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Hello Fresh recipe Review: Moroccan chicken sausage tagine

8/29/2018

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One of the best parts of Hello Fresh (and there are many!) is that they produce these videos to match some of their recipes. This week, we happened to luck out with this one: 

why hello fresh?

The BEST part of Hello Fresh is they beat all other services on variety and choice. There are 15 recipes to choose from in the Classic Plan, six in the family plan, and three in the veggie plan. That is more choices than any other meal box service. And you're not ever locked in! You can mix and match the plans each week, and choose different numbers of servings per meal, and even choose a different number of meals each week. Their "Dinner 2 Lunch" options supply creative ways to transform leftovers into new lunches! Hello Fresh definitely wins here. 

​Hello Fresh is also one of the most environmentally friendly services. The whole kits come in recyclable paper bags, and they keep the plastic to a minimum. Compared to some of the other services, this is a really nice feature. They've even partnered with GiveBackBox.com so you can ship used packaging to be donated - free! 
Our readers get $40 off now!
Read more of our Hello Fresh reviews HERE.

the recipe

Just like every recipe from Hello Fresh, this one came together quickly and easily. But it wasn't our favorite for a few reasons. 
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Hello Fresh recipe Review: Beef bulgogi bowls

8/24/2018

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With meals like this one, it's easy to see why Hello Fresh is one of our favorites. The meals always come together quickly, they can please the pickiest eaters, they make plenty of food, and the options are always tasty. 
Get $40 off Hello Fresh!
Read more of our Hello Fresh reviews HERE.

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HELLO FRESH RECIPE: FIGGY BALSAMIC PORK

8/22/2018

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We LOVE Hello Fresh! It may be among our favorites. This meal came in a box with Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowls and Moroccan Sausage Chicken Tangine.
Try Hello Fresh and get $40 off!
Read more of our Hello Fresh reviews HERE.

WHY HELLO FRESH?

The BEST part of Hello Fresh is they beat all other services on variety and choice. There are 15 recipes to choose from in the Classic Plan, six in the family plan, and three in the veggie plan. That is more choices than any other meal box service. And you're not ever locked in! You can mix and match the plans each week, and choose different numbers of servings per meal, and even choose a different number of meals each week. Their "Dinner 2 Lunch" options supply creative ways to transform leftovers into new lunches! Hello Fresh definitely wins here. 

​Hello Fresh is also one of the most environmentally friendly services. The whole kits come in recyclable paper bags, and they keep the plastic to a minimum. Compared to some of the other services, this is a really nice feature. They've even partnered with GiveBackBox.com so you can ship used packaging to be donated - free! 
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Try Hello Fresh and get $40 off!
Read more of our Hello Fresh reviews HERE.

the recipe

This one came together easy peasy! Sheet pan dinners are great because you can basically just throw everything in the oven and come back to a full meal. Hooray for time savers!
1. Prep all the produce and herbs and start the oven to 450.
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Quick tip - remove stems by pulling the leaves backwards. They drop right off!
2. Start the potatoes. Remember, olive oil spray is gold!! Instead of dirtying up extra bowls and making a mess "tossing" stuff around, just hit the pan and its contents with a spray of this stuff.
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3. While the potatoes start roasting, sear the pork. This step is technically optional - you could just skip this and go straight to roasting if you need to save time, but it's really worth it. You get a nice crust on the pork, and it forms the base of what will become a pan sauce later. So do it!

Don't cook it all the way through - it will finish in the oven. While it's searing - make sure to watch it and turn every couple of minutes to get all sides - prep the sauce and the second sheet pan.
4. Prep the sauce. In a lot of meal boxes, it will tell you to add a bunch of things to a pan all at once to make a sauce - but you have to do it in a certain order and quickly to avoid splattering,  burning or over-evaporating in a hot pan. It's often easier to mix the sauce ingredients first and then dump them in later. So here, mix the chicken base, the fig jam, the vinegar and water together first so it's already ready when you are.
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5. Get the second sheet pan ready. Spray first, add green beans, spray them again. The recipe will want us to cook the shallots in the sear pan to add to the sauce, but some of around here (hand raise emoji) are definitely not onion people. So on the sheet they go, and they'll make a great bean topper for the pro-onion folks.
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Also move the pork pieces from the sear pan to the sheet pan. Spray the shallots too.
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Dang those porks look good.
6. Finish the potatoes. Toss em around and stick em back in if they aren't finished yet. If they're tender all the way through and nicely browned they are done. Scootch them together or cover to keep warm.
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7. When the second pan is finished, pull it out. USDA says pork is done at 145F. Temp it. Don't worry if it goes over a bit. Still good! I love my digital thermometer (similar here).
If it's done, set it to rest before slicing. Meanwhile, make the sauce. The vegetables should be nicely browned too.
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8. Make the sauce. Heat up the pan with the meat drippings still in it. Don't burn any bits, just make it hot. Add your pre-mixed sauce ingredients. Use a hard edged wooden spatula to dig up all the gunk from the bottom of the pan. That's the good stuff! Let it boil down until it's thick and sticky.
9. A nice serving platter looks fancy, but it's really just a short cut for the cook. Dump it all on a platter and let your fam help themselves. Cut the porks into pretty slices and dump all the sauce into a serving thingy. Gorgeous! and delicious too!
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10. EAT.
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Try Hello Fresh and get $40 off!
Read more of our Hello Fresh reviews HERE.

