The first couple times we tried Blue Apron we ordered vegetarian options and really liked the meals, but last week, we decided to order three meals with meat. We eat very little meat since moving to NYC, partly because quality meat is expensive in the city and also because our schedules are so irregular and we don’t want to waste meat (or food for that matter) by letting it sit in the fridge too long. So this time, we ordered one shrimp, one beef, and one chicken dish. Here’s a look…
The three Blue Apron meals we got were the Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup with lemongrass and red curry, Pulled Chicken Tacos with jicama, avocados and cilantro salad, and Beef Bolognese with fresh pappardelle pasta and Brussels sprouts. We cooked the Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup first (Blue Apron recommends cooking meals with seafood first to avoid spoiling), which ended up being Dan’s favorite of the three meals. There were plenty of shrimp for two people and the serving size was just right. I’m not a big fan of coconut in savory dishes, but the coconut broth in this recipe was subtle and tasty. This soup has a spicy kick to it; if you like spicy seafood recipes this one is for you.
Next, we tried the tacos and raw jicama salad. The chicken in this recipe also had a kick to it but the cool, citrusy salad complimented the spiciness. For my last taco, I topped the chicken with salad and wished I did that for all my tacos. It was great! Jicama, in case you don’t know, is a large tuberous root from Mexico and South America and looks very similar to a potato. The texture is also similar to a potato and it tastes like a cross between a potato and an apple. I’m not sure that I’d ever had jicama before this meal, but I would love to start cooking with it (any jicama recipe suggestions?). The jicama salad was so good.
Last night, we made the beef bolognese. This was my favorite of the three meals. It was a quick and easy recipe and the largest amount of food of any Blue Apron meal we’ve tried (if we weren’t starving there would’ve been leftovers which has never happened for us with a Blue Apron meal). The fresh pasta was so yummy, and the addition of Brussels sprouts to the recipe was also really tasty. I’d definitely make this dish again on my own. (The recipe calls for the leaves of the Brussels sprouts, so instead of throwing out the extra, I quartered them, seasoned with a small clove of minced garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper and put them in the fridge for lunch the next day.)
You can find out more about how Blue Apron meals works here, and also have a look at all their recipes here. If you use Blue Apron, I’m curious: What are your favorite recipes? My all time favorite Blue Apron recipe is the Spring Root Vegetable Casserole that we had last summer.
Do you use Blue Apron or another food delivery service? Do you like it? It’s a great way to try new recipes and foods that you might not otherwise reach for in the grocery store. We find it very convenient during busy weeks as well.
This post is NOT sponsored by Blue Apron. We really like the service and like sharing with our readers what we discover on a daily basis–and we hope you like it too! Also, we gifted Blue Apron meals, which is a fantastic gift!