For starters, I decided on the "family size" box with the two meal option. I was also given several different recipe choices to pick from.
Ultimately, I decided on the Maple and Rosemary Glazed Pork Cutlets (our favorite of the box) and the Carolina Barbecue Chicken.
The box arrived and was packed with plenty of ice packs and cold preserving padding. I also received an email when it was delivered to remind me to check the front porch which was really nice!
Each meal was packaged with all of the ingredients together in one brown bag. This was nice because it was simple to store away in the fridge for later use. The meat for each dinner was also packaged beneath the brown bags in a separate compartment so it didn't contaminate anything. (Also a nice perk!)
Our first meal to try was the Pork Cutlets and I mainly decided on this because I wanted to save the BBQ chicken option for the night before the 4th of July. Corny? Yes, I know.
After sorting through the ingredients and chopping several of the items, it was time to get cooking. This part took a little longer than I expected, but I guess that was just getting into the groove of things.
I do love to multitask while cooking and it was easy to do so. Both the pork and the couscous wer going at the same time.
While everything was cooking on the stove, I prepared the salad.
Even with the multitasking, this meal still took about 45 minutes to complete. It was absolutely delicious though, and we loved every part of it!
My toddler loved it, too!
Next up was the Carolina Barbecue Chicken.
This recipe was delicious as well, although our fire alarm went off in the process of cooking the chicken. Whoopsie!
This recipe was a little easier to make time-wise because it didn't require as much prep ahead of time. Also, I added a few extra pieces of chicken from my own stock to the pan because I wanted to have something already prepared for lunch the following day.
We loved this dish as well. The chicken was flavorful and wasn't dry - just the way I like it! Also, the combination of the chicken, mac and cheese, and green beans was a perfect pre-fourth meal!
So, what did I think of Hello Fresh overall? Well, I have a few pros and cons. I like that the ingredients are all (mostly) shipped to you which saves a grocery shopping trip. I also loved the flavors of both recipes. One of the main things I don't care for with this delivery service is the quantity of food. If I'm going to spend 30+ minutes in the kitchen preparing a meal, I want enough to have leftovers for lunch the following day at work. An option to change this would be to add your own items like I did with the chicken but again, you're using items from your own stock which isn't the purpose of this box. Also, the price is a bit high for me, especially if leftovers aren't an option. I'm not sure I would subscribe to this on a long term weekly basis, but it will be fun to try from time to time!
Have you ever tried Hello Fresh or another meal subscription service? If so, what did you think?