our rating:

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This meal was awesome! Tasty, easy, and a crowd pleaser.

our stuff:

Here's some of things we used for this recipe:
Thanks for cooking with us, and eat well!
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Hello fresh box review: August 2018

8/21/2018

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How hello fresh works

When signing up, you pick a plan depending on your dietary preferences, schedule and household size. They will deliver your HelloFresh box to your doorstep at the day of your choosing (7 days/week), free of charge. And, you are always in control, as you can pause, modify or cancel your subscription anytime. ​
Whether you are a vegetarian, on a low-calorie diet, or looking for something quick and easy, HelloFresh has recipes that you will love. The dedicated team of chefs works alongside our dietitians to create 15 new recipes each week. They have meals that meet your preferences but you also have the flexibility to select meals from your weekly menu. You can see this week's recipes before joining, and you can always see up to six weeks ahead after you become a member!​
wanna try?
​Our readers get $40 off now!

What we got in this box

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We got recipe cards and packed kits for three recipes:
1. Figgy Balsamic Pork
2. Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowls
​3. Moroccan Chicken Sausage Tangine

our box rating

MOM
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KID
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DAD
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We ranked this box pretty high, but for different reasons. Read our recipe reviews below for more. 

recipe reviews

We got recipe cards and packed kits for three recipes:
1. Figgy Balsamic Pork
2. Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowls
​3. Moroccan Chicken Sausage Tangine
wanna try?
​Our readers get $40 off now!

pros and cons of hello fresh

We LOVE the Hello Fresh YouTube channel! Each week, they post a brand new cooking video to accompany a recipe from that week's menu. Awesome! ​
The BEST part of Hello Fresh is they beat all other services on variety and choice. There are 15 recipes to choose from in the Classic Plan, six in the family plan, and three in the veggie plan. That is more choices than any other meal box service. And you're not ever locked in! You can mix and match the plans each week, and choose different numbers of servings per meal, and choose a different number of meals each week. Their "Dinner 2 Lunch" options even supply creative ways to transform leftovers into new lunches! Hello Fresh definitely wins here. 

​Hello Fresh is also one of the most environmentally friendly services. The whole kits come in recyclable paper bags, and they keep the plastic to a minimum. Compared to some of the other services, this is a really nice feature. They've even partnered with GiveBackBox.com so you can ship used items to be donated - free! 

get yours

Thanks for cooking with us, and as always, eat well! 
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Raddish box review, August 2018

8/19/2018

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ABout raddish

Raddish is a kid-friendly cooking club, culinary lesson, and mealtime solution all-in-one designed for kids and parents to cook and learn together.
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how raddish works

There is only once choice – boxes come monthly and all users receive the same items. Each month's Raddish kit features a surprise theme that generally falls into one of four categories: Seasonal Spotlights, Global Cuisine, Creative Cookery (science- or imagination-based), and Holiday Celebrations. A kit’s theme cannot be chosen in advance—that would ruin the surprise! Here’s a FREE digital sample kit so you can see what’s included.
Each monthly kit includes:
  • 3 illustrated recipe guides (see a sample)
  • 3 culinary skill cards (see a sample)
  • a creative theme project (see a sample)
  • kid-friendly tools and collectibles (see a sample) such as Table Talk cards, a culinary tool, and an iron-on Raddish patch
  • 1 free Raddish apron with the purchase of a membership (additional aprons may be purchased during checkout)
Meal Box Review readers can get $10 off a new Raddish service! Sign up here and use coupon code gpxghh
In addition, you’ll receive a grocery store shopping list inside your kit and via email. They also provide digital “Bonus Bites” recipes, videos, playlists, activities, dietary substitutions, digital lesson plans about the holiday or culture of that month’s theme (see a sample), and more! These items are always archived on the website, so you can return to any previous month’s theme activities.
The biggest difference is that Raddish does NOT include the food or any other ingredients. You do the grocery shopping – ideally with the child(ren) – using their pre-made list.
$10 off for Meal Box Review readers! Coupon code = gpxghh

what we got in this box:

Remember, we always post individual reviews of one recipe at a time - so you may need to return to read all the recipe reviews if we are still working on this box. Sign up here to get updates sent directly to your inbox!

