As you know, Ryan and I have been regularly ordering Blue Apron meals for a couple of years now and I’ve picked up a few helpful cooking tips and tricks along the way that I thought might interest you guys, too!
Below you will find a rundown of some of the tips that I find myself using most frequently!
Simple Cooking Tips To Make Meal Prep Easier
- Use a spoon to peel fresh ginger
Ginger is one of my favorite ways to enhance the flavor of everything from chicken and fish to vegetables and salad dressings. I used to gravitate toward ginger paste or ground ginger in recipes because I hated peeling fresh ginger, even though there’s no denying that fresh ginger is better. Thanks to Blue Apron, I started peeling fresh ginger with a spoon instead of a knife and was instantly amazed at how quickly the peel separates from the ginger and how much less ginger I am wasting now that I’m not failing at peeling it with a knife.
- To quickly dice an onion, cut the onion in half, lay the halves on their flat sides and make horizontal cuts almost the whole way through before making vertical cuts to finely dice the onion
This is a tip that’s probably easier to understand if you watch the video demo, but it completely changed the way I dice an onion. I feel like I dice up onions all the time (I love them in my frittatas and egg muffins!) and this tip comes in handy for me on a daily basis. It definitely saves time but I’m still waiting for the tip that takes away my tears every time I dice an onion… I can’t seem to stop the waterworks!
- To take the bite out of a raw onion, thinly slice it and soak it in water for 10 minutes
As a big-time onion lover (Ryan says onions are my “go-to” ingredient in almost all my savory recipes), I love this tip! Though I love the flavor of raw onions in salads or on sandwiches, I do not always love the strong bite that comes along with them. By soaking the onion slices in water for 10 minutes (or longer), a lot of the strong bite is magically gone but the delicious onion flavor remains.
- On a similar note, take the bite out of shallots by soaking them in vinegar or water
Raw shallots add a delicious flavor and crunch to salad dressings and sandwiches but the bitter flavor can be off-putting. By soaking chopped shallots in vinegar (or water), the sharp flavor is softened but the crunch and tang remain.
- To get the flavor from a jalapeño without all of the spice, remove the seeds and the membrane before slicing or dicing
I am such a baby when it comes to spicy food, but in the same breath, I really like the flavor of hot peppers. It’s almost like I love the first bite of a spicy dish before the spice really hits me and then I can’t take it anymore. A tip I learned from Blue Apron has saved me when it comes to jalapeños! When you slice a jalapeño, if you remove all the seeds and the inner fleshy-membrane, you remove a lot of the spice! You’re essentially left with the smooth peel which still has a lot of flavor without a ton of heat. (You may see a video tutorial of this tip here.)
- When slicing into a beet, avoid dying your cutting board by placing a paper towel on top to protect the wood from the intense color
- Toast the bread of a grilled cheese sandwich before cooking
I’m not sure why I never thought about this before but it’s a tip that really does make a difference when it comes to achieving a perfectly crispy grilled cheese sandwich! By lightly toasting your bread before grilling, your sandwich is also less likely to become soggy from all the fillings you pile inside.
Our Most Recent Blue Apron Delivery
Though picking up new helpful cooking tips and tricks is an added benefit to receiving regular Blue Apron meal deliveries, the food is obviously what keeps us coming back again and again.
Ryan and I typically select the two-person plan, though there is a four-person family plan available as well, and receive all of the ingredients we need to make fresh, chef-designed recipes at home. One of the meals in our most recent box claimed a spot on my “Favorite Blue Apron Meals Of All Time” list.
The Seared Cod and Udon Noodles with Cabbage Shiitake Mushroom Broth was so unbelievably flavorful that Ryan and I both said it could easily be served in a high-end restaurant and we’d happily order it over and over again.
It was the perfect comfort food to enjoy on a chilly night in Charlotte and we both could not stop raving about it.
Up next was Chicken Schnitzel with Fingerling Potato Salad, which I initially wasn’t overly excited to make since I am not a fan of potato salad.
I was pleasantly surprised to find myself actually enjoying this potato salad and I’m thinking the lack of mayonnaise in this potato salad and mustard and shallot-based marinade had me singing a different tune. (The potato salad was also served warm which I think probably made a big difference as well. Something about cold potatoes doesn’t appeal to me.)
The third dish we made was another hit in our house and I had a feeling it would be since I absolutely LOVE beets.
The Center Cut Pork Chops with a Warm Beet, Carrot and Walnut Salad made the perfect early Sunday evening dinner. The buttery thyme flavor of the seasoned pork added so much to the earthy warm carrot and beet salad and there definitely were not any leftovers in our house after we made this one!
