A few weeks ago, we finally tried out Blue Apron for the first time – something I’d been wanting to do for a while. I was in Houston the weekend before and didn’t have time for a full grocery shopping trip, so it was the perfect opportunity – not to mention the fact that I had a half off coupon on our first delivery.
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We chose the box for 2 people since Abbie’s really picky nowadays and we weren’t sure she would eat the meals no matter what they were. Now, here’s what we got in our first box!
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Our box came with three meals. Blue Apron lets you customize your meals to a point – a few of the meals use ingredients in common (like fresh garlic) so they group them based on that. I neglected to take a photo, but everything came neatly labeled and anything not fresh was already measured into the correct amount (2 Tbsp of butter, the Red Wine vinegar, etc). The box was shipped with giant freezer packs in it, so everything stayed nice and cold in the box even though it was outside in the summer heat for a little while. They do assume you have basics in the house like salt, pepper, and olive oil, but they send everything else! Also, the recipe cards are gorgeous, on high-quality paper, and have super-easy to follow directions – I loved the thought they definitely put into them.
Shrimp and Squid Ink Spaghetti
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When I picked the meals for this box, this was the first one I picked, and the one I was most excited about. Let me just tell you – it was my absolute favorite of the whole box. First of all, squid ink spaghetti – when am I ever going to buy that myself? I’d be too worried about if I’d like it or not. But this meal was seriously amazing. There were fresh corn and tomatoes in with the shrimp, it was super easy to make, and the squid ink in the pasta added a little something extra in terms of flavor. Thank goodness they put the amounts on the recipe card, because I will definitely make it again, even if it’s with regular spaghetti. Seriously, so good.
Lemon Chicken & Green Beans
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With this one – full disclosure – I didn’t make this dish exactly as specified. It called for roasting the two potatoes and squash as the side dish, but the day we were making this it was 99 degrees outside. There was absolutely no way I was turning the oven on when it was that hot! Instead, I just kept the produce for another day and made a quick boxed rice as our side dish. This dish was really good and flavorful as well – the chicken was skin-on, which I usually don’t buy, and that added a ton of flavor to the finished chicken. I did put a bit too much lemon juice in the sauce, but it was really good, even without the potatoes and squash.
Sweet Corn and Tinkerbell Pepper Pizza
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This dish was Chris’ favorite. We make homemade pizza quite often, but not usually in flavor combinations like these. We cooked garlic and added it to the tomato sauce, then topped the pizza with Tinkerbell peppers (baby bell peppers), fontina cheese, fresh corn, and parmesan. I wasn’t sure if I’d like a pizza not totally covered with cheese, but this was delicious – my second favorite meal of the box. I love that this pushed us to try a completely different combination of toppings on our homemade pizza.
So now the big question – was it worth it? Would I do it again? Absolutely.
I loved the convenience of having meals delivered to our doorstep, but I loved the fact that it pushed us to try new things and new flavors even more. I would have never thought to add fresh corn to a pasta dish, but I loved the crunch it added to my pasta. I don’t typically make a pan sauce for chicken or green beans, but this showed me I should, and it wasn’t too much extra effort. I loved that I didn’t have to cover a pizza in cheese to like it – it was even better with just a small amount.
Now, am I going to order a box every week? Probably not. I haven’t ordered one since this first one. I’m a big meal planner and typically base our dinners around staples I already have in the house. (I sit down every Friday night/Saturday morning to do that for the following week.) I am probably going to save this for when we need a little variety, when I know I may not have time to grocery shop and meal plan like I want to (hello, maternity leave), and when the recipes that week really catch my eye. The Blue Apron website and app are super-simple to use and allow you to look at all the options for that week’s box or skip it entirely.
All in all, I’m really glad we gave it a try, and I’ll make sure to share any future boxes we get in the future!
Note: This is NOT a sponsored post. I paid for our Blue Apron box out of our own money and they don’t even know I’m writing this – I just thought others would want to know our experience!
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