This month the theme was TASTE OF INDIA!
The three recipes this month were:

1. Indian Naan Bread
2. Chicken Tikka Masala
3. Yellow Rice Biryani
4. Indian Lassi (mango smoothie)
Because Raddish is not a meal-delivery service, no food comes packaged in the kit. Instead we got these kid-friendly supplies and printed materials:
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what we learned:

We learned how to use garam masala! It's that secret ingredient that makes your local Indian buffet smell so good! It's one of the key ingredients in the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.

box rating:

Our rating system considers quality, value, convenience, cost, waste materials, taste, freshness, choice/variety, and family friendliness. Here's our review of this box as a whole:

MOM:

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The recipes were super-easy to shop for and make. But for Mom, the extra run and cost of the groceries is an inconvenience. Everything for these four recipes cost us about $50. We did have to buy several bottles of the spices new, so having these on hand may save around $10.

KID:

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Kid loves to cook! While she didn't really care for the chicken (she rarely does except in nugget form...), she still had a great time shopping for, cooking, and presenting these meals. Making dough from scratch, especially the kneading part was not easy for her to do on her own.
We also review each recipe separately:
1. Indian Naan Bread
2. Chicken Tikka Masala
3. Yellow Rice Biryani
4. Indian Lassi (mango smoothie)
General PROS of Raddish:
  • We love that Raddish aims to get kids involved through their fun and creative activities, videos, kid-friendly supplies and directions. Our kid can cook! She did most of the work in making all of the recipes from this box.
  • We especially liked that because they send a prep email when your package ships that we had a few days to get the ingredients from the recipe card before the kit arrived. The prep email also includes links to all of the Bonus Bites material, including at-home lesson plans, a grocery store scavenger hunt, a bonus recipe (this time it was the mango-yogurt smoothie), and other fun stuff.
  • The supplies in the box include a kid-friendly utensil, a cute patch for the apron, a couple of fun art activity instructions, high-quality recipe booklets, and little "Table Talk" cards about the monthly theme and/or recipes. It's obvious that Raddish really put a lot of work into making these not just "kid-friendly" versions of recipes but actually recipes for kids!
General CONS of Raddish:
  • Obviously, the major con of Raddish is that we still have to buy the groceries. However, this list was fairly straightforward and didn't require any trips to specialty stores.
  • The second issue we noticed takes a hit in the value category. While they offer a TON of valuable content on their website (https://www.raddishkids.com/blogs/bonus-bites), all of the online material is FREE for anyone to access - like this recipe card for DIY Dreamsicles! In fact, there is no log-in or members-only section of their website. Everything is either public, or accessible only through the email or box they send. What members pay for that the public doesn't get includes the patch, the physical supplies shown above, and expanded recipe booklets - these are well made and high-quality.

get yours:

$10 off for Meal Box Review readers! Coupon code = gpxghh
Thanks for cooking with us and remember to eat well!
0 Comments

raddish recipe - taste of india - indian naan bread

8/17/2018

1 Comment

 
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This recipe is from Raddish - August 2018 - Taste of India
See our other reviews from this box:
Chicken Tikka Masala
Yellow Rice Biryani
Mango Lassi
Meal box Review Readers get $10 off Raddish! Use coupon code GPXGHH
Bread is one of those things that humans have been making from scratch for thousands of years, but today's humans suddenly much less so. This naan recipe was so easy, required minimal ingredients, and came together in less than an hour, including rise time - and it's delicious!!
Read ALL of our Raddish Reviews HERE
We rolled and cooked each piece separately and we got a little better each time. We probably didn't knead the bread long enough, and we found that the last piece we made the thinnest turned out the best. It might be easier to do this in a stand mixer!
I'll let her tell it:
and then you roll them and butter/salt them:
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and cook them in a skillet! This is when it's ready to flip - cooked on the bottom and bubbly on top!
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YUM

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Read ALL of our Raddish Reviews HERE

modifications

Raddish provides instructions for modifications as such:
Gluten-free: Use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour and add an additional 1/4 cup milk
Vegan/Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free yogurt and dairy-free butter
Vegetarian/Egg-Free: No modifications necessary!

our rating:

For this recipe, we rated:

Mom:

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Loved it! While the shopping, prep, and cooking wasn't completely mom-free, the recipe was easy to make and cook, and the bread was delicious! This is a great side/base for the other recipes in this box, the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Yellow Rice Biryani.

KID:

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"It's just bread, mom."
Meal box Review Readers get $10 off Raddish! Use coupon code GPXGHH
Read ALL of our Raddish Reviews HERE
Thanks for cooking with us, and as always, eat well!
1 Comment

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    Hi! I'm Shannon! Thanks for cooking along with me. My story >

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