meal both as an ingredient and as a pairing on the side.

​Plus, it'll taste that much better with the late-night snack later on in the evening... just saying.

I'm kind of getting into shrimp-related recipes these days, and this one was one of the best yet:

Cajun-Style Shrimp with Zucchini Rice & Creamy Dressing

Total amazingness on a plate, which btw is not my actual plate shown here because I ate my meal so fast I forgot to take a blog picture.  And as a side note, I swapped out Jasmine with Basmati rice - not that you could see much difference between the two, but full disclosure. Also included was a zucchini picked straight from the home garden making this meal that much more special.  But the best part of all?  Saving a whole bunch of $$ by cooking a knock-off version of Blue Apron's recipe, thus skipping this week's shipment.

​*fist bump*

I get absolutely NO KICKBACKS from Blue Apron for posting this meal. In fact, I am not sure exactly what keeps me coming back to making more of these dishes, but I do.  And they taste AMAZING.  Not only that, but I get to use funky words like "Piquillo" and ""Iberian-Style Spice Blend" when describing the dishes I've cooked up.  Ok well, if anything, Blue Apron helps me to sound well-versed in my cooking habits, right?