I’m not sure what’s happening to my motivation lately, but when it comes to household to-dos, I’m feeling less than enthusiastic about cooking, cleaning and keeping up with everyday tasks. Can I blame this on my third trimester? Yes?
About a month or so ago, I was feeling uninspired in the kitchen and, frankly, just plain lazy when it came to planning and preparing delicious dinners. Then I got a text from my mom that included a picture of her latest Blue Apron meal and I started salivating. I immediately ordered a Blue Apron shipment for me and Ryan, hoping a delivery of fresh ingredients and chef-inspired recipes would help break me out of my rut.
It ended up being just the kick in the pants I needed to enjoy my time in the kitchen again and that week Ryan and I sat down to three flavorful meals that we actually had fun preparing together thanks to easy-to-follow recipe instructions and creative cooking techniques. (I swear I learn something new to try in the kitchen every time I order Blue Apron!)
A little backstory about my experience with Blue Apron for those who may not know how I first discovered the service that delivers all the ingredients you need to make three gourmet-quality meals: I first heard of Blue Apron back in December 2013 when my friend Merri made us a delicious Blue Apron dinner of udon noodle soup during one of my visits to New York City. Merri signed up for Blue Apron to teach herself how to cook since she was not really comfortable in the kitchen and raved about the step-by-step instructions that came with each shipment of the meal delivery service.
After I arrived back home, I could not stop talking about Blue Apron and that inspired Ryan to give me four weeks of Blue Apron meals for Christmas that year! We now continue to order Blue Apron meals about once a month or so (we get the two-person plan that breaks down to $9.99 per person per meal with free shipping) and still have yet to make one meal we haven’t loved! We’ve also inspired my parents and two of our friends here in Charlotte to hop on the Blue Apron train.
Our Recent Blue Apron Delivery
Late last week I received my most recent Blue Apron delivery and requested a combination of vegetarian and fish/poultry dishes. The three meals we made were fantastic and, as always, incredibly flavorful thanks to farm-fresh ingredients sourced from quality suppliers and artisans.
Here’s what ended up on our menu:
We made this dish last night and thought the basmati rice was wonderful and incredibly aromatic. We made it with a blend of spices and thought the rice added so much flavor to this dish. I absolutely loved the addition of the fresh mint and cilantro, too!
Blue Apron’s vegetarian dishes are almost always our favorite and this one was no exception. After combining the peppery arugula with Parmesan, lemon zest and olive oil, we had a delicious fresh pesto on our hands to use on top of fresh fettuccine. I couldn’t get enough of this one!
This recipe incorporated pillowy Chinese steam buns that we filled with seasoned ground turkey and topped with zesty kimchi. It was a messy one, but I loved the spicy turkey and fresh veggies!
I personally love the way Blue Apron always includes recipes from a variety of cuisines so I’m constantly exposed to new flavors and spices. Recipes like the Spring Miso Ramen, Manhattan-Style Fish Chowder and Seared Salmon and Long Beans all sound amazing to me!
Blue Apron Giveaway + PBF Reader Discount
And now it’s giveaway time! One PBF reader will win a free week of Blue Apron meals for two!
To enter this giveaway, click here to head over to Blue Apron and check out what’s on the menu for this week and leave a comment below telling me which recipe you’d be most excited to create at home!
And please don’t worry if you don’t win because the first 100 readers who try Blue Apron will receive two free meals on their first order! To receive this promo, please click here to order.
Please note: This giveaway includes a week of meals for two people. Blue Apron now delivers to most of the United States. (You may see if delivery is available in your area here.) I will randomly select a winner on Friday.
Good luck!
***
Disclaimer: While this post is sponsored by Blue Apron, affiliate links are not included and I am not receiving any compensation for orders placed with Blue Apron. Though I am partnering with Blue Apron this year, Ryan and I continue to purchase Blue Apron meals on our own because we really do love the service that much! Thank you so much for your continued support surrounding sponsored posts. I truly appreciate it!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Grocery shopping with a 4 month old can be difficult, so I would love to try Blue Apron! Having everything delivered sounds fantastic! The Seared Cod with the lemon mustard vinaigrette looks delicious!
Seared Cod with Spring Veggies and Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette. I’m not comfortable cooking fish at home and would love to learn how to do it!
Seared cod! I don’t have much experience cooking fish other than baking salmon in the oven, so them guiding me through a new-to-me fish entree sounds beneficial!
Also, I am BEYOND excited to learn that Blue Apron now serves Texas! I’ve been checking their delivery area map periodically for over the past year. 🙂
Umm hoisin-glazed chicken meatballs?! Yum!!
