More Blue Apron!

With how busy I've been it's been tough to consistently get Blue Apron or even create new recipes but I was able to get a few in the last couple months.  They've looked so pretty in the pan while I've been preparing them that they were photographed before and after they made it to the plate!

Blue Apron now offers more choices (there are eight options now) and you can choose between any of the dishes without any stipulations.  If you want all meat, you can do pork, chicken and steak, or if you want to stay vegetarian, you have that choice as well.  AND if you want to get four recipes one week and two a different week, you now have that ability.  Blue Apron has definitely stepped up their game!

Starting on the top left going clockwise is a Mixed Mushroom Bucatini with Collard Greens.  It was a great vegetarian dish that was portioned well, packed with flavor and tasted other-worldly!  Not to mention it was pretty easy to make.  The second photo is Roasted Pork with Sauteed Apples, Broccoli in a Fontina Cream Sauce and Garlic Breadcrumbs.  I had originally taken Porf off my profile because I'm not a real big fan of it, aside from Bacon, because of course, Bacon!  This dish has made me think twice about incorporating it into my meals on occasion.  The edges of the Pork were roasted while the inside was juicy and tender and the Apples were so yummy.  This was a dish that required more attention to detail but it was really exciting to create something so pretty.  I made these Spicy Red Thai Curry Meatballs as an early going away Lunch for Giana.  I had never made Meatballs before but I would use the base they suggested again and again because they were delicious!  The Red Curry gave it a little kick while the coconut milk evened it out.  I love Curry dishes so this was a no-brainer choice for me!  That final photo is a Chipotle-Glazed Meatloaf with Crispy Potatoes.  I also added some Vegetables that I steamed and then sauteed for flavor to have as a side.  The Meatloaf was enough for three meals and I had used all the Chipotle Pepper and it was HOT!  I actually didn't mind the heat but it might have been a little much for the average eater.  This was the best Meatloaf I've ever made so I'll for sure be creating this recipe again!

I've got a busy month of May and June so hopefully I can hop back into Blue Apron once Summer heats up.  Until then you can follow my food adventures and all things fun on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lyndseywegner/ Thanks for reading and Happy Cooking :)

Why you should try Blue Apron!

Over the past year I've been doing Blue Apron on a fairly regular basis. I love to cook and create my own recipes but there's something about having the food and recipes delivered to your door that's so convenient and it gets me more excited to cook.  The step-by-step instructions with photos make it easy to follow along and the food is usually quite impressive!  I make sure to invite friends over for at least one shipment to share in the joy!

Seared Barramundi with Fregola Sarda, Collard
Greens, and a Shallot Agrodolce that I will make
again and again.  It was just that lovely!

Since I was getting these recipes coming from Fall into Winter, there were some fresh corn dishes, some seared Salmon & Barramundi, a Steak meal (which I made when Dad was visiting at Thanksgiving) and plenty of vegetarian options.  One of them was a Squash Curry with Jasmine Rice (not pictured here) that turned out beautifully and was spicy to boot!  And the Steak meal was good but I preferred the tenderloin cut I got a few months back to the NY Strip Dad and I had this past time.

In the group of four photos below, starting from the top left was a Sweet Corn & Ditali Pasta with Ricotta Cheese.  It was one of the easiest recipes and packed a kick thanks to the Jalapeño.  I love getting a little spice in a meal.  Going clockwise is the Seared Salmon on top of Saffron Yukon Gold Potatoes and Cumin/Orange Glazed Carrots. I loved all the spices in this dish, including Saffron which I've never worked with before but was very excited about. The Salmon was incredible and the Carrots reminded me of my Mom's Glazed Carrot recipe (I'm going to try to re-create hers thanks to this one) that was always so yummy.  The next Dinner was a Chicken dish with a Caper Salsa Verde, extra Corn & Tomatoes, and Fregola Sarda.  I love capers and this salsa was the bomb!  Rounding it out was another vegetarian recipe of Neapolitan-Style Stewed Vegetables and Farro.  This recipe actually made it through three helpings!  The Gremolata of Parsley, Lemon, Garlic and Shallots on top really finished it off strong in addition to the fresh mozzarella.

Ditali Pasta & Ricotta, Seared Salmon & Saffron Yukon Gold Potatoes, Chicken
with Salsa Verde and Neopolitan-Style Stewed Vegetables with Farro.

Blue Apron can be tried on an affordable basis especially with the promotions they put out there for first-time users.  Or you can even find deals on Groupon!  Once you start cooking with Blue Apron, you'll have Free Meals to send to friends or family members (perhaps even someone else in your household).  Most of the recipes I feel like $60 is totally worth it based on the convenience-factor, ingredients, and portion-size.  Other times I feel like I could have found the ingredients for cheaper at Trader Joe's or another grocery store.  They usually do a good job of making sure the recipes are varied and that it's worth the price you're paying!

If you want to see all of my Blue Apron adventures, you can find them on my Instagram at: Lyndsey on Instagram.  I'd love to hear about your culinary adventures too!  I'm looking forward to making some of the recipes I've received in the past year a second time around now :)

Blue Apron is Back!

