Friday Feasts #4: Pan-Roasted Chicken with Dijon Mushroom Sauce and Brown Rice July 8, 2016

This week’s Friday Feasts post is another HelloFresh recipe, but not one that I did as a box. Hubby’s mom came to visit, so we decided against ordering a box that week. However, when I was pausing our subscription, I spotted this recipe. I had to make it. It looked scrumptious and it did NOT disappoint! Once again, this was a family pleaser! The full recipe can be found here.

(HelloFresh’s finished plating and my ingredients!)

Hubs & I love mushrooms, so I did more than called for! I’m enjoying using out herb garden for more than just homemade spaghetti sauce this year. I did have to buy some though since some of ours weren’t ready to start harvesting.

I cut the chicken breasts into smaller chunks so that they could cook a bit faster, and easier to manage once on the plate! The sauce smelled so amazing while it was cooking! I may have taste tested a tad more than necessary. Sheesh. I’m craving this now while I’m working on it! I did also add more garlic than is called for. As usual!

The chicken also smelled good before I let it cook in the sauce for a while. Picky Bug and Punk didn’t like the rice. They’re like their daddy and not a big rice fan. This would be super yummy over some egg noodles or maybe even spaghetti or linguine noodles too. Both kiddos gobbled down their chicken and asked for seconds! My mother-in-law also enjoyed this recipe.

I always have a referral code to HelloFresh which takes $40 off of your first box! The code is:

S6RMQS

 

I also occasionally get some boxes that I get to give away for free. Keep an eye out on my Twitter (@armywife2310) for your chance to snag a free box! (New subscriptions only)

 

What do you think of the Pan Roasted Chicken? Does it sound like a recipe you would try?

Friday Feasts #3: Lasagna Baked Penne June 24, 2016

Another Friday Feasts is here! This week was another family pleaser which was a HUGE surprise! It was such a pleaser that Punk has asked for it again. Hopefully I’ll make it again soon. This is another HelloFresh recipe, and the full recipe can be found here.

I was a bit skeptical of this recipe when I opened the box and saw just how much kale was in the box. WHOA. A LOT of Kale. Honestly, I think I used about 1/4-1/3 of the kale cause I wasn’t sure how it would cook down. I think it was just enough.

I got caught up in the cooking process and didn’t take as many pictures of these steps as usual. I chopped the kale as small as I could before I added them into the casserole. I did get a bit heavy handed with the chili flakes. It was on the spicy side which is what made it so surprising that the kiddos DEVOURED their servings and asked for MORE. It was such a pleasant surprise. Punk did scrape off the meat, but he’s still in the if it’s not chicken, turkey, or some fish he won’t eat it.

This meal was incredibly easy to prepare and was more than enough for all four of us to eat plus leftovers! I didn’t add anything other than a can of mushrooms to the recipe this time. And… maaaaaaaaaybe some more garlic. Shhhhhh! This would be a perfect meal to prepare and freeze for a quick busy night meal. This has been one of my favourite boxes that we have gotten so far. I HIGHLY recommend the Lasagna Baked Penne!

Before baking, and after we chowed down! It smelled so good, we dug in immediately and I forgot to snap a plated picture! I still can’t get over how much the kiddos loved this recipe. Such a surprising family pleaser!

Friday Feasts #2: Korean Style Beef Stir Fry June 17, 2016

Time for Friday Feasts again! This week’s recipe is another from HelloFresh. It’s Korean Style Beef Stir Fry. This recipe, which can be found here, was a little outside of our comfort zone which was fun! We stuck close to the recipe, but if we do cook it again, we’ll probably spice it up a bit and make it more of our own.

Again with this meal, I threw in the ground meat into the box with the rest of the ingredients. It’s just a matter of convenience for me so I just have to grab one thing when it comes time for dinner instead of digging around in the fridge.

I don’t think I’ve ever cooked with ginger or scallions before. Hubs and I also had never had broccolini. I personally think it tastes the same and is inconvenient cause I don’t like the stem part cooked or raw! I still think it’s so awesome that HelloFresh includes all the ingredients!

