HelloFresh Sub Box - Country-Style Fried Steak with Garlicky Corn and Onion-Gravy (3/3)

This recipe was interesting. I wouldn't have called it really Country-Style but it was alright. I also made Green Beans on the sides since I was trying to use up the leftovers from the other meal I didn't make. Needless to say, there were a lot of leftovers from this meal. The Picky Eater (PE) I live with doesn't eat either of these sides so the photo is of two portions. 

The thing about this Chicken-Fried Steak was that it didn't seem to have much flavour. I think true southern-fried steak has more herbs and spices in the breadcrumbs. It really just seemed like this was a basic Shake N Bake type thing. (Shake N Bake is great, don't get me wrong, but in a Subscription box, you expect a little more.) I also think the Gravy is more of a cream-based (they sent sour cream but I felt that would be better for the potatoes and PE wouldn't have had any of the sauce if it had sour cream in it). And I think that would have worked better for this dish. 

HelloFresh Sub Box - (Not so) Turkey Milanese with Pesto Greens and Creamy Potatoes (1&2/3)

On December 16th, 2019, I planned on making this Turkey recipe. I want to make clear that this was a Monday, the day I get the food delivered. The Turkey was rotten. I had to think on my feet so I took the Chicken from the other meal and used that tonight. And I think it was a good call. 

The seasoning for this Turkey was Italian seasoning mix (I added that to breadcrumbs because that's how we like our chicken). I found the Italian Seasoning would have been too overpowering for Turkey. It almost ways too much for the Chicken! The sides weren't really impressive. The Pesto Greens were just Pesto and Green Beans. It was okay but nothing beyond. The potatoes were also nothing special. They called for just butter but I added my own Sour Cream to them. 

HelloFresh Subscription Box - Week 7

This week was an interesting week (I made these meals the week of the 16th). We live away from our family and we were heading home for the holidays this week. So we really didn't do groceries. HelloFresh was bringing us 3 meals and we had plans one night so we should have been fine. Spoiler alert, we were wrong. We had another rotten meat package and we seriously started thinking about canceling after this. This week we ordered the Turkey Milanese with Pesto Greens and Creamy Potatoes, the Country-Style Fried Steak with Garlicky Corn and Onion-Gravy, and Pan-Seared Chicken with Smashed Potatoes, Roasted Green Beans and Rosemary Pan Sauce. Unfortunately, we only got to try two of these. 

HelloFresh Sub Box - Mediterranean Falafel Bowl (3/3)

I was alone for this recipe so what you see is two servings. I was a little skeptical at first I must admit. From the outside, it just looked like a salad. And I really didn't think a salad with no meat would be filling enough for a dinner meal. I must say I was wrong. I don't know if exactly half filled me, but I think it would definitely be enough per person. You may want a little something on the side like bread or buns or something but you really don't miss the meat. (I made this recipe on December 13th, 2019.) 

There were a lot of elements to this so there was a lot of work to it but it wasn't anything too difficult and well worth it. The first step was to make the Freekeh. (Freekeh is a grain that is made from durum wheat. It seemed to act and cook like a rice so I would treat it similarly.) After that, I had to make the Za'atar Carrots (this was simply tossing the sliced Carrots with oil and the seasoning they sent. While everything was cooking I made the salad, they really seemed to stick to a Greek Style Salad and interchanged lettuce for Kale. The dressing was also very easy, it was just Lemon Juice, Oil and Sugar. This one I didn't mind so much (I didn't use sugar) because the lemon really complimented the flavours. 

Making the Salad was really the most work I had to do. Once everything was mixed, I just had to add the cooked carrots and falafels and drizzle the garlic-mayo over it. It was really simple and it came together quickly. Again this is one that didn't take many dishes or pans and stuff so that is a plus.

HelloFresh Sub Box - Pan-Seared Steak with Potato and Sweet Pepper Hash (2/3)

I am just going to come out and say it, this meal didn't impress me much. (It wasn't a rocket scientist or Brad Pitt, which is pretty damn impressive.) I found it all a little bland and yet I just didn't feel like everything mixed real well. I think the concept may have been a good one but it really didn't come together well with this recipe. I made this dish on December 10th, 2019.

