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.