HELLO FRESH review - The good, the bad and the ugly

Well, it's pretty clear that I don't use my pressure cooker a lot.  I'm kind of stuck with using the same recipes over and over so I haven't been adding hardly anything new here.  I have made a goal of trying 1 new pressure cooker recipe a month to expand my recipe choices.  

Meanwhile, in Sept I started getting a Hello Fresh box delivered about every 3 weeks.  I don't want to receive them any more often than that.  Every week is way to much in my opinion.  Once a month is a nice break for me.  I still have to cook the meals but it's way less planning and shopping than I normally have to do.  I will be posting my Hello Fresh reviews and various recipes that I want to save here so I can easily access them later on.

The good - I chose Hello Fresh from all the other meal delivery services because it has pretty normal meals without a lot of unusual ingredients.  HF has introduced me to a couple of really great recipes to add to my collection.  Their Sizzling Southwest Chicken is a fav because they use sweet potatoes in a savory side dish with no sugar or cinnamon in sight.  Their Adobo Sauce and Mushroom Sauce are two easy additions that I love but I haven't found an adobo sauce at the store that's comparable to what they send out.  So far I've used the Mushroom Sauce twice since the Hello Fresh box that it came in. See recipes below.

The bad - There are a couple of negatives about Hello Fresh.  My main complaint is that the portions are to small.  It's mostly ok for me but my husband wants more than a little 4-6 oz serving of meat or just a spoonful of green beans - he wants a pile of green beans and at least 8oz of meat.  For example, 2 chicken thighs for a Dinner to Lunch meal for 2 people?  It may have been enough for the dinner portion but it was NOT nearly enough for a dinner and lunch. 

Because of this I find myself supplementing the meal here and there.  For example my next box will include two meals with 6 oz of green beans each.  I will be sure to pick up a 1/2 lb of green beans to add to these meals.  One has pork chops and I will pull a package of pork chops out of the freezer so my husband can have more than one chop. 

The ugly - The next negative is actually a WARNING.  Some of the Hello Fresh menu choices are an ADDITIONAL CHARGE!!!  There is nothing in any of the HF literature about this extra charge.  Nothing on the FAQs, nothing on the meal description, not a word anywhere at all.  Even if you search on the Help page, "which meals are an extra charge" nothing comes up. You don't know a thing until you see that you've been charged an extra $10.  Watch out for the PREMIUM MEALS and the DINNER TO LUNCH labels.  I don't believe they're worth anything extra at all.  

To me the fact that they don't disclose this information even in the small print means they are trying to hide it which is dishonest and I just don't understand why they want to do that.  Imagine going into a store and getting up to the register to find that some of the items are $10 more than marked.  It's just not good business practice.  I haven't canceled... yet but I definitely think less of Hello Fresh than I did before.  

Sweet Potato, Bell Pepper and Feta Jumble - from the Sizzling Southwest Chicken meal
1 large yam or sweet potato
1 sm red bell pepper
1 sm yellow bell pepper
4 green onions
1/2 cp crumbled feta cheese
Lime juice
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450*.  Peel sweet potatoes, then cut into 1-inch cubes. Toss on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in  the oven about 15 minutes. Core and seed red and yellow bell peppers, then cut into 1-inch squares.  
Once sweet potatoes have roasted 15 minutes, remove sheet from oven and lower the heat to 350*. Give sweet potatoes a toss and push toward one side of sheet. Add bell peppers to other side of sheet. Return sheet to oven and roast until both are tender, 15 minutes more.
Once sweet potatoes and bell peppers are done, add to medium bowl along with diced green onion, feta cheese, and a squirt of lime. Season with salt, pepper, and more lime (to taste).

Hello Fresh Adobo Sauce - from the Adobo Loco Steak meal
1/2 cp diced onion
1 Tbls olive oil - optional
1/2 cp water
2 Tbls Beef Stock Concentrate
2 Tbls Adobo Sauce
1/4 cp sour cream

Ideally you'll start this in a pan where you've just seared off a couple of steaks.  In this case you could use less of the olive oil.  Add the diced onion to the pan and cook 3-4 min to soften. 

