Home Chef - Subscription Meal Box

There are so many meal planning boxes out there, it's hard to figure out which company is best for you. Do you go with the boxes you see advertised on tv all of the time, like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron? Do you try a different one like Plated, Peach Dish or Green Chef? If you don't like to do any prep, there's always Terra's Kitchen. Are their recipes any good? Is my husband going to eat it? In my case, probably not for this last one; he doesn't like to try new things in case he doesn't like it and it becomes a waste of food. (Household Tip: When you have three dogs, there's no such thing as wasted food, unless it's something they can't eat)

I'd toyed with the idea of subscribing to a box just to see if I can get some new dinner ideas. I know how to cook, I just get bored. A couple of weeks ago I saw some delicious looking food pictures posted by a dog parent friend on FB. I asked if he subscribed to a box, and he told me he did, one called Home Chef. I wasn't at all familiar with this box, but I looked it up, thought it sounded decent, and asked if he had a referral link. It wasn't too expensive, so I signed up, and my first box was delivered today!

The food is very well packed, with insulation and cooling packs. (Their brochure says that the packaging and containers are all recyclable, even the ice packs). The meat was packaged separately from the other meal ingredients, surrounded by additional cooling packs.

You get a binder with an information sheet on basic storage and preparation. You also get full page sized recipe cards for each meal in your order, pre-hole punched so that you can keep them in your binder.

Here's where it got a little weird, though. When I signed up, my two pre-selected meals were chicken with green peppercorn sauce and truffled three cheese flatbread. I added on patio bbq steak sandwich because it looked good, like something the husband would enjoy.

They didn't include the meal kit for the three cheese flatbread. They sent two meal kits for the green peppercorn chicken. Unfortunately, they didn't bother sending two packets of chicken breast. So I have a second bag of veggies and fixings. I immediately sent them an email letting them know about this mistake. I've gotten back an automatic response email, but no one has contacted me yet.

Here are the ingredients they sent for the bbq steak sandwich.The produce looks very fresh, the rolls are reasonably soft. Lots of herbs and cheese. The box ingredients are listed on the recipe card, and they also let you know what you'll need from your kitchen.

In Your Box:
.9 oz butter
2 ears of corn
1 red onion
5 parsley sprigs
2 hoagie rolls
2 flat iron steaks
3 oz cheddar cheese slices
1 T dark chili powder
3 oz bbq sauce
1 oz baby arugula

Since it's still nice and hot outside, I'll be grilling tonight. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Have you subscribed to a recipe box? Which one did you choose, and what did you think?

Bang Bang Sauce. What else would be so appropriate for the Fourth Of July.

I have to admit, I have never been to Bonefish Grill and had never heard of "Bang Bang Shrimp" until Martinus, who I met at Fitbloggin 12, posted a picture of it on Facebook the other day. It. Looked. Delicious. The more I researched it the more I understood that it practically has a cult following. Fried shrimp, crunchy greens, spicy sweet sauce. What's not to love. I do love fried shrimp, but I knew I had been making less than stellar wine um, food choices this week, so I wasn't looking to duplicate their recipe exactly. I had a big bag of defrosted shrimp in my fridge that I was planning on cooking up on The 4th, so I decided to make a leaner grilled version of Bang Bang Shrimp. Delicious, if I do say so myself. Thank you, Martinus, for the idea.





 

Bang Bang Grilled Shrimp

1 lb large shrimp/prawns, cleaned and shelled
1 T garlic powder
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t olive oil

Combine the above ingredients in a bowl and let marinate until you're ready to put the prawns on skewers.

Bang Bang Sauce

1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat free mayonnaise
~ 1/4 Mae Ploy (sweet chili sauce)
1-2 T Sriracha sauce (to taste - this stuff is hot!)
1 t rice wine vinegar

Mix all together until smooth. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

If you're grilling, thread the shrimp on skewers and grill over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side, or until they're opaque. You can definitely broil in the oven or cook the shrimp on the stove. I have leftover shrimp in the fridge that I'm planning on cooking up for lunch and having over salad greens with more sauce drizzled on top. The sauce was delicious on my grilled steak, too.

Enjoy!

Kyra

Cook At Home Challenge - week 2 update

It's been fun trying new recipes this week as part of Kenlie's Cook At Home Challenge. This week I've made the following:

 

Grilled chicken and black bean quesadilla, made with reduced fat pepperjack cheese and reduced fat sour cream



  

Pork satay with cucumber salad and spicy peanut dipping sauce made with PB2 - awesome! (Please note that the husband got breaded pork cutlet and green beans because it was Doggy-Father's Day and that's what he wanted! He did try mine, though, and liked it.)

This is the potato torte with romesco sauce from one of the Weight Watchers cookbooks. Eh. It was a waste of the last of my smoked paprika. The cooking time on this recipe were outrageously off and it took forever for the egg beaters to set and cook. I had to cut it in half and flip over so that it was fully cooked. It did not look anything like the book picture, either. On the good side, the potatoes, herbs and tomatoes were all home grown.

I don't have pictures (well I do, but my non-phone camera has grown legs and walked away) of the awesome mixed berry dutch baby that I made on Saturday morning or the grilled salmon that I cooked last night. The dutch baby is from the Weight Watchers Power Foods cookbook and is so good.

Tonight I'm planning on grilling turkey tenderloins that I have marinating in soy, ginger and garlic marinade.

Summertime... and the grilling is easy

It's been a busy weekend, with a lot of eating out (mostly healthy!), running around (literally - I did my 3rd half marathon on Sunday) and resting. Last night the weather held out and I grilled Mexican style chicken and corn on the cob. Delicious! (please note: my chicken is the one without the skin - The Aussie loves his with, but I was being healthy)

Mexican Style Chicken

4 chicken thighs (with or without skin) or pieces of your choice
1 t coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
1 t cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1 T orange juice concentrate
1/4 c thinly sliced scallions
2 T agave syrup
1 T fresh thyme
3 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, minced
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t True Lime

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Place chicken pieces in a sealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Close bag and smoosh the marinade all over the chicken. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

I grilled this, using the indirect heat method. Cook for about an hour, or until chicken near bone is no longer pink and the temperature is at least 180 degrees. I am sure this would be fantastic baked, too!