Hello Fresh Round #2

Hello Fresh has really been a great experience for our family.  I can't really justify ordering it every single week but we enjoy it enough to order it once a month or maybe twice a month at times.  I ordered again this time because I still got a nice percentage off my order.  The food did not disappoint once again.  Hello Fresh has included free/additional items in both boxes - the first box was a bottle of Iced Tea.  The second box included a loaf of their garlic bread and a kiwi.  It's always fun to get surprises! 

Here's a look at the four recipes we tried and our over all opinion. 

Hello Fresh Meal 1 - Balsamic Tomato and Herb Chicken

I picked this one to make first because it seemed the most plain and I thought we might not love it but I was wrong.  The Balsamic Tomato Sauce was so good - it reminded me of Bruschetta which I love.  It's super easy and I plan on making it again to use with spaghetti.  The chicken, honestly, ended up being a little chewy and tough - I'm not sure if that was the chicken itself or if I slightly overcooked it because I'm always afraid of serving raw chicken!  I served the free garlic bread with this and it was also good - more like a French Bread with a garlic butter but we liked it. 

Hello Fresh Meal #2 - White Cheddar Wonderburgers and Fries

This photo is not the prettiest - partly because this meal took a lot of work so by the time we sat down, I was done!  From the prep and cook side, this was my least favorite meal that I've picked.  Trying to pan fry a burger is just not my favorite thing - I should of had Darryl grill them.  When I was toasting the buns, they got a little dark (as you can see).  When I took everything out the packages and saw/felt the buns I was sure that they would be terrible.  They are potato buns which are much sturdier and denser then what I'm used too . . .. and they were amazing.  For real.  They held up perfectly against these messy burgers. There was also a special sauce which reminded me of thousand island but so much better.  So, even though this wasn't my favorite in the kitchen, it was still amazing on the plate.  

Hello Fresh Meal 3 - Steak with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This was a true home run meal.  The steaks were tender and the mushroom cream sauce was amazing!  I did alter this recipe slightly - the steaks were supposed to be cooked in a pan on the stove but Darryl cooked them on the grill instead because, well, that is how steak should be cooked!  This is a recipe I could eat again . . .. and again!  

Hello Fresh Meal #4 - Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops

This was by far one of the easiest meals to cook which makes it a favorite!!  To keep it real, though, the green beans were not what came with the meal - since I received the box over a week ago, the fresh green beans (which would have been amazing roasted in the oven) had gone bad so I used a canned green beans instead.  The pork chops were tender and the Cherry Balsamic sauce was so good.  I don't think I've ever had Couscous before and it was pleasantly tasty. Once again Hello Fresh delivered great food. 

A couple of things I learned with this round of meals.  1) Use them within 7 days or the fresh produce will go bad.  The meat, obviously, can be thrown in the freezer but that fresh stuff doesn't last.  2)  Sometimes it gets tiresome to cook a brand new recipe which has multiple parts every single night.  That is why this pork recipe waited a week - last week I was tired of cooking things that required so much work and prep so I did a couple of super easy meals that took next to no work on my part.  3) My kitchen isn't nearly as big nor as well set up as the kitchens in the ad's for Hello Fresh HA!  A few of the meals had so many steps that I was running out of counter space to put things.  

Will I continue to use Hello Fresh?  I think so - but maybe only once a month and the next time around I might just order 2 meals instead of 4.  That's enough for some good variety but isn't overwhelming.  

Summer Fun Week 3

Week three of summer brings us right into July which, as I stated last week, is just a little crazy to me.  June started out HOT HOT HOT and ended with some almost cold days and lots (and lots and LOTS) of rain!  It waylaid some plans but I also love rainy days so I'm not really complaining.  Our summer routine is going well - I've shifted a few things because once we got going I found that some days were better for some things but for the most part, it all works well.  Here's a look back at what Summer Fun looked like this past week

Monday - Today was a stay home day :-)  We played 4th of July Bingo and then they worked on their pinwheels.  

Tuesday - Rain, rain, rain - the forecast is a broken record for sure.  No parks, splash pads or pools for now so I decided to take the 4 and head to a movie.  Tuesdays are "$5.00 movie days" so we went and saw Peter Rabbit 2!  

My mom joined us as did her friend and her friends two grandsons.  This is our favorite theater because it has reclining seats that are SOOOO comfy!  And yes, we really do take blankets every single time.  This was our first time back to a theater since February 2020 and it was perfect! 

Wednesday - The Princess had her Library day which was Bowling! 

Thursday - Our Friends are gone for the Holiday Weekend but Josh and Nate still attended the library bowling activity.   

Friday - Nate had TKD in the morning and then we just enjoyed our "free day".  

 

Weekly Worship - Matthew West - What If

(oops - I accidently posted two songs last Sunday so I'm reposting this one again this week!) 