Stir in the water, beef stock concentrate and adobo sauce.  Stir until well blended and simmer until it's reduced and thickened a bit.  Stir in the sour cream and serve.  Delicious over a steak. 


Hello Fresh Mushroom Sauce - from the Mushroom Gravy Chicken over couscous meal
8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 Tbls olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbls thyme - divided
1 cp chicken stock
½ cp sour cream
2 Tbls Dijon mustard

Put the olive oil in a hot skillet and add the mushrooms, stir fry over med heat. They will release a bit of water and as soon as that water is gone, they’re done. Add the garlic and thyme and cook another 2 min. Add the chicken stock and reduce heat to med/low. Let it reduce for 5 min, remove from heat. Right before serving stir the sour cream and mustard into the mushrooms and serve.

Great with chicken and pork chops over couscous, quinoa, rice or potatoes. 
 

Italian Stuffed Peppers Awesome!

A couple of months ago I made stuffed peppers using some leftover Mexican Rice that I had.  They were AMAZING!!  A couple of days ago I decided I wanted stuffed peppers again but this time - no leftover rice - so I made it following the recipe exactly this time.  More or less exactly anyway.  I never follow a recipe right down the line exactly but I didn't change much.

They turned out really well, just as they did before.  My husband and I both loved them again.  I prefer the Mexican version, Hubs prefers the Italian version.  I'll def make them both again.  I love that this recipe tells you to cut the peppers in half.  All others I've seen tell you to just cut off the top and fill it but that makes it difficult to eat, in my opinion.

These peppers are soft but not mushy.  They still have a little body to hold up the meat/rice mixture but easily cut by a fork.  The flavor is awesome and so are the leftovers.  This would feed 4 big eaters, 6-8 normal eaters.

The recipe is below - so what did I change? First I made my own fav marinara sauce which makes probably 5-6 cups and I used every bit of it.  I used more meat and rice so I had more filling than the recipe called for so I guess that's why I needed all the sauce.  The sauce recipe isn't technically a part of the stuffed pepper recipe but I've included it below.

I used 8 oz Italian sausage and 1 lb hamburger cooked together.  I did not use fennel at all.  I used a beautiful sweet Vidalia onion.  I didn't realize I was out of long-grain rice so I made Minute Rice.  I had more meat so I made 2 cps of rice.

I went to two stores looking for a block of provolone cheese to shred but it was not meant to be.  I used shredded mozzarella instead.  I did not put bread crumbs on top and we sprinkled parmesan on top of our individual servings.

So, that's me following a recipe 'exactly'.  😉

ITALIAN STUFFED PEPPERS

4 bell peppers - red, green or yellow
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
1/2 bulb fennel, chopped (cut the bulb in half and then cut out the very center part of it, then chop the rest)
1/4 cp onion, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt & Pepper

1 cp partially cooked long grain rice
1 1/2 cps provolone cheese, shredded
3 cps marinara sauce, divided 
1/4 cp Italian bread crumbs 
1/4 cp grated parmesan cheese

Cut the tops of the bell peppers and clean out the seeds and ribs. Place upside down in a steamer and steam 5 min.  I did this in my pressure cooker.  5 min was the perfect amount of time. 

Remove the sausage from the casing and brown it in a skillet. Add the fennel, onion, parsley, salt and pepper and cook until the fennel and onion are nicely carmelized - about 10 min. 

NOTE - Cook the long grain rice about 10 min so it's only partially cooked. It will go in the pepper and finish cooking there. 

To combine: In a large bowl add the rice, provolone cheese and marinara sauce. Stir until it's all mixed together nicely. Now add the sausage and mix up again. Cut the bell peppers in half and fill with the stuffing mixture. 

Put about 1 cp of marinara sauce in the bottom of your baking pan and spread it out. Place the stuffed peppers in the baking pan. Spoon another cp or so of marinara sauce over the top of them, sprinkle with a little Italian bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese, bake in a 350* oven for 30 min.

