I must admit, on this rainy day, getting this box made me feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. My friends and I got a gift card for a discount on boxes in the mail (#notsponsored #notanad) and decided to try it for a few weeks and make meals together!
My address crossed out, for obvious reasons They sent some cool papers with us, stuff about Saint Patrick’s day food traditions and a recipe card holder as well!
The foil and bubble-wrapped liners contained all the meals we ordered in individually wrapped bags with everything but the proteins in the bundles.
Everything else was hiding under the gigantic ice bag, which was as long as my forearm – no joke!
I didn’t think they made ice packs this big!The salmon, chicken, and sausage needed for the recipes
All three of our meals with their proteins laid out, with recipe cards below!
I’m so excited to share these with you in the next couple weeks. I’ll be using this as meal prep and comparing how easy or hard the recipes are, based on what’s listed on the cards. If I add anything while cooking, I’ll note it here too!
Have you ever tried out HelloFresh or any other meal kit service? What did you think? Shout out in the comments down below, and stay tuned for more 🙂
This week, I made a recipe inspired by Pinterest, one posted by a blogger in 2015 named Vodka and Biscuits I have on my “Fantastically Foodie” board (Shameless plug, I know, here’s the link).
I was in the mood to use my cast iron skillet, and I like to try and use what’s already in my pantry when I can — this week, that item happened to be canned pumpkin! It’s been so dull and dreary outside I wanted a warm, feel-good dish for meal prep this week.
You can absolutely make pumpkin into a savory sauce- adding in more fall spices mixed with a little heat from the red pepper flakes or chili powder helps to balance the natural sweetness of the pumpkin
You can sub out multiple things in this recipe to better suit what you have on hand:
Vegetable broth for Chicken Broth
Sage sausage for Italian sausage
Olive oil for Canola oil
Red pepper flakes for Paprika or Chili powder
Cast iron skillet for Saute pan & Oven safe baking dish
Depending on the size of the container you use, I got about 7-8 single-serve Tupperware containers out of this for meal prep.
See the recipe we edited to make this non-dairy friendly here and let me know what you think!
Have you ever cooked with a cast-iron skillet before? Do you like using one over a saute pan or vice versa? Shout out in the comments below 😁🙌
There’s nothing that I love more than sharing food with the people I love. 💜 Whether it’s cooking for them, experimenting with new recipes, or taking them out to a new restaurant, I love making memories over a great bite – which is exactly what we did this weekend!
Tonkotsu Ramen and Spicy Soba noodles from Menkoi, Downtown Greenville, SC
The first stop on our foodie tour was to Menkoi, one of the two really great ramen places in the Greenville, SC area. There’s a great place in nearby Spartanburg, SC too called Monsoon, which makes a great Pho, but that’s a picture and story for another day. I got the Tonkotsu Ramen, a pork based broth ramen, and my friend got the Spicy Soba noodles bowl, with a yummy seafood broth.
Ropa Vieja with yuca and yellow rice at Havana Kitchen, Greenville, SC
Our next stop was a new restaurant in Greenville called Havana Kitchen.
I had never had Cuban food before so I was excited to try this one! Upon the recommendation of two of my Cuban buddies, I got the Ropa Vieja, a marinated beef dish. It surprisingly tasted a lot like a Portuguese meal that I grew up with called Cacolia (pronounced like ka-sir-la), which is a stewed beef dish with a tomato-based spicy sauce.
The Ropa Vieja here was paired with a Spanish yellow rice and garlic drizzled yucca, which was absolutely delicious. They even have salsa dancing on the weekends, will definitely have to come back for that one! 💃
Last but not least on our trip was a Greenville hot spot, Mello Mushroom, in honor of National Pizza Day (Feb. 9th)!
Kosmic Karma Pizza from Mello Mushroom, Greenville, SC Pacific Rim Pizza from Mello Mushroom, Greenville, SC
Their pizzas are a feast for not only the mouth but the eyes, and their presentation was great!
The “Kosmic Karma” pizza included feta cheese, sun-dried and Roma tomatoes, spinach, and was drizzled with a pesto swirl. The pesto was probably my favorite part, that sauce is one of my go-to’s!
The Pacific Rim was a play on the controversial (to some) ham and pineapple pizza – but with a kick – adding bacon, caramelized onions, and jalapenos to the pie most of us know and love.
So there you have it, another foodie weekend in the books. Tune in next weekend for a food truck pile up I’ve been waiting for for two weeks! 🙂
Let me tell you all something, I LOVE to meal prep. Don’t get me wrong, I love experimenting with recipes and cooking during the week, but with a full time job, kickboxing, and trying to have a social life, it just doesn’t work out all the time.
If I’m feeling really motivated to meal prep, I will make two dishes in one night, sometimes staying up until 11 pm to finish crafting my dinners/lunches for the next week.
If you can make food in bulk like this and you don’t mind eating off two dishes for a week or two, it is a huge time and money saver!! If I meal prep something in the crockpot or a big baked/sheet pan dish, it will sometimes last me two weeks from that day. Amazing to not have to go out and spend on groceries if you plan it right. This is a great tactic for busy parents needing to prep school lunches, dinners before dance recitals, soccer practices, band concerts, or just people who only have the energy to cook once a week.
So how was your weekend Foodie Friends? What are some of your favorite things to make for meal prepping? Sound out in the comments below and let me know your suggestions of recipes or places we should visit next. As always, feel free to like, comment, & share 🤗
