Blue Apron: Shrimp & Pasta

Tonight's Blue Apron meal was Spicy Shrimp & Bucatini Pasta with kale.

This recipe required chopping, but not as much as the potato chowder.  Though finely chopping a full bunch of kale was a workout!

The steps were easy to follow.  Estimated cook time is 15-25 minutes plus 10 minutes of prep, but it took me closer to an hour.

The end result was good but it didn't knock my socks off.  There wasn't any sauce to it.  I added a little shredded Parmesan which added a lot of flavor and really improved the dish.

Based on the two meals I've made, Blue Apron seems to rely on heat to add flavor (cayenne and red pepper flakes) whereas I prefer to add flavor with other herbs and spices.  And cheese!

Perhaps my expectations are too high, but if I'm going to spend $20 on ingredients (to feed two people) and hustle in the kitchen for an hour, I want my socks knocked off!!

Blue Apron: Potato Chowder

A family member sent me a coupon for a free Blue Apron meal kit.  I've heard a lot about meal kits and how they're popular with working moms, so I was excited to try it.

Part of Blue Apron's mission is to encourage home chefs to try new ingredients and new cooking techniques.  That should tell you a lot about their recipes.

It took me a few weeks to order my box...I needed to wait for a week when I had time to cook, and when the meals were family-friendly.  I ordered a box with three meals that would each serve two people.

My first Blue Apron meal was Potato Chowder with cheddar cheese toasts.  The estimated time required for cooking is 35-45 minutes, plus prep time.

Blue Apron sends you all of the ingredients except salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.  They also send you a step-by-step recipe with photos.

The chowder required a lot of chopping -- Blue Apron sends a whole onion, potatoes, a carrot, celery stalks, etc.  The cooking steps were not difficult except for the fact that I was making the soup and the cheese sauce at the same time.

The chowder was good but not great.  I added some of my own shredded cheese which improved it quite a bit.  I actually thought the chowder was better the next day when it had had time to thicken.

The cheese toasts were a ciabatta-type bread with a homemade spicy cheese sauce.  They were delicious!!!  (cheese and carbs is a favorite combination of mine)

Blue Apron definitely eliminates the time spent on planning and shopping.  However, the prep and cooking time take a while.  It's definitely for people who love to cook and who are a bit adventurous in their eating.

Another meal kit like Hello Fresh would be a better fit for people who want simpler meals (kid-friendly and ready in 30 minutes or less).

I priced several meal kits and they run about $10 per person per meal.  You definitely pay a premium -- it's less expensive than eating a similar meal in a restaurant, but much more expensive than doing your own planning and shopping.

I was impressed that Blue Apron has instructions for recycling all of their packing.  Or you can ship your packaging back to Blue Apron and they'll recycle it for you.  Another benefit of Blue Apron is that they only send the amount of food you will need for the recipe, so there is no waste.

Bridal Shower Food

One of my very favorite girlfriends was married this fall.  She wanted something unique, so the host planned a "Pride & Prejudice and Zombies" bridal shower.  We decided to serve tea party food.

From my kitchen:

• Pioneer Woman's French breakfast puffs - mini size
• cheesecake stuffed strawberries
• cranberry scones with orange glaze

I'm not sure which I love more -- the French breakfast puffs that taste like a cinnamon sugar cake doughnut -- or the tender, buttery scones.  I will make both recipes again!

And of course strawberries and sweetened cream cheese are always a winning combination.

In keeping with the theme, we included hatchets, eyeballs and fake fingers.  The bride loved it!

Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Peppermint bark is my favorite Christmas candy!  This year I decided to make a batch to give as gifts.

It was SO easy!  I followed this recipe that I found online.

I used one 12-oz bag of Ghirardelli dark melting wafers, one 12-oz bag of Ghirardelli white melting wafers, and crushed up candy canes (with red and green stripes) for the peppermint.

They made great gifts on their own and on treat platters.  I always stock up on Christmas gift tins at Joann's on Black Friday when they're 80% off.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Making a fresh pumpkin pie is something I've always wanted to try!  This year my son encouraged me to make one.

I bought a sugar pumpkin (also called a pie pumpkin) from Trader Joe's.  It was the perfect size for a pie.

I found a five-star recipe online.  It is not difficult but is a bit time consuming -- you remove the seeds from the pumpkin, roast it, scoop it out of the rind and puree it (I used my food processor).

I found that I needed to bake the pie longer than the recipe recommends.

Here is the result:

I really loved this pie!  The brown sugar carmelized and gave it a delicious flavor.  I may need to make one of these every year!  It was especially good with fresh whipped cream.

I couldn't wait a whole day to try the pie (as the recipe recommends) but fortunately I had leftovers.  I found that it really did taste better after a day or two.