Come in! It’s drizzling out there, but not as chilly! At least the wind is not blowing either! How have you been? Have time for a cup of New Orleans roast? This week I made up my mind about celery and herbs in general. Add to that list, how I despise buying condiments too. For a family of two there is so much waste! Who needs a foot-long stalk of celery with several stalks at $3.99 when the recipe calls for one measly stalk? You say buy the smaller cut-up pieces that includes cut up carrots? No, I don’t need carrots and that little pre-packed package is still $3.99! The same goes for herbs. You want a few stems of cilantro, or parsley, or oregano and they are sold in a bunch the size of a softball! Don’t even think about getting me started on condiments. Did I mention soy sauce, champagne vinegar, balsamic vinegar, worcestershire sauce or flavored mustards? You see I want to cook like Julia Childs, but I want to buy very small portions of celery, herbs and any condiment in a bottle. Hmmmm…..such trivial problems….but I hate waste. And I want variety in my menus. I get tired of thinking up exotic meals…..we eat the same ol’ same ol’ every week.

I kept getting the advertisements on FB and on various blogs about Hello Fresh. Hmmmm….. Is it really fresh food? I don’t want picked over vegetables or fruit and I don’t want frozen anything.  I want fresh. But, I checked our their plans and looked at their menus. They provided me with a very good deal for the first week, six meals for $30.00 dollars. I could cancel at any time. I could pick what type of meal plan I wanted, how many I wanted, and then the meals for that plan (meat or vegetarian, etc.)  I could pick the day I wanted the meals  delivered. I could skip weeks, which was important since we do travel a lot. It sounded almost too good to be true, but I thought I would give it a shot.

This week I got the first package; the Classic Package for two people, for three meals, for a total of six dinners.  Each dinner package was separately packed with all the contents for a particular meal in it’s own bag and clearly labeled. The meat was separate and in a really cold compartment of the box. The recipes were in color and huge! The recipes are marked with the utensils needed, nothing you don’t already have; a skillet, a pot, a baking sheet, a colander. Preparation for each meal was under fifteen minutes, cooking time not much longer. And the ingredients….. all I can say is that they were fresher than I buy at the market and everything provided was a most generous portion. I got cilantro, parsley, and rosemary for my meals and they were just the right amount! I got little bottles (see, they do make them) of balsamic vinegar and fig jelly!!!!!! I got a small amount of sour cream, not a bucket! I had no left overs….. Cleaning up was easy and the recipes/dishes I plated, (that is the term they use and the last thing you do) looked and tasted oh, so fabulous! I think I did feel like Julia!

Here is what was in the sack of the Pineapple Poblano Beef Tacos………oh my! There were taco shells too. I just couldn’t get them in the photo like I wanted………….

And here is the recipe card for the Pineapple Poblano Beef Tacos!

Here is the Nutritional Info Card……for all the meals this week…..

And the other meals I prepared………

This could be a game changer for me! It feels like going to a really great cookbook, picking out the recipes I like, and telling someone to go buy the ingredients for me (make sure they are the best) and then bring them to my doorstep. Don’t make the recipes long, drawn out or foo-foo either. Just really good food fast.

PS Don’t worry, I will still be going to the grocery once a week, for milk and cereal!

PSS They also sent me a coupon for a dollar off, if I wanted to buy more of the Bonnie Maman Fig Preserves. Those rascals! It was good and I do buy their jams and preserves anyway AND I like their glass containers and I save them….

Like I’m ever going to run out of glasses! But, hey who knows!

I can’t wait to try this week’s recipes! If you are interested go to Hello Fresh!

Do you have any pet peeves to share this week? Let me know!

To see what others are talking about over their morning coffees look Here!