Hot-Shot Home Cook

I’ve posted several photos of meals I’ve prepared lately, and I’d like to give a shout-out of approval and appreciation to HelloFresh. HelloFresh is a complete meal delivery program that my son, Anthony, who enjoys cooking, introduced me to last October. He sent a gift sample box to me, and I liked it. HelloFresh seemed like an excellent idea and an opportunity to explore new recipes and methods of cooking, as well as a chance for Anthony and me to collaborate. After all, how hard could it be? So I began subscribing to HelloFresh, and we started comparing recipes. We had a great time discussing our blunders and successes. Since the start of November, I’ve explored many new recipes from around the world, which combined ingredients, flavors, and methods of cooking that were new to me.

We had a delightful touch of Mexican cuisine with Beef & Cheese Tostadas with Long Gree Peppers, Tomato Salsa & Hot sauce Crema and my homemade Guacamole.
I modified the recipe, Beef & Cheese Tostadas with Long Gree Peppers, Tomato Salsa & Hot sauce Crema, by adding fresh cherry tomatoes from my neighbor's garden. I am learning to improvise with recipes.

Note 1: There are a number of these meal delivery businesses, but I’ve only tried HelloFresh. Let me know if you have found something that you think I should try?

Note 2: I am allergic to shellfish, so I will not post any recipes involving seafood.

Different people have told me they found these package meal delivery programs too expensive, repetitive, and sometimes not including the freshest or best ingredients. I agree that the cost and time required to prepare the meals might not be the best choice for families with children and tight schedules, but the HelloFresh plan has been great for my husband and me. First, there was the COVID-19 quarantine, and we could not go out to dinner. Now restaurants are opening up again, and we are vaccinated, but we prefer to stay home. Meals with excellent flavors from around the world are arriving at our door.

This meal took us to Korea for a traditional dinner of meatballs with Bulgogi sauce, roasted green beans, ginger rice, and sriracha crema.
This meal, Bulgogi Pork Tenderloin with roasted carrots and lime rice, knocked it out of the park with flavor. The recipe is one of HelloFresh's Hall of Fame recipes.

My mother was a good cook, but cooking was not her main focus. My mother was an incredibly talented soul and spent her time on artistic pursuits. I learned to cook from my mother, and even though I thought I was a good cook, I now realize the meals I prepared were repetitious and bland. No depth of flavor!

Firecracker Meatballs with roasted green beans and Jasmine rice. This meal had an oriental flare.
This meal was a down-home American comfort food dinner, including meatloaf with creamy mushroom sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted Brussel sprouts.

I feel like more and more I am becoming a hot-shot home cook. I start each recipe thinking, “How hard can it be?” I find, however, that I always take longer to prepare the meals than the instructions indicate. Nevertheless, I am determined to keep trying new recipes and cooking techniques. On the days that I am not preparing a meal from HelloFresh, I have the confidence to explore other recipes.

Jim loves Chinese food, and this was my attempt to please his taste buds. Cashew chicken stir-fry with broccoli over jasmine rice.
This was another down-home American comfort food dinner, Buffalo-spiced crispy chicken cutlets with Monterey Jack cheese, mashed potatoes, buttery green beans, and a honey drizzle. The recipe did not call for carrots, but I added them.

I’ve only shared a sampling of the many HelloFresh recipes I have tried.

Next month it will have been one year since I first started subscribing to HelloFresh. Our plan is random, and we can schedule a delivery or skip one or more as we choose. I’ve posted several photos of the completed meals I’ve prepared in this blog. My cover photo is of one of my favorite meals, Crispy chicken and bacon alfredo with spinach, parmesan, and chives. I love Italian food.

2 thoughts on “Hot-Shot Home Cook”

  1. I really enjoyed your journey. I have been tempted to try HelloFresh. You might have just nudged me toward pushing the button. Thank you, Nikki.

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