CHUNKY MARINARA SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 small onions, rough chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoon basil

2 teaspoon parsley

2 teaspoon oregano

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian style diced tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 tablespoon white sugar

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions, 4 min.  Add the minced garlic and cook another 4 min so it all carmelized nicely.  Stir in the herbs and then add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and diced tomatoes.  Stir well to combine the flavors.  

Cover and simmer for at least 1 hr. The longer the better. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the sugar. 

Personal Notes: The sugar isn't necessary for the taste, but it isn't there for sweetness. Tomatoes contain a lot of acidity and the addition of a little sugar balances it and creates a "smoother" sauce (salt, carrots, and baking soda help as well).

Mexican Stuffed Peppers - Awesome!

Tonight I used some of the leftover Spanish Rice from last week and made the most delicious stuffed peppers that Tim or I have ever had.  As I started to make them I realized that since I was using Spanish Rice I couldn't go with the Italian flavors that my recipe called for so I started thinking how to make the flavors fit with the mexican flavors.

Not a lot of this was done in the pressure cooker but I did steam the peppers in it before stuffing them and sticking them in the oven.  After last week I wasn't sure if the stupid thing would work but it built up pressure fine and I ran a steam cycle of 3 min.  I have no idea what was wrong with it last week.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

3 large red bell peppers

1 lb hamburger

1 pkt taco seasoning

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 cp chunky salsa

2 cps Mexican rice 

2 cps shredded cheddar

Cut the peppers in half and clean them.  Place them in a steamer and steam 5 minutes.  Remove them and place them in a baking dish. 

Brown the hamburger and drain excess grease.  Stir in the taco seasoning, tomato sauce and salsa.  Add the rice an cheese, stir until it’s evenly mixed together.  Spoon this mixture into the pepper halves.  It should fill them heaping full. 

Bake them about 30 min at 350* to heat them through.  

Spanish Rice - will be better next time

I picked up some flank steak to try homemade Carne Asada.  I decided to make some Spanish Rice to go with it.  I usually start Spanish Rice with a box of Rice a Roni but I didn't have any and I didn't feel like going to the store so I decided to try making some from scratch.  I don't like Spanish Rice that is just plain rice.  I always add black beans, corn and diced tomatoes to the Rice a Roni so I wanted to do the same with this experimental homemade version.

SPANISH RICE - attempt #1
2 cps white rice
2 1/4 cps chicken broth
1 jalapeno, cleaned & diced
Dash of cayenne
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 can Bushes black beans
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes, original

I tossed every in the pot and gave it a stir.  Then I set the pressure cooker for the 10 min rice cycle.

DAMN PRESSURE COOKER!!!  It wouldn't build up any pressure and yet it acted like it did.  Before when it wouldn't build pressure it never started the cooking cycle so I knew something was wrong.  This time it started the 10 min rice cycle so I thought it was working.  When it finished I went to release the steam but there was no steam.  I checked the seal and tried again, again it started the cycle and, again, at the end there was no steam.  The rice was done by then but I don't know why it isn't working right.

Anyway, the rice was done and it was ok but just a bit bland.  Also there was way more than we need.  I wish I'd had some chili powder for it.  Next time I'm going to cut the rice in half and add chili powder, paprika and oregano.  Maybe another jalapeno or two as well.

Oh BTW, the carne asada was fabulous!!

Thai Chicken over rice - BIG HIT!!

I've found several new recipes that I'm excited to try!!  Thai Chicken, Messy Lasagna, Jamaican Oxtail with Butter Beans and Cabbage Tamales.  I found all of these recipes on allrecipes.com  They're all dishes that are prepared completely in the pressure cooker in a very short time when compared to other methods of cooking.  I plan on making one a week.  Now that Tim is home most every night I'm cooking more so I need to make use of this pressure cooker and find a way to make it helpful to me.  

