So, we ended up with a free Hello Fresh order this last week. A former neighbor may have an error in updating his address. I contacted Hello Fresh and was told to enjoy. I’ve tried these services in the past, and while some of the recipes are good, and it’s nice having someone just deliver the ingredients, I found them to be very stressful. My husband and I both work full time and sometimes very late. It stressed me out that the food needed to be cooked so I didn’t waste it. So, I gave up those services and instead subscribed to a spice membership for a while. I liked that, but ended up with a lot of spice combos, which is less my thing.
We had three meals that we needed to make, or it was going to result in food waste. I’ve made two of the three recipes so far. The first one was a chicken sausage spaghetti dish. It was very good. I was annoyed that the instructions included “remove sausage from casing.” I’m not lazy or anything, but the casing is then waste. I often buy sausage that is just ground with no casing, so I’m not entirely sure why it was delivered in casings. But that was trivial. What I did note was that the dish could use some spice. The sausage could definitely have been spicier, and it needed like a little red pepper flake or something. But, the cooked onions and bell pepper were delicious.
The second dish was a recipe for Juicy Lucy’s. These were good, but I would definitely make some alterations if I were going to make this dish again. I have to admit, it is unlikely I would make it again. It wasn’t a bad dish. I just didn’t find the cheese being stuffed in the burger any more appetizing than just throwing the cheese on top at the end of cooking. The recipe also called for cooking the burgers in a skillet on the stove. I find this to be the least flavorful way to cook a burger. I prefer the grill above all else. However, if the grill is not an option for whatever reason, your broiler is ideal for making burgers. Use a cast iron skillet and put in the broiler for a few minutes until browned on top and then flip and cook again. You get burgers that are far more akin to grilled or your local pub. The dish also only had potato wedges for a side. It was definitely missing something green or fresh.
The last recipe is for chicken and pineapple quesadillas. I’m not putting pineapple in a quesadilla. I get some people like that kind of thing. I like cooked pineapple with ham. I also recently experimented with smoked pineapple and really liked it. However, I am not generally a pineapple person. So the plan is to alter that recipe and just use the ingredients to make a chicken and cheese quesadilla and serve the pineapple on the side or send it with my husband for a snack during the day.
However, the entire experience has made me rethink the Hello Fresh-type industry. I like that I learn some new recipes. And I like that your meal is planned out for you in advance. My take on this, however, is that I need to go back to pre-planning meals the weekend before and just buy myself the ingredients required to execute them. I used to do this when my older two girls were little, and it worked wonderfully. It’s also good for the budget and health as you are less tempted to order pizza!
Foodie's Delimma 