Matthew West is such a creative song writer - this is another one of his real life songs that hits the nail on the head!    Honestly, I planned to share another song he released this week - Modest is Hottest - which was written as a satire with his girls but he got HUGE flack for it so he pulled it and apologized because he doesn't want to take away from what his heart is - to spread the love of Jesus.  

2021 Week in Photos - #22

 Welcome to another week!  Here's a look back at our week.  Since I also do my summer fun post - I'm trying to keep this one more related to our family unless it is something super fun/cute (like kittens HA!).  

Saturday - Darryl went on a road trip with his dad.  Josh, Nate and I stayed home for a quiet day.  Our "quiet" got interrupted when the tornado sirens went off and it was a little too close for comfort.  Our friends lost their barn and had damage to their home but thankfully everyone was ok. We then enjoyed dinner out with my mom at Pizza Hut.  

This shows the barn after the tornado went through and, for perspective . . .. .

This is the barn just a few weeks before the tornado went through!  Crazy! 

Sunday - Just a quiet day at home - more rain was forecasted but we ended up with just a hot, humid day and even saw the sun. 

Monday-Friday - Again, quiet days with some rain until mid-week when we finally saw some sun.  Friday evening we lit off some fireworks.  This year, Josh wanted BIG fireworks so he and Darryl went shopping a week ago and came home with some great ones. 

We started with sparklers and the "fountains" - which are the ones that just spark and pop out of boxes.  

Then came the big dogs.  I didn't get great photos but some of them were big boomers that went 100 feet into the air.  Yes, they were fun :-)  

Weekly Menu - Happy 4th!

 We had another good week of Hello Fresh Recipes - I'll share them in the next week.  This week we get to enjoy a holiday AND it falls on a weekend!  That's always nice!  Here's the plan for the upcoming week. 

Friday - It's take out night :-) 

Saturday -  Burgers and Potato Salad    

Sunday - I think we are going to my mom's . .. 

Monday - Baked Pork Chops, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans and french bread

Tuesday - Baked Tacos - in our first Hello Fresh order we had Flautas which are basically rolled, baked tacos and we loved them.  I'm going to remake them!!  We'll had chips and salsa and a salad with them. 

Wednesday - Chick-Fa-Lay Nuggets and Fries

Thursday -  Stuffed Shells, Garlic Bread and Salad. 

What we are eating - Mississippi Pot Roast

 This is a recipe I've seen shared multiple places, often on Facebook, and I finally decided to try it.  I have a "tried and true" roast recipe that my mom used and I then used but I have a kid who doesn't like onions and my recipe has onions in it!  This one does not plus it is a great crock pot recipe! 

This was such an excellant roast - it fell apart it was so tender and the flavor was super beefy.  There wasn't a piece left - Josh couldn't stop eating it.  Honestly, I had stopped buying chuck roasts because they were always tough  . ... I will be buying them often now and making this recipe!  It was that good. 

Mississippi Pot Roast

This is THE BEST POT ROAST EVER!

Buy a chuck roast.

Put it in the crock pot.

Sprinkle Hidden Valley ranch dressing on top.

Sprinkle McCormick Au Jus mix on top.

Put a stick of butter on top.

Put about 5 Pepperoncini peppers on top. (I usually add more because we LOVE them!)

(You buy them in a jar.)

Do NOT add water.

Cook in crock pot on low for about 8 hours. Tastes AMAZING!

What we are eating - Yorkshire Pizza

 A good friend of mine shared this recipe which is an old family recipe of theirs - one that they made every single Sunday night for years while the kids were all at home.  I had saved it a year ago, forgot about it and it was shared again.  We enjoy pizza in this house but so often they aren't great.  Well, this one was really, really good.  I liked the simplicity of the crust and that it was one of those "impossible" styles that grows as it bakes.  

Melt 1 stick of butter in a 9x13 pan in the oven at 400 degrees. 

While that is melting mix together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and two eggs by hand.  Mix vigorously until air bubbles form (lots of air bubbles is best!) 

Pour the batter over the melted butter in the pan.  Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 

Take the pan out of the oven - lots of air bubbles is good! 

If you love garlic, add two cloves of garlic (crushed/pressed) and then add all of your toppings (I did sauce and mushrooms because I forgot to buy anything else !!) .  Once you have added the toppings, top with cheese!  

Put back in the oven until the cheese is melted.  

I didn't realize it until I was making it but my friend also shared their sauce recipe to make this "authentic" ---  Sauté a small onion and mushrooms until they are really tender.  Add an 8 oz can of tomato sauce.  Season with garlic (fresh if you have it) and oregano.  Salt and pepper the onions and mushrooms while they are cooking. Let it summer while the crust is cooking and then use it on your pizza! 

I served the pizza with salad . .. isn't it pretty?