Tonight's new dish is Thai Chicken over rice.  I love Thai peanut sauce but this also has a lot of coconut milk which I wasn't sure about.  Neither Tim or I like the flavor of coconuts that much so I was worried it might be awful but it was worth a try.  After all, Tim usually eats anything I make even if I hate it so it rarely goes to waste.  

Turns out it was a HUGE hit!!!  Absolutely fabulous!!  It didn't taste of coconut at all but I think that gave it a wonderful creamy texture.  The peanut flavor was there but not overpowering at all.  I think it could have used a little more heat and maybe another vegetable in the sauce.  One of the reviews on allrecipes.com suggested using red bell pepper and baby spinach which sounds quite good and I think I'll be adding that next time.  

There is no rice in this picture because I was so excited to eat it I forgot to take a picture.  By the time I finished and went to take a picture Tim had eaten all the rice.  I had only made 3 cps of rice for the two of us.  I'll make fresh rice when we eat the leftovers.

THAI CHICKEN OVER RICE

·         1 ¼  cup hot salsa

·         ½  cup chunky peanut butter

·         1 can coconut milk – shake it before you open it

·         2 tablespoons lime juice

·         1 tablespoon soy sauce

·         1 teaspoon ginger

·         3 pounds skinless boneless chicken

·         ½  cup chopped peanuts, for topping

·         ½ cup chopped cilantro, for topping

·         6 cups cooked white rice

1.    Combine the salsa, peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, and ginger in the pressure cooker.  Set on Saute to heat the mixture just enough to warm up the peanut butter so it will blend in, then turn off Saute.

2.    Trim the chicken and cut each piece into 2-3 pcs.  Put the chicken in the cooker and make sure it’s all down in the sauce. 

3.    Place the lid on the cooker and using the Chicken setting, cook until chicken is very tender and sauce has thickened, approx. 20min.

4.    To serve, spoon white rice onto your plate, place 2-3 pieces of chicken on the rice and spoon the delicious sauce over all.  Garnish with peanuts and cilantro. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/213748/franks-favorite-slow-cooker-thai-chicken/  This link shows the original recipe with slow cooker directions

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas - Success!

This was really my first time to try cooking chicken in the pressure cooker and it went really, really well.  It was nice to find something that cooked the way I wanted it to within the pre-set amount of time for that item.  None of the pre-sets have worked so far, not even the one for rice or beans so I was beginning to suspect that none of the pre-sets were worth a damn.  This was perfect tho.  I wanted to shred this chicken and as I pulled the pieces out of the pot it was falling into pieces.  Perfect!

 I've always used chicken breasts before but this time I had a big pack of chicken thighs that I picked up on the discount meat counter.  They were also skinless, boneless so I figured they would be fine.  It's possible that breasts would take a bit longer because they're so thick. When I use breasts i will cut them up into 3-4 pieces to make sure they cook in the pre-set time and to make them a bit easier to shred.

The only bad thing is that this wasn't something we could have for dinner when it came out of the pot.  I find that a lot of pressure cooker recipes are to prepare something that is used to make something else.  This isn't really what I had in mind when I got this thing.  I wanted to be able to fix quick, easy meals in it.  It's partly my fault for being to picky I suppose.  

I totally forgot to take a picture of it which is a damn shame cause it was really good.  I used the shredded chicken to make my Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas which are delicious.  I tried several chicken enchilada recipes before I found one that I really like.  I'm putting that recipe here too so they're both together.  

Mexican Shredded Chicken 

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts or 9 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 packet of Taco seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cp of water

Trim the chicken of all fat and place the chicken in a pressure cooker. Pour the whole can of diced tomatoes over the chicken. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Give it a stir, seal and use the Chicken setting on the cooker. It's 20 min on mine and the chicken came out perfect. 

Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and place in a med bowl, use 2 forks to shred the chicken. Once it's completely shredded, use a slotted spoon to get the diced tomatoes out and add to the chicken along with about 1/3 cp of the liquid This will keep the chicken moist and well seasoned.