Steps of cooking! The HelloFresh recipes are easy and simple to follow. Occasionally there might be a missing minor step, but it’s usually pretty easy to figure out what you’re supposed to do! I love getting to cook with all the fresh ingredients. We usually try to stay on the fresh side, but sometimes it’s easier to grab the processed stuff. That’s what I love so much about HelloFresh! Fresh goodies right on hand with a simple click of the mouse.

We really enjoyed this meal. This is one that we didn’t try with the kiddos. We probably could’ve pulled out enough for them from ours, but they’re not too crazy about ethnic food that isn’t quesadillas or (plain) spaghetti! I spiced mine up with a bit of shrimp sauce after a few bites. It just needed a little something extra. I also didn’t use the full amount of ginger because I wasn’t sure how powerful of a taste it would be. Next time, I would use the full amount of ginger, add a bit more soy sauce, and definitely include the shrimp sauce! I would also switch to beef tips or chicken instead of ground beef. We’re not crazy about ground beef, we usually substitute ground deer, and even then it’s usually only in spaghetti. Ground meat just isn’t a favourite in our house! This was a good recipe though!

I always have a referral code to HelloFresh which takes $40 off of your first box! The code is:

S6RMQS

 

I also occasionally get some boxes that I get to give away for free. Keep an eye out on my Twitter (@armywife2310) for your chance to snag a free box! (New subscriptions only)

What do you think of the Korean Style Beef Stir Fry? Does it look like a recipe you would be willing to try?

Friday Feasts #1: Crispy Chicken Parmigiana Salad June 10, 2016

For the introductory post of Friday Feasts, I started with what turned out to be a four for four family pleaser! This recipe is from HelloFresh and can be found here.

Photo credit: HelloFresh

Doesn’t that look yummy? Sadly, my pictures don’t look as good as this one. I need to practice food photography a bit! haha. (Right picture, my final product!)

The really great thing about HelloFresh is that they send you EVERYTHING you need for the meal except the absolute basics (salt, pepper, butter, olive/vegetable oil). It’s great! I’m all about avoiding extra time at the grocery store, especially with the kiddos with me! The ingredients are shipped in a white box, like picture one. The meat is separate from the box, but I throw it in to keep it all together in the fridge. The right picture shows all of the ingredients needed for this meal that was in the box. Everything is shipped in a big box with ice packs to keep things cold. If you happen to be out when the box arrives, there’s no fear of spoilage! We’ve actually kept a few of the ice packs cause they’re super convenient instead of filling bags of ice or buying new ones to replace our old ones.

The directions are simple and easy to follow. Included in the box with all of the food are cards with the recipes on them. They are also available on their website and in their app. Their app is available in the Apple Store and Amazon Store. I use an iphone and a kindle fire, so those are the only two platforms I know. You can keep track of your subscription and select your boxes from the app!

 

I owe a lot to HelloFresh for this meal! It got both of the kiddos to try spinach, and Punk discovered he loves spinach! Yes, there’s broccoli on my plate. I do not like spinach and added cooked broccoli to my plate. Some of the ingredients I had on hand, so I was able to double the chicken ad turn this into a family meal. We have the Classic box subscription because Punk and Bug are still on the picky side. Some meals easily stretch for the four of us without me having to add to them, which is really nice! I always double check the recipe before deciding when to do a box if it is something we think the kiddos will enjoy. This is definitely a keeper meal that I plan on cooking again. You also can easily modify this to suit your family’s salad preference. This was one of our first meals we cooked, so we elected to follow the recipe to see if the basic meal they send is something we would like. I definitely would modify this to include a full salad next time!

I always have a referral code to HelloFresh which takes $40 off of your first box! The code is:

S6RMQS

 

I also occasionally get some boxes that I get to give away for free. Keep an eye out on my Twitter (@armywife2310) for your chance to snag a free box! (New subscriptions only)

What do you think of the Crispy Chicken Parmigiana Salad? Does it look like a recipe you would be willing to try?