I started up with Blue Apron again in July!  It's always so exciting to get the delivery and decide when I'm going to cook which dish.  I usually save the best for last, and in this case, that was the gnocchi.  I had my first shrimp dish and always do a chicken dish which never ceases to disappoint

I usually try to make the dishes with protein in them first since sometimes it'll take me nearly 10 days to make all three meals.  Sometimes I don't have time to make one of them, so I do something more simple, and other times I like to save them for a special occasion when I know I'm having company!  This time around I did the Sweet Chili Chicken with Coconut Rice.  I really need to start making more Asian-inspired food because I'm always so happy with the results and love the flavors.  This one felt really simple, was healthy, and anything that has ginger in it, sells me!  

Dinner is served :)

For the next week I did the Spiced Shrimp with Pearl Couscous.  This one left me feeling disappointed.  You'd think with the spice and other flavors it would be really exciting but it wasn't, it was actually kind of boring.  I would do this again but perhaps do a curry and simmer the Shrimp in some butter and garlic for extra flavor.  Which brings me back to the Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Almonds and Squash.  This was a flavor explosion, the lemon added brightness, the almonds and brown butter brought a nice nutty flavor, and everything worked together seamlessly including the soft-boiled egg.  This is something I will make again for sure!

So the fourth photo was a dish I came up with on my own.  I've been on a Brown Rice & Avocado kick (thanks Ash), so I wanted to kick it up a notch with my favorite maple apple chicken sausage, a bunch of vegetables from my friend Aimee's Mom's garden, and a little red curry.  This was another really healthy meal that was filling, something new for me to try out in the kitchen, and had a nice kick with the spicy curry and added jalapenos.  It's also something that you could throw together with whatever vegetables or protein you have and switch it up.

I really enjoy cooking and Blue Apron makes you feel like a home chef.  The awesome step-by-step instructions include pictures and even people who aren't as comfortable in the kitchen can feel great about their culinary skills!  Plus, you can pick and choose which meals you want; so for weeks at a time I skip delivery's because I'm too busy, don't love the menu, or have set plans already and won't be able to get to make meals that week.  I think you can get your first delivery free and nowadays there's also discounts on Groupon!  

If anyone out there is trying it, feel free to share your experience or pictures with me!  I always post my photos on Instagram so feel free to give me a follow or say hello :)  Lyndsey on Instagram  Happy Experimenting! 

Blue Apron!

My gals at Bar Lubitsch set me up with Blue Apron for two weeks for Christmas while I was back home in Wisconsin.  It was a great gift, thank you so much Ladies!  Knowing how picky my Dad is with food (he's your typical Wisconsin Dad, meat and potatoes, pizza, burgers, and whiskey) I decided to start using it when I was in LA and could hopefully share it with some friends!

The process of picking out each week's meals was really simple.  I'm not a huge pork fan so I kept that out of the three meals that were sent, and made sure I had at least one vegetarian option each week since it was during Lent and I couldn't eat meat on Fridays.  The meals served two people and were surprisingly simple to put together.  Nothing took much longer than 30 minutes and some were even less.  I felt like I was making restaurant quality meals, well worth the price, and they tasted AMAZING!  What was even better was the easy to use recipe cards that listed the ingredients and gave step-by-step instructions including pictures that I kept so that I can continue to make some of my favorite recipes.

Catfish, Steak, Salmon, and Gnocchi all made thanks to Blue Apron!

My first meal was Alsatian Spiced Chicken with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and glazed red cabbage.  I loved this meal; the spices worked well together and the cabbage was incredible.  It would be the only way I would ever make cabbage again!  Next up was Catfish Meuniere with collard greens & lentils and I had Courtney over to enjoy it with me.  The fish was a little fishy on this one but the lentils and the meal as a whole felt really healthy and there was plenty of food.  Adam joined me for steak night and it was the first time I had ever made a steak.  It turned out perfectly medium rare and the garlic kale side served with it was seriously delicious.  This was definitely one of my favorites of all the dishes and I was very excited to execute it to perfection!  

On my second week I started out with Adobo-Style Chicken with bok choy and jasmine rice.  I was really surprised at how flavorful the chicken dishes were and will definitely make both again.  I made the seared Salmon with spinach-walnut pesto for Lunch after a great acting class and was excited to have the leftovers for Dinner that night at Bar Lubitsch.  It was by far the prettiest of all the meals I made and also felt super healthy, on top of it being one of my favorites!  I was sad when it was time to make my final Blue Apron meal which was brown butter gnocchi with lemon and brussels sprouts.  Acquah joined me and we paired this one with a Chardonnay I had (the only time I drank with the meals because I had been on anti-biotics for a couple weeks).  Having a glass of wine with the meal was a nice addition (duh).  The meal was so good that I wanted more and this was the only one that I felt like the portion was a little small and I was hungry almost immediately after.

I would definitely recommend Blue Apron to anyone who enjoys cooking.  All the ingredients are mailed to your doorstep and ready to be made.  There is prep for each meal but the instructions make all of that a breeze.  I would say that you need to have basic kitchen/cooking knowledge since time management is key when trying to do a couple things at once.  I felt confident after making the first meal!  I'll definitely get more Blue Apron orders in the future :)