Use this shredded chicken in any Mexican dish; enchiladas, tacos, burritoes, quesadillas, etc. I usually make it to use with my Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas.


Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

3 cps shredded or diced, see Mexican Shredded Chicken recipe
1 can Fiesta Nacho Cheese soup
1/2 cp milk
1 can enchilada sauce - divided
½ cp chunky salsa

12 corn tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese
Diced tomatoes
Sour cream

Mix soup and milk, microwave 1 min to get it warm so the soup blends better. Add half the can of enchilada sauce, and salsa. Stir about 1 cp of this soup/enchilada sauce mixture into the chicken. 

Pour the other half can of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking dish and spread it out evenly. Heat the tortillas in the microwave. Spoon some of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla then top with some shredded cheese. Roll the sides over and place it seam side down in the baking dish. 

Spoon the rest of the soup/enchilada sauce mixture over each one, spreading it out to cover as much of the tortilla as possible. Bake at *350 20-30 min until heated thru. Serve with sour cream, diced tomatoes and a little extra cheese. 

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas - Success!

This was really my first time to try cooking chicken in the pressure cooker and it went really, really well.  It was nice to find something that cooked the way I wanted it to within the pre-set amount of time for that item.  None of the pre-sets have worked so far, not even the one for rice or beans so I was beginning to suspect that none of the pre-sets were worth a damn.  This was perfect tho.  I wanted to shred this chicken and as I pulled the pieces out of the pot it was falling into pieces.  Perfect!

 I've always used chicken breasts before but this time I had a big pack of chicken thighs that I picked up on the discount meat counter.  They were also skinless, boneless so I figured they would be fine.  It's possible that breasts would take a bit longer because they're so thick. When I use breasts i will cut them up into 3-4 pieces to make sure they cook in the pre-set time and to make them a bit easier to shred.

The only bad thing is that this wasn't something we could have for dinner when it came out of the pot.  I find that a lot of pressure cooker recipes are to prepare something that is used to make something else.  This isn't really what I had in mind when I got this thing.  I wanted to be able to fix quick, easy meals in it.  It's partly my fault for being to picky I suppose.  

I totally forgot to take a picture of it which is a damn shame cause it was really good.  I used the shredded chicken to make my Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas which are delicious.  I tried several chicken enchilada recipes before I found one that I really like.  I'm putting that recipe here too so they're both together.  

Mexican Shredded Chicken 

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts or 9 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 packet of Taco seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cp of water

Trim the chicken of all fat and place the chicken in a pressure cooker. Pour the whole can of diced tomatoes over the chicken. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Give it a stir, seal and use the Chicken setting on the cooker. It's 20 min on mine and the chicken came out perfect. 

Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and place in a med bowl, use 2 forks to shred the chicken. Once it's completely shredded, use a slotted spoon to get the diced tomatoes out and add to the chicken along with about 1/3 cp of the liquid This will keep the chicken moist and well seasoned.

Use this shredded chicken in any Mexican dish; enchiladas, tacos, burritoes, quesadillas, etc. I usually make it to use with my Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas.


Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

3 cps shredded or diced, see Mexican Shredded Chicken recipe
1 can Fiesta Nacho Cheese soup
1/2 cp milk
1 can enchilada sauce - divided
½ cp chunky salsa

12 corn tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese
Diced tomatoes
Sour cream

Mix soup and milk, microwave 1 min to get it warm so the soup blends better. Add half the can of enchilada sauce, and salsa. Stir about 1 cp of this soup/enchilada sauce mixture into the chicken. 

Pour the other half can of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking dish and spread it out evenly. Heat the tortillas in the microwave. Spoon some of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla then top with some shredded cheese. Roll the sides over and place it seam side down in the baking dish. 

Spoon the rest of the soup/enchilada sauce mixture over each one, spreading it out to cover as much of the tortilla as possible. Bake at *350 20-30 min until heated thru. Serve with sour cream, diced tomatoes and a little extra cheese.