My next Hello Fresh delivery arrives this week...and I'm paying for it. The first free trial box arrived right on schedule and it was really fun to find the giant shipment on my doorstep. It was packed extremely well, with each meal separated in a paper bag. They were all clearly labelled and one meal noted to "eat it first" as it was more perishable. Under layers of cardboard were excellent cold packs and the meat alternative required for my recipe.
The first dish I made was a vegetable packed calzone. Layers of puff pastry stuffed with red peppers, leeks, tomato sauce, cheese and seasoning and it was absolutely scrumptious! The servings are so generous I was able to eat it over several meals/days. They also supplied a beautiful spring mix salad and a homemade dressing. I have to say, the little bottles of oils and vinegars are so cute!
The second recipe I made was a Veggie Shepherd's Pie. This one was simple to prepare and assemble, especially since I make Shepherd's Pie fairly often. It was a treat to have a vegetarian version just for me and have all the necessary ingredients waiting at the ready. The bag contained great looking potatoes and fresh peas, along with veggie ground round, the diced vegetables (Mirepoix), cheese and seasonings. I'm not a huge fan of meat substitute but the pie was delicious and it's more just a mental thing for me. My daughter even shared this dinner with me! Leftovers are now in the freezer for quick meals.
The final recipe was for a really lovely roasted squash risotto. I was really rushed the day I made it because we'd had a tough, emotional week with the passing of my daughter's new kitten, so I ended up adapting the recipe in order to use my Instant Pot. Everything was the same except I didn't have to stand at the stove and stir. I did add a drop of white wine to deglaze the pan before adding the broth to the rice, and that adds such a great flavour to the risotto. Another amazing dinner!
So I will give a thumbs up to Hello Fresh for convenience, quality ingredients, inspired recipes, and just plain fun! I really love and enjoy being spoiled having everything ready to go and yet still be able to quickly and easily cook meals myself. There is no minimum number of meals required to keep one's account active and you can choose or skip any week's offerings. I have looked ahead and skipped any meals with ground meat substitutes or soy since I don't care for them and kept the ones that are different, interesting and yummy.
This week I look forward to a sweet potato curry dish, pan-fried gnocchi, and a spicy shakshuka chickpea recipe. My daughter already made the gnocchi and said it was to die for! I'm so excited for my delivery today!
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