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 chicken schnitzel would be my pick!
You can put an onion in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before chopping and you should be tear free. 🙂 Just don’t forget it’s there or you won’t be able to slice through it at all!
Amazing! I’ll try this!!
My mouth is watering as I read this post, and it’s only 8 am! I am dying to try the Spiced Chicken Souvlaki, Vegetable Bibimbap & Kimchi, Creamy Lemon Linguine, and Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti, among others! I am curious to know what your favorite Blue Apron recipe has been to date!
The acorn squash risotto looks delicious! All of the vegetarian entrees look amazing!!
Cod & udon noodles sounds super! I need to make more fish at home… I never ever try!
I would love to try the miso honey chicken! I love using new ingredients and this is a perfect way to try new things with the safety of having a good recipe!
Pretzel Burgers GET IN MY BELLY!
haha! those do look amazing!
Oooo..that goat cheese butternut squash looks delicious!
The pretzel burgers look delicious!
The Trinidadian Chicken Curry looks interesting and like something I wouldn’t make myself otherwise!
They all look so good! I would want to try the Udon Noodle & Tatsoi Soup or the Garam Masala Shrimp! I love looking at the Blue Apron recipes and getting ideas for cooking at home, they have so many unique meals!
Wow, so many delicious recipes! But I think I’d go with Steak au Poivre or the Cod & Udon that you made! Yum!
I would love to try the Mexican spiced Salmon with Black rice, avocado, and orange salad!
I’d love to try the goat cheese butternut pasta looks so good!
The cauliflower cheesesteak sandwhich looks amazing… i’m salivating at my desk! haha
Goat cheese Butternut Squash pasta sounds tasty!
I’d love to try something completely different than my normal food staples, like the garam masala shrimp or the steak sandwiches and roasted carrots!! Something I would never make (because I don’t know how!) without the ingredients and recipe in front of me 🙂
The white pizza with baked eggs! Right now a homemade pizza for me is plopping some pizza sauce and mozzarella onto a tortilla… I definitely have room to up my game.
baked empanadas all the way!
I want to try the cod and udon noodles. I feel like blue apron would be great to get me out of my “cooking box.”
I’m most wanting to try the cauliflower cheesesteak!! As a vegetarian, I must say that a good philly cheesesteak is something I miss on the regular so I bet this cauliflower interpretation is pretty good based on the excellent reviews you have with Blue Apron in general! 🙂
Seared cod and udon noodles.
Is Blue Apron available to Canada?
The seared cod and udon noodles sounds so good!
Mmm lebanese lamb!
Either the Seared Cod & Udon Noodles you mentioned or the Shrimp & Pineapple Fried Rice I think although they have so many I want to try it was hard to narrow down!
I’m a big fan of anything pretzel so the pretzel burgers are getting all my attention right now! Yum!
The white pizza with baked eggs! Right now a homemade pizza for me is plopping some pizza sauce and mozzarella onto a tortilla… I definitely have room to up my game.
I’d love to win and to make the Za’atar Chicken Skewers & Mint Yogurt Sauce this just sounds too good, I must try!! how unique! I’ve heard such good things about this company 🙂
Pork and Ricotta Meatballs sounds so yummy.
The Lebanese Lamb & Beef Arayes with Roasted Broccoli & Labneh looks fabulous! But let’s be honest everything looks amazing 🙂
Omg that seared cod is calling my name. ….
Ohhhh those Baked Empanadas de Picadillo look amazing! And difficult!! I’d love for Blue Apron to prove me wrong. 😉
I’d love to try something that I wouldn’t normally try on my own. I’m thinking Za’atar Chicken Skewers & Mint Yogurt Sauce. Sounds good!
I want to try soooo many of these. Probably the Steaks au Poivre would be my first pick.
Stir fry orange shrimp….or any seafood recipe!
The Acorn Squash Risotto looks delish!
I think the pretzel burgers & white pizza with baked eggs look delicious!
Ok so I looked through the cookbook but I couldn’t stop thinking about the Chicken Schnitzel with Fingerling Potato Salad. My mouth is watering just looking at such delicious German food!
My husband & I had last week off for our February break from work & since we’re both foodies, for Valentine’s Day I thought it would be nice to order a meal kit (we used HelloFresh.) It was so much fun to cook together & we were really impressed at the meals we could make. I would love to try Blue Apron though & was eyeing the Kimchi & Barley Miso Ramen since that is nothing I would be able to make on my own!
Parmesan and Provolone Pizza please! YUM!
I just received our first week of Blue Apron yesterday! I’m excited to start making the first recipe of Trinidadian Chicken Curry w/ Coconut Grits & Collard Greens. It’s totally out of my comfort zone but I’m looking forward to branch out.
I definitely wish I could try the Triple Pork Mazemen w/ Roasted Garlic & Pea Tips. That sounds delicious!
The Mexican spiced salmon looks especially yummy.
https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/mexican-spiced-salmon-with-black-rice-avocado-orange-salad
I always love looking at the cookbook! That spicy shrimp spaghetti looks awfully good!
Chicken souvlaki! Yum!
I’m still wanting to pull the trigger on Blue Apron every time you post something about them! Maybe this will be the week 😉 I would say anything with Acorn Squash since I have no idea how to cook it!
The pretzel burger sounds fabulous I would love to try that!!
The Udon noodle soup!
As a fellow beet lover, I would love to try the fresh beet linguine! Sounds very unique but delicious!
The seared chicken and roasted acorn squash looks delish!
Every time I see the empanadas on the Blue Apron menu I fall in love. I love making authentic Mexican food, but for some reason empanadas scare me, and I think this would be the catalyst to help me get past that!