Tonight we are reviewing HelloFresh's Balsamic Fig Chicken.  After making this, I realized I'd ordered it once before--this one is good, and in the "lower calorie" section.  It's a nice light meal--good for a summer evening.  I really liked the sauce--considering making the another time for a non-Hello Fresh recipe.  Speaking of which, did you know that HelloFresh publishes their recipes online?  So really, you could make most of these on your own.  Here's the link to this recipe:

https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/balsamic-fig-chicken-5f15d8dd85d2f83bdf3b9ac5?q=balsamic+fig

​I pretty much followed this exactly, only I used about half of the amount of rosemary.  My husband actually hates rosemary--surprised he did not notice it had some in the sauce...he is normally hyper-sensitive about that kind of thing.

This meal was very easy to make, and took about 30 minutes from start to finish.  Not super high on our ratings scale, but definitely good.

Ratings:
Me: 7.75
Husband: 7.5
Daughter: 6 (she did not care for the mixed greens--she said they didn't taste very fresh)
Son: 6 (again, not a fan of the mixed greens)

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Tonight we are reviewing HelloFresh's stuffed chili meal. OK, I'll admit, I saved this one as our very last HelloFresh dinner for the week.  For some reason, it just sounded like it would be a ho-hum kind of meal.  Fortunately, I was wrong--we loved it!

So, this meal was supposed to look like this (according to the Hello Fresh instructions):

You can see my meal looks almost nothing like this.  The problem is that the poblanos that were included in my meal were about half the size of the ones shown in their instructions.  Here's what their peppers looked like (keep in mind that this is only 2 servings, and mine is 4):

And here is what mine looked like--twice as many, and on my smallest cookie sheet:

There is no way I could have stuffed these with the ingredients that this recipe made.  So, I improvised and sliced up the poblanos and made a skillet, instead. 

After adding the sliced peppers to the "stuffing" ingredients, I just sprinkled the cheese on top and covered it for a few minutes until it melted.  Delicious!  My husband and I agreed that this meal would be great served with rice.  We really liked the flavor, and although this meal said it was "medium" in difficulty, I thought it was pretty easy to prepare.

Bottom line, this is one of the better meals we've had--I would recommend!

Including a link to the recipe on the HelloFresh site, because I am definitely going to try and recreate this on my own again!  Give it a try!
www.hellofresh.com/recipes/pork-chili-n-cheese-stuffed-poblanos-5f08c5a4e5dad52a9d61d3a6/

Ratings:
me: 8.75
Husband: 8.75 or 9
Son: 7 (don't put too much stock in his rating--this is high for him,  considering it was served with pico and had poblanos as a key ingredient!)
(my daughter was at a friend's house tonight) - Update: she had the leftovers for lunch and says this one is a 9!

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So, if there is ONE thing that I use almost every time I make a HelloFresh meal (or really, any other meal, for that matter), it's got to be this wooded salt and pepper cellar I bought on Amazon.  It sits on my counter next to the stove at all times:

I wanted a wooden one like I'd seen on a cooking show, and this one had a 5 star rating (with a ton of reviews).  It comes in so handy, and it looks great on the counter.  If you are in the market--try it--you won't regret it!

Tonight's HelloFresh review is the Caesar Crunch Chicken with Parmesan Frico Roasted Veggies.  This is one of the lower calorie options, at 540 calories per serving.  I know I've mentioned this before, but I am generally pretty health conscious, and I have my deliveries defaulted to the "lower calorie" options.  Some weeks have more meals in that category that appeal to me than others, and this week was one of those weeks where only a few things looked good.

I'll admit, I wasn't super excited about this meal, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The chicken was tender, and the whole meal was very easy to make.  A little chopping at the beginning, but then it cooked in the oven most of the time--this would be great on a busy weeknight.

My son (the picky eater!) gave this one his thumbs up, and even ate the vegetables without complaining.  Success!

Link to the recipe on the HelloFresh site:
www.hellofresh.com/recipes/caesar-crunch-chicken-5f08bcf71579d15d2818b811/

Ratings:
Me: 7
Husband: 7
Son: 7.5
(my daughter was not home for dinner tonight)

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Tonight we are reviewing quesadillas by HelloFresh!  This meal was the quickest HelloFresh meal I've ever made--the entire dinner took about 15 minutes from start to finish.  These quesadillas were packed with chicken, and I even had a few leftover pieces for the dog.  :-) 

The only thing I would note on this one is to watch the broiler!  I made these in two batches, and only broiled them for about 2.5 minutes--you can see from the photo that they were starting to burn.  I turned the temperature down on the second batch, and they turned out perfectly.