Blue Apron Giveaway + Discount Offer
Blue Apron is offering the first 100 PBF readers two free meals on their first Blue Apron order. Simply click here to redeem!
Additionally, one PBF reader will win a week of FREE Blue Apron meals for two! Woop!
To enter this giveaway, simply click over to the Blue Apron cookbook, browse around and select your favorite recipe before leaving a comment on this blog post telling me which recipe appeals most to you.
I will randomly select a winner next Friday.
Good luck!
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Disclaimer: This blog post is sponsored by Blue Apron. Thank you very much for your continued support!
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The catfish meneuniere sounds divine
Mmm! The Fontina and preserved lemon grilled cheese sandwiches look like a delicious twist on a comfort food favorite!
The goat cheese and butternut squash pasta sounds wonderful.
The spinach and ricotta calzones look delicious!
Udon Noodle & Tatsoi Soup looks so yummy. It is something I would definitely try at a restaurant, so I would love to try it at home!
Beet linguine for the win!
goat cheese and butternut squash pastas!
Seared steakhouse salmon or the baked empanadas.
The goat cheese and butternut squash pasta sounds unbelievable – what a delicious combo!!!
I’ve been wanting to try Blue Apron! The acorn squash risotto sounds delicious!
Mexican spiced salmon looks yummy!
I grew up in the south, so growing up I only learned to make super traditional dishes. Over the last couple of years I have been trying to expand my cooking into other cuisines. This seems like a great way to do just that! I would love to try the chicken souvlaki or any of the ramen recipes.
I shouldn’t be looking at this while hungry.. haha. The catfish meuniere looks delish!
I would say the Hoisin-Glazed Roast Pork. I have recently been introduced to Hoisin sauce and am in LOVE!
Italian Meatball Soup!
The Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash Pasta looks delish! Im always looking for more vegetarian recipes!
The Trinidadian Chicken Curry is something I would never make at home so I’d love to learn how to cook it!
The Garam Masal Shrimp looks tasty! Love the onion cutting tip/video.
The spiced chicken souvlaki!
The Trinidadian chicken curry looks delish! I’ve been wanting to try Blue Apron.
Steaks au poivre or goat cheese butternut squash pasta – these are something I’d never make for myself at home!
fontina and preserved lemon grill cheese sandwiches!
The sweet and sour cod sounds delish to me!
Yum chicken curry anything!
the goat cheese butternut squash pasta!!
I’d like to make the vegetable bibimbap!
I’d totally try the Hominy & Poblano Pepper Pozole!! I was just in El Paso, TX this past weekend and had the most amazing pozole and want more right now!!
Must try this looks amazing – pretzel burgers and the steaks au p look so delicious
Miso-Honey Chicken! Everything looks so good.
Maybe because it’s so cold today, but the Spinach, Parmesan & Parsnip Risotto sounds delicious!!!
mexican spiced salmon 🙂
Yummmm. Their Fontina & Preserved Lemon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches look bomb!
I couldn’t choose just one as they all looked delicious! I have never had salmon so one of those dishes would be yummy try for the first time so I wouldn’t mess it up! Thanks for the giveaway!
Beef with fingerling potatoes and sautéed kale sounds like a win, win, WIN! ??
All the recipes look amazing! I’d love to try the acorn squash tempura tacos
The moo shoo vegetables meal sounds delicious!!
Would love to try the Goat Cheese Butternut Squash Pasta!
spicy shrimp spaghetti sounds SO good and unique!
The Goat Cheese & Butternut Squash Pasta sounds delicious! I’ve been wanting to try Blue Apron…I hope I win!
Pretzel burger! Yummo!
Fontina & Preserved Lemon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches is the recipe that I am most interested in.
Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash Pasta looks amazing!!
Garam Masala Shrimp!
The seared cod and udon noodles look great!
Mexican spiced salmon FTW!
Lamb & Beef Tagine sounds delicious! We just tried Blue Apron this last week and were impressed by the quality of the food. We tend to have rather large dinners, and like leftovers for lunch, so I was a bit disappointed by the portion size.
The Korean Tteok & Spicy Pork “Ragù” with Baby Bok Choy looks so interesting and delicious! I would never attempt that on my own!
I’d love to try the quinoa and black bean burgers with sweet potato fries!
Garam Masala Shrimp!
Definitely the Cacciatore-Style Baked Eggs. Ever since I saw it on your blog it has been on my mind!