The seared cod and hoisin chicken meatballs look so great! I have been wanting to try Blue Apron for a while now. These look great!
The Paneer & Vegetable Kati Rolls look delicious and definately outside of what i would normally cook at home!
Mmm! Everything looks so delicious! I’d want to try the baked empanadas first.
Hoisin glazed chicken meatballs sound delicious! I’d love to try!
Ahh! Either the Huevos Rancheros or the Paneer and Vegetable Kati Rolls! All about the vegetarian meals..even though I’m not one 🙂
I LOVE Indian food, but I’ve always been so intimidated to make it myself – I would totally want to try the Paneer & Vegetable Kati Rolls!
The paneer & vegetable kati rolls sound very unique and delicious!
Seared steaks and mashed potatoes looks delicious! I’d love to try that
I’ve been wanting to try blue apron for a long time…I’m a terrible cook. I’d definitely want to try the hoisin meatballs.
The steak and mashed potatoes look amazing! I have it on my to-do list to try Blue Apron – I really want to start getting better in the kitchen!
I’ve wanted to try Blue Apron for awhile, the Hoisin-Glazed Chicken Meatballs and the Huevos Rancheros sound yummy!
I would make the Paneer and Vegetable Kati rolls. I love Indian cuisine but have never had anything like this!
Everything looks delicious, but the seared steaks and mashed potatoes really stands out for me!
The seared steak and mashed potatoes looks like a plate of comfort food–YUM! I just signed up through the promo. I am super excited that Blue Apron delivers to my area (Kansas) now! I have seen your posts in the past about Blue Apron but have been bummed because there was no delivery to my area. Awesome that it’s expanded to our neck of the woods! Can’t wait to get our meals and give it a try!
Blue Apron finally delivers in my area–woohoo! I will be signing up with your free two meals, thank you for the opportunity! I would like to try the hoisen glazed chicken, YUM! I have been in a rut with cooking lately which leads to unhealthy choices. Hoping this can put a little spring in my cooking step.
The seared steak and mashed potatoes look quite delicious!
actually, everything on the menu looks awesome!!!!
I’m a big fish lover but rarely find myself making it, so that seared cod is looking pretty good!
Seared Steaks & Mashed Potatoes… yum!!!
Wow, the Paneer & Vegetable Kati Rolls look awesome!
I would love to make the paneer & vegetable kati rolls – they look so delicious and my husband and I looove Indian food!
Ahhh I love blue apron! Would love the huevos rancheros. Thanks!
The cod and meatballs look so good! Have been wanting to try this 🙂
The Paneer & Vegetable Kati Rolls look fantastic.I love Indian food & it would be fun to learn to make it at home!
The Huevos Rancheros with Salsa Verde, Radishes & Avocado looks amazing! YUM!
Ooooh the the sweet potato, broccoli, and quinoa salad looks HEAVENLY!!!
Seared Steaks & Mashed Potatoes — yum!!
I know my husband would love the seared steak with mashed potatoes, and I would love to try ANY of them! I’ve been trying to teach myself how to cook, and this seems like the perfect way! 🙂
The Fried Green Tomato Burgers look great!!
The kati rolls look amazing!
The cod looks delicious! I would love to try it.
The quinoa salad looks delicious! 🙂
The seared cod sounds fantastic!
I’ve been wanting to try this!! The Sweet Potato, Broccoli, Quinoa salad sounds amazing!
I’m drooling over the seared cod! Sounds delish!
Hosin meatballs look great- everything does!
YUM! everything looks so delicious but I would say the seared steak! I moved into an apartment with my boyfriend a few months ago and at first we had ALL the desire to cook fun new things but that is slowly but surely wearing off and this seems like the perfect fix!
The hoisin-glazed chicken meatballs looks great!
I would be most interested to try the hoisin-glazed chicken meatballs! Everything looks so fresh and delicious!
The pan seared steak and mashed potatoes looks delicious!
The hoisin glazed chicken meatballs sound yummy!
The seared steaks and mashed potatoes is what I am first drawn to, but would probably try the paneer and vegetable rolls because that is something new.
I get the Blue Apron weekly newsletter and I already made the Huevos Rancheros with ingredients from home! It was amazing! But I definitely would want to try the cod, we don’t eat fish nearly often enough.
I would love to try the seared cod recipe!
OH MY GOSH the Paneer & Vegetable Kati Rolls sound AMAZING – anything with date and chutney in the description with Paneer gets my vote! I’ve never tried blue apron before but their recipes always look AMAZING! Thanks for sharing your dishes with us.
Quinoa salad sounds amazing!