We all enjoyed this one--it's a very kid-friendly meal--and I would order it again.

Ratings:
me: 7.5
Husband: 7.75
Daughter: 8
Son: 8

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Tonight my daughter made us HelloFresh's Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops with Green Beans & Thyme-Roasted Potatoes.  She said this one was pretty easy and actually fit within the time guidelines listed on the card--that rarely happens for her!

She did a great job cooking this one, and I thought the meal turned out really well.  Her cooking skills have vastly improved since she started making HelloFresh meals once or twice a week, and that's been nice to see.

We are generally fairly health conscious (at least I am), and so the meals I pick are generally in the "lower calorie" category.  My husband thinks that he would probably prefer some of the higher calorie menu options, but I can't bring myself to do it.  In any event, this is one of the lower calorie options--it was good, but it tasted like a healthier option.  (Personally, I prefer this, but you may not.)

I thought the cherry sauce was excellent and the shallots gave it a nice flavor.  My son (my picky eater!) rated this one lower--it wasn't his favorite, but he ate it.  The rest of us liked it, but I can't say we RAVED about it.  I would order it again, but there are others I would rate ahead of this one.

Ratings:
Me: 7
Husband: 7.5
Daughter: 7
Son: 4 (not sure what his problem was!)

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Tonight we had HelloFresh's Coconut Curry Chicken with Kale over Basmati Rice.  Not going to lie, this one was not a huge hit at our house.  Normally I am a big fan of Indian food, and this one looked like something I'd enjoy.  Let's just say we've had dozens of HelloFresh meals, and this one rated the worst.  In my opinion, it wasn't horrible, but my son actually rated it a 4--that has never happened.

The prep on this one was easy, and didn't take more than 30 minutes from start to finish.

I think a big downfall for us on this one was the kale--we thought it had way too much and overpowered the meal.  If I were to make this again, I would have eliminated the kale completely, and I think it would have been really good.   The sauce had great flavor, and tastes similar to something I've made from scratch before.

So close on this one, but I would not recommend (unless you get rid of the kale!).

Ratings:
Me: 6.5
Husband: 6
Daughter: 5.5
Son: 4

Tonight we reviewed HelloFresh Chicken Stir-Fry Tacos!  Cut to the chase--this one was a hit!  Easy to pull together, and the whole family loved it!!

This one would be great on a weeknight where you are short on time--other than grating carrots, not much to do here.  (I should have used the food processor for that part, and the preparation would have been a cinch!)  Not sure why I've never thought of putting crispy onions on tacos before, but we loved it--gave the tacos a nice crunch and a more complex flavor.  I'll definitely try that on future recipes I make on my own.

The slaw made about twice as much as we needed--I ended up tossing about half of it.  I guess you are supposed to eat this on the side?  I'm the only one in the family who will eat slaw as a side dish, so we are probably the wrong audience.

In any event, these tacos were a winner!

Ratings:
Me: 8.75
Husband: 8.75 or 9...he couldn't decide
Kids: both a 9

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Tonight's meal was HelloFresh's Cheesy Smothered Mushroom Chicken.  This one tasted like comfort food to me--like a meal my Grandmother would have made...but in a good way!  Roasted carrots are just OK in my book, and the potatoes were fine.  The chicken was very good and I liked the sauce, though.  

This meal was fairly labor intensive, and took a solid 45 minutes--cooking and chopping the entire time.  One tip if you do order this one...ignore the directions and cook the potatoes first, rather than the carrots.  The potatoes took longer to boil/cook, and ended up holding up the meal.

My kids were both at friends' houses for dinner, so we couldn't get their input, but we both rated this one a 7.5.  It was good, but I am on the fence about whether or not I would order it again.  To me, it tasted more like a meal you would have on a cold winter day, and not when its 100 degrees outside in August,  I might feel differently if I'd ordered this in November.  But, it was a nice meal overall.

Ratings:
7.5


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