I really can't say anything bad about the Steak. Steak is steak, it is usually pretty good. However, this Potato Hash thing wasn't anything to write home about. It was just roasted potatoes and vegetables. And to be honest with you they had no flavour. They sent Rosemary for the Hash and I really don't think that worked. I find that though fresh is usually best when you are cooking something and hoping for the flavour, dried herbs work better. Fresh herbs (in my unprofessional opinion), are more for flavour after cooking or to infuse an oil with. It isn't exactly a pop of flavour when cooking just like that. I think all-around a spice mix would have been better. Probably the same spices you would put on a steak that way they could meld together. (This steak was only seasoned with Salt and Pepper.) I also didn't like the Au Jus. In theory, it would have been for both the steak and the Hash, but it was really overpowering for everything and there really wasn't that much. I would definitely try a different "sauce" in this case. 

HelloFresh Sub Box - Chicken Yakitori-Style Bowl (1/3)

Today I made this recipe for myself basically. The Picky Eater (PE) that I live with only had the chicken from this box, so what you see in the photos is all the other ingredients (two servings). This one really seemed odd to me, maybe it is because I am not familiar with Japanese food, but I found it wasn't really for me. 

Again, they sent rice that I am not familiar with. I followed the instructions but it still wasn't the greatest. I also don't like Ginger so I didn't add that to this dish. (This was just a personal preference, and it may be why I found the flavours not as strong as it could be.) I did enjoy that everything was fried all in one pan, that was really great and a nice change from some of these recipes. I didn't find the sauce was enough though. I added more sauce myself and I found the chicken wasn't flavourful enough. (Maybe a sauce to cook in or a rub of some sort would have been better.) Overall, it was good, once I added the Soya Sauce I found it better, maybe I just like a lot of Soya Sauce. I liked the Edamame which was a surprise to me. I don't think I would make it again but it was a good meal and I wasn't disappointed by it. 

HelloFresh Subscription Box Week 6

This week I put that Chicken behind me. I think you can give a company one pass. Maybe I waited too long to make it (even though they say it should last the week), or maybe it sat on my front porch for too long. Either way, I chalked it up to life and focused on this week. We picked Chicken Yakitori-Style Bowl with Green Onion Rice and Edamame, Mediterranean Falafel Bowl with Kale Freekeh Tabbouleh and Za'atar Carrots, Pan-Seared Steak with Potato and Sweet Pepper Hash. The Picky Eater I lived with won't really eat any of these completely, but one night he won't be home, and the other nights he will just eat the meat with a different side of his choice.

HelloFresh Sub Box - Cajun-Spiced Chicken Burger with DIY Dill Mayo (3/3)

On December 6th, 2019 I made this recipe, finally. I had to buy the Chicken for this because I threw out the one that came with it. I did complain to HelloFresh about it and really didn't get a reply. So I just used Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast. I must admit one thing before continuing. They sent a spice chart and I did not read it. So I did not put as much spice as I probably should have. That is one of the great things is you can season to your liking. Unfortunately, I thought I had put a lot and really I had not. 

The sandwich was delicious. As I said I didn't put enough spice so it didn't taste much like Cajun, which is completely my fault, but it was delicious. The buns were actually the same ones they sent for the hamburger. I wonder if that is just their go-to bun. They sent Tomatoes to add to it and Greens, along with their Dill Mayo. The Dill Mayo was nothing fancy, just chopped up Dill in some Mayonnaise, but it was good.  The Picky Eater (PE) I live with doesn't like Greens so there was even more than intended for a Salad. 

I really wasn't impressed with this salad. First of all, it was just Greens and Tomatoes, a little boring. And the salad dressing they had me make wasn't that great in my opinion. Which maybe my karma. All along, I have been saying, "I would prefer honey instead of always being asked to add sugar." Well, this time they listened, but I really didn't like the vinegar they sent. I found the Red Wine Vinegar was too strong, especially for such a plain salad. 

HelloFresh Sub Box - Pan-Seared Steak au Jus with Warm Potato and Green Pea Salad (2/3)

I am going to start by saying I made this meal on December 4th, 2019. I had expected to make the Chicken meal we had ordered and the Chicken smelled disgusting. It smelled like can Salmon, and the Picky Eater I lived with agreed, it just smelled awful. So we had to throw that out and go to the next one. (As a note: This is the first time we find the meat smelled not good, but it isn't the last time, unfortunately.) 

Now just last week I talked about a Pan-Seared Steak with Peppercorn Pan Sauce and Warm Potato Salad. This recipe is the exact same thing except they didn't send Peppercorns. So a lot of my comments are the same. Again, I would add dill pickles for a little more crunch and flavour, but that's about it. I will say one thing that is different, this time they sent Green Peas instead of the Sugar Snapped Peas with a note that commented about "in the pursuit of quality" they made the substitution. I prefer the Sