We Really Didn’t Enjoy This Week’s Choices

I have to say that this week was not our favorite week at all. In fact for the first time, we both actually hated one selection so much that neither of us finished our servings. I am not sure who thought wheat berries should be incorporated into a meal but it is horrible, neither of us could stomach it. There is absolutely no flavor to them at all and the texture is just repulsive. So Tarragon Chicken & Wheat Berry Salad was just the worst meal we have had with HelloFresh.

It looked so good, but tasted so bad!

The other two meals were the Cuban-Style Beef Picadillo with Red Beans & Rice which was fantastic. This was a well put together flavor profile and there was enough for dinner for both of us and we each got a lunch out of it.

The Old Bay-Spiced Salmon & Sweet Potato Cakes was so-so. I liked them because they tasted just like homemade stuffing but my husband thought the thyme just over powered everything.

Tip: When poaching or water cooking your proteins, don’t let the water come to a boil, that dries the protein out only simmer them and you will have juicy meats.

If you want to try HelloFresh for yourself use our promo code 9N9VFK and you get $40 off your first order

This Week’s Tip

This week we have had a great selection of meals, first we had the Coconut Shrimp Satay, which we both enjoyed the shaved carrot & cucumber salad which will be made several times over the summer, however I just could not eat the shrimp. I had an unfortunate food poisoning incident years ago and though I did try one shrimp I just could not get past the memory. So, my husband was delighted to enjoy the shrimp which he said you could tell that the shrimp was high quality.

The Argentine-Spiced steak was delicious however this was our first experience with Couscous and I would say that I ate my serving but my husband did not care for it at all but he did love the steak. We will be enjoying our third meal tomorrow, so we’ll let you know.

Here is my tip:

Use your own judgment on cooking times. I have found that HelloFresh’s recommended cooking times leaves the vegetables on the el dente side and the meats on the rare side. So if you like your veggies a little softer and your steak more medium rare, add more cooking time.

Remember when you want to try your HelloFresh use our promo code 9N9VKF

Last Week’s Mustard pork chops with Green Beans & Crispy Potato Cakes-very good!

Some Huge Winners & Some Distant Third

This week the choices for meals were Spanish cod & chorizo, home-style meatloaf and braised pork au jus. We absolutely loved the meatloaf and this was our favorite for this week, the pork was a very close second and for me, the cod was a distance third. We started buying these meals for easy, convenience and to be able to try new foods so I was really just trying the cod as I normally don’t eat fish. I can say that I am still not a huge fan of cod but I didn’t spit it out, so that’s progress!

This week’s delivery should be interesting, we have included shrimp in our selection, and I have not eaten shrimp in years (after an unfortunate food poisoning incident). We also have Argentine spiced steaks and Pork al Mojo so we can’t wait. Remember if you want to give it a try use our promo code 9N9VKF and you save $40 on you first order.

Pea & Asparagus Gnocchi

This recipe was really simple to make and a good balance of spices and textures. We liked this recipe but it was not our favorite of the week. If we were going to make any changes it would be to delete some of the gnocchi, by the end of the dish we didn’t really feel like eating them. The spice combination was really good but this was the first time we thought the portions were a bit small.

Remember if you would like to give HelloFresh a try use our promo code 9N9VKF for $40 off your first order

 

This Week’s Box is In: Take a Look

Just Arrived

We just received our new food box from HelloFresh and we decided to show you exactly how you receive the food so you can be assured that it always arrives fresh.

Inside the box

1. The box is delivered by UPS and generally speaking it weighs about 14 lbs.
2. When you open the box you will find the recipes and HelloFresh tip booklet on top of the cooler.
3. Lift the lid of the cooler (it comes off just by lifting it up)
4. As you can see by the photo there is a divider insert in the cooler and ice packs. The divider separates the proteins from the meal packs.
5. The last photo shows all of the contents of the cooler.
   

   Here the lid is removed

So this week is going to be great! We are having Indian Stuffed

Ice Packs and divider have been removed

Peppers w/curried beef & garam Masala-scented rice,

Mustard Pork Chops w/green beans & crispy potato cakes, and Burst Tomato & Squash Fusilli with sweet bell pepper & Parmesan. I’ll be letting you know

Here’s everything!

how everything turns out!

On Tuesday’s Menu: Wasabi-Glazed Steak with Soba Noodle Salad & Creamy Avocado-Lime Dressing

I was not sure if I was really going to like this recipe because I was not sure if I liked avocado, but this meal was fantastic. My husband and I both loved it. When I made the recipe, I only used ½ of the wasabi while cooking because I was afraid it would overpower everything else but at half you could taste it but it certainly didn’t make the dish hot, in fact my husband added the rest of the wasabi to his plate.

The chef that created this dish did a great job pairing taste and texture. The Soba noodles are very soft, even cooking for only 6 minutes but the scallions, red pepper, carrots and sesame seeds added plenty of texture. The flavor profile is great, the only suggestion I have is they should let you know that the noodles have a wrapper around them; I found this out after I dumped the entire bag in the boiling water.

On tonight’s menu: Pea & Asparagus Gnocchi

All the necessary ingredients.

See what you are missing, go to HelloFresh and use Promo code 9V9VKF for $40 off your first order.

Just Made Pan-Seared Chicken & Pea Pilaf with Artichokes

We just made this recipe and it was great! This was the first meal that we decided to try from HelloFresh and I have to say, we were very please. Each meal comes with its own recipe card and that card has the instructions you need to complete the meal. The instructions are very easy to follow and they put in bold type all of the ingredients so you can see what you need to have ready for each step, absolutely brilliant.

We really enjoyed the meal, I did not take a picture only because I mutilated my chicken by continuously cutting it open to check on whether or not it was done (not listening to their instructions) so my chicken was not “pretty” enough to show but it was very tasty. Tonight we will be trying the Wasabi beef; hopefully I can follow the instructions better and get a great picture for you.

See what you are missing, go to HelloFresh and use Promo code 9V9VKF for $40 off your first order.

Tip: For those of you wondering, the servings are actually large, we had left over rice.

Absolutely Love HelloFresh!

I have to say that my husband and I absolutely love the home, food box, delivery company HelloFresh. It is a great way to try new chef inspired recipes for a fraction of the cost it would cost you to buy the ingredients yourself. We love the service so much we decided to blog about it and give great HelloFresh reviews, tips, pictures of the completed recipes and what ever else we think you would enjoy.