Hello Fresh Update

Well, we've done Hello Fresh for 3 weeks now and LOVE it! The food is fresh, organic, healthy and delicious. We've been exposed to things we've never had before. They use fresh herbs that I haven't always been familiar with. I've learned a lot about types of peppers---usually, unless they are bell peppers, I think "hot"--which is not the case. The dishes are unusual--you definitely have to be open to them.

You have a date by which you need to choose your 3 meals. If you don't, they just send 3 of their choice. The box arrives on Tuesday. It's so much fun to open it. I love everything about it---the box itself is awesome, very sturdy and a keeper. Butch says we can't keep all the boxes, but I plan to use them right away---to clean out this house! The box has cushioning at the bottom in the way of foam, so it would be great to store fragile things. Then, there are these ice packs---some are really big. I am already running out of room in the freezer to store them, but I cannot bear to throw them away. 

The cans and jars that come for each recipe are little miniatures. They are so cute!

Each meal last week called for a red onion. I only needed half for each recipe, so I have that leftover. There are always leftover fresh herbs too.The meals are supposed to be for two people, but there is definitely enough for three. This particular recipe was for Carmelized Pineapple Burgers. That's not anything I would ever order in a restaurant--pineapple and meat---uh, no. They were so good! 

The side dish for the burgers was a Monterey Jack Cheese and Red Cabbage Slaw. The slaw called for using all three of the carrots you see above. I felt like that was way too much. I only used one.

All of the dressings and sauces are homemade and fresh. This is the slaw mixed with just the one carrot. I thought it was just fine. Butch thought it could have used more carrot.

The recipe booklet  is high quality with clear instructions. I'm sorry that Butch threw away the first one as they are totally re-usable.

The amount of time it takes to make each recipe is definitely "off." Start to finish---preparation to eating---is about an hour. There is a lot of chopping involved. And you dirty up a lot of dishes. But by the time the food is ready, I've had time to do all the clean up. It is totally worth it!

This was another of our meals for the week. Once completed, the dishes look exactly like the pictures.

This recipe was a total surprise! It was our favorite meal so far. Butch and I talked about how we would never have ordered something on a restaurant menu called: "Roasted Pork with Balsamic Fig Sauce." It was so good that I purchased some fig jam to make it again. Seriously, this is "company worthy" and so easy! Look at how much pork they consider to be one serving---and all the recipes are calorie conscious---not necessarily 300, but below 6.

There is one downside---well, not really, it's just my problem. Just about every recipe calls for olive oil--a drizzle here and a drizzle there. What exactly is a drizzle?

I certainly cannot get a drizzle out of this bottle. The opening is way too huge. So, Butch figured out how to solve that problem.

He bought this dispenser at Walmart for 96 cents. It works perfect. Just the right drizzle every time!

In our last box, they sent us 3 coupons to extend to our friends for a FREE box. I don't know if you have to buy another to get the free one, but I'm happy to offer up the coupons. If you want one, let me know. There is a redemption code on it, so you don't actually have to physically send the coupon.

You can suspend your membership at any time. I told Butch that we'd probably average two weeks a month with our travel and social schedules. We're going on vacation next week, so we've suspended our delivery for two weeks (when we get back, I turn around and leave again for my "sister's crop."). The only bad thing about that is I wonder what great food I'm missing! Cost $69.00 total for 3 meals.

And now, I'm sharing one of the recipes. It's for Corn Salad. Don't let the name fool you. It's a warm salad and so, so good--again, combining ingredients I would never have thought went together.

Corn Salad

1 can corn, drained

1/4 cup red onion

drizzle of olive oil

1/2 tsp chili powder (can add more if desired)

2 T. sour cream

squeeze of lime

salt and pepper

Drizzle olive oil in skillet. Saute’ onion until soft. Add corn and turn to medium high to brown corn. Add chili powder, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in lime and sour cream. Serve warm.