After giving up on cooking for a while, I’ve gone back to making meal kit meals – they work particularly well when it’s just my husband and I for dinner.
HelloFresh has changed from last year, and their meals are now simpler and quicker to cook. They still range from pretty good to very good, though they are not nearly as tasty as the Gobble meals I’ve cooked lately. They’re far cheaper, however. Currently, if you use my referral link, you can save $40 off your first box, though there may be better deals out there.
These are the last six dishes I made from HelloFresh.
Sweet ‘N’ Smoky Pork Tenderloin
with Apple Carrot Slaw, Mashed Potatoes & Cherry Sauce
Rating: 7/10
I forgot to skip this week and got HelloFresh’ default meals. I wouldn’t have selected this one, as I try to avoid pork as much as possible, but it was pretty good. The pork was tender and the cinnamon-smoked paprika spicing was very tasting. It really didn’t need the cherry sauce, but this one was very nice as well. In general, I’ve really enjoyed the jam-based sauces that I’ve gotten in meal kits. Still, the meat didn’t have as much flavor as I would have liked.
I enjoyed the mashed potatoes, which really go very well with green onions. I don’t like carrots, but my husband was very happy with the slaw – he had my portion as breakfast the next day.
All in all, this wasn’t my favorite meal but it was a nice alternative. As usual, it was a perfectly sized meal.
Cherry Sauce Recipe
For two people, multiply as necessary, substitute with another flavor jam if as per your liking.
- 1/4 cup cherry jam
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon paprika spice*
- 1 Tbsp butter
- salt & pepper to taste
In a small microwavable bowl, mix together the jam, vinegar and spice. Microwave for 40 seconds. Add the butter and mix until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
* 1 part ground cloves, 8 parts onion powder, 8 parts ground cinnamon, 6 parts smoked paprika, 16 parts mustard powder, 24 parts sweet paprika, 24 parts white granulated sugar”.
Smothered Pepper Jack Burgers
with Spicy Ketchup & BBQ Potato Wedges
Rating 6/10
I might have liked this burger more if I hadn’t overcooked it – and if I hadn’t recently had an amazing waygu burger from Gobble. As it was, I found it OK. The pepper was a bit too spicy for me, though I used plain ketchup. My husband had his with the spicy ketchup (which is really just ketchup mixed with hot sauce) and far more peppers, and he still didn’t think it was spicy at all, so YMMV.
The potatoes, mixed with a sweet & smokey BBQ spice, were very good, though. I’ll have to make them again for my vegan daughter. I found the recipe online
Sweet & Smokey BBQ spice
- 8 parts smoked paprika
- 6 parts granulated sugar
- 2 parts garlic powder
- 0.5 (half) parts black pepper
- 1 part dry mustard
- 1 part ground cumin
- 1 part ground ginger
Middle Eastern Steak Bowls
with Spiced Basmati Rice, Roasted Veggies & Lemon Garlic Yogurt Sauce
Rating 5/10
This dish was a big disappointment. It was relatively complex and I had great expectations, but they weren’t met. Basically the whole thing was bland, all the flavors blended into one another and didn’t excite the palate anywhere.
It’s a pity, because this could have been really good. Maybe some dried fruit in the rice would have helped or a harissa sauce instead of the lemon garlic sauce. Actually, having fresh garden instead of garlic powder might have made the sauce more exciting.
Balsamic Fig Chicken
with Roasted Potatoes & Mixed Greens
Rating 7/10
This was another meal with a delicious jam sauce. It’s a simple enough recipe that it should be quite easy to make at home.
The greens came with a simple lemon juice dressing, so I decided to use my own instead. The potatoes were OK, but they were just plain. HelloFresh does much better when it adds spice to its potatoes.
Still, it was a pretty good meal.
Balsamic Fig Sauce
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
- 5 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp jam
- 1 tsp chicken stock concentrate
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp butter
- salt & pepper to taste.
Heat oil in a small saute pan. Add shallot and rosemary leaves. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and the jam. Simmer for one minute, until syrupy. Add the stock concentrate and water. Cook until thick, about 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Creamy Chive Chicken
Rating: 8/10
This is yet another simple dish of a plain chicken breast spruced up with a cream sauce. Fortunately, this chive sauce is very good so it does the job well.
I liked the side dishes quite a bit, but my husband didn’t like the texture of the lemon rice, probably because I had overcooked it. Still, I’d get this again.
Chive Cream Sauce
This is enough for two people. Serve over chicken or fish.
- 2 tsp chicken stock concentrate
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup water
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 oz chopped chives
- salt & pepper to taste
Heat small pan over medium-high heat. Add the stock concentrate, mustard, water and lemon juice. Stir and let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat.
Stir in the sour cream and chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cheesy Beef Tostadas
with Long Green Pepper, Tomato Salsa & Hot Sauce Crema
Rating 7/10
The filling for these tostadas was actually very good and both my husband and I really enjoyed them, but I overcooked the tortillas, thus making them too tough and difficult to handle it. It would have been better if the tortillas had been soft.
I neglected to take a photo.