Hello August, Goodbye August! The months seem to pass quickly around here lately, and here we are recapping last full month of summer before fall hit in September. This month’s favorites include quiet an eclectic roundup, with many dishes focused on seafood and a variety of summer vegetables like corn and fresh sweet peppers.
Blue Apron has made life so easy, especially this year for those times that I just cannot focus on coming up with something creative for our dinners. 2020, am I right?!
If you’re new here, be sure to check out my Blue Apron archives for reviews of all my monthly favorites!
Here are our favorites for August!
Garlic Shrimp & Spanish-Style Potatoes
This dish of Garlic Shrimp & Spanish-Style Potatoes was simple and clean! We usually always pick the available shrimp dishes as it’s one of my favorites seafood proteins. The potatoes were roasted with Spanish spices and mixed in with sweet peppers for crunch, and then finished with sherry vinegar for a little bit of a tangy bite. I don’t normally have shrimp dishes paired with potatoes, but this was delicious!
Our Variations
Extra garlic for the shrimp!
Spicy Beef & Vegetables
The Spicy Beef and Vegetable dish made it onto my list of favorites for a variety of reasons. Firstly, this dish was loaded with with lots of different vegetables, like carrots, yellow onion, cabbage, and poblano peppers! I always love when the dishes have a hearty serving of veggies. Secondly, the technique for cooking the meat (coating in in cornstarch first) made for a perfect cook on the beef! Mirin and coconut aminos made up a simple sauce, and everything was served atop sushi rice (which retains a good amount of moisture). I was definitely pleasantly surprised with this one.
Seared Cod & Peppers
I can probably guarantee you any dishes with capers is going to make it on my favorites list! Cod is always an easy fish to cook, and the signature spice in this one was the Weeknight Hero. I’m not sure what’s in that spice packet, but I’ve come to really enjoy that spice on anything we cook with Blue Apron (a lot of times it’s for roasted potato fries).
The tomatoes (marinated in salt, pepper, and oil) and sweet peppers (which are finished off with with apple cider vinegar) both give a nice tangy element to the dish in addition to the capers, and everything was served on top of my favorite starch (rice!).
Shredded Guajillo Chicken Tacos
Tacos are one of my favorite foods to eat, so it’s no surprise to see these Guajillo Chicken tacos on my list this month! The Guajillo chile pepper sauce has been a real winner for us (last month, we cooked Guajillo Beef Bowls) with loads of smoky and spicy flavors.
Surprisingly, our favorite part of the dish went beyond the tacos and was the corn side dish! Very simple with corn, jalapenos, ACV, and mayo (we subbed in sour cream) to create a warm corn salad. I’ve gone on to make this corn as a side dish for gatherings and people equally loved it as much as we did.
Our Variations
As I mentioned above, we subbed sour cream in for the mayo for the corn side dish. I also topped our chicken tacos with a little crumbled cotija cheese for more kick.
Chorizo Meatballs & Pepper Rice
Probably my favorite of the favorites this month was this Chorizo Meatball dish with Pepper Rice! The sauce for the meatballs is made up of tomato paste, chipotle chile paste, and peanut butter, of all things. Though peanut butter is a component in the sauce, it doesn’t overpower any of the other flavors. The rice is steamed with sauteed peppers and onions, which really gives it a nice infusion of flavor. Everything is topped off with a light sour cream drizzle and toasted peptitas, which are integral for bringing texture to the whole dish. I loved it so much, we put it on our list for September when it popped up again!
Calabrian Shrimp & Orzo
Lastly, we really enjoyed this Calabrian Shrimp with Orzo. As I mentioned at the outset of this post, we usually select all of the available shrimp dishes, and this one did not disappoint! My photo definitely does not do it justice. In this dish, you’ll find flavors of Calabrian chiles, capers, and lemon, which really make for a flavorful dish that feels nice and light! Before serving, creme fraiche is mixed in with the orzo and zucchini, and the dish is topped with crunchy toasted breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.
And that’s all for August! Be sure to pin this post for dinner inspiration.
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