Last weekend, I shared the contents of our first Misfits Market box. As you could probably tell, I was very excited about the prospect of using all that wonderful produce over the course of the next week. I am happy to report that we have used almost all of the items one week later. Here’s how it all went down:

• green leaf lettuce: salads
• radishes: raw with other crudites and tuna salad
• Lacinato kale: kale chips
• turnips: ranch-seasoned fries
• Gala apples: raw as snacks
• yellow summer squash: simply sauteed
• mangoes: raw as snacks
• Russet potatoes: ranch-seasoned fries
• butternut squash: chili
• oranges: with breakfasts and lunches (still a few left)
• yellow onions: stuffed poblanos, chili (still one left)
• poblano peppers: stuffed poblanos
• carrots: raw with other crudites and tuna salad (still a few left)
• beets: not yet used

I’ve never cooked with poblano peppers before, so I had no idea how spicy they were. As it turns out…these were very spicy. I cooked up some ground turkey and onions with chili powder and cumin, then used that as a filling for the peppers (that’s mango salsa and green onions on top). I found the peppers incredibly spicy and could not even finish my portion. I’ll need to keep looking for recipes if we get any more of these in a future box…

I know, it’s not exactly ground-breaking to use kale to make kale chips, but it was a good, simple recipe to make with Caleb. He wasn’t a big fan of the final product–definitely needed some ketchup to coax him into eating a few more bites.

A long time ago, I bought a bottle of this ranch seasoning for a recipe, and I’ve been incorporating it into various dishes with much success ever since. The latest is this pile of ranch-seasoned fries. I just tossed some turnips and russet potatoes with avocado oil and the seasoning, and baked until crispy. These were a big hit with everyone except Caleb (are you noticing a theme here?). I’m pretty proud of myself for finally preparing turnips in a way that was half-way decent. These were an accompaniment to some sauteed yellow squash (also from the Misfits Market box) and BBQ chicken.

We had a small-ish butternut squash to use as well, and I decided to incorporate it into chili. I love winter squash as a chili ingredient–pumpkin puree is another go-to option. This version was pretty pared down, cuz ya know, COVID, but it included onions, aforementioned butternut squash, tomatoes, seasoned ground sirloin, and beef bone broth for a little extra nutrition. We served with some 2% Greek yogurt on top for creaminess. Everyone loved this!

As expected, this service (OK, and some extra time on my hands) has rekindled my love for cooking a bit. We are still waiting on our second box, as Misfits Market is struggling with a dramatic increase in demand. I know such delays are angering a lot of their customers, but I’m giving them a lot of grace. They’re providing a very useful service during challenging times…I can wait a few more days for my order. If you’re interested in trying out the service for yourself (now…or perhaps in a few months!), you can use code COOKWME-GK6OZF for 25% off your order. Full disclosure, if you use that code, I’ll get 25% off a future order. So if you use it, thanks!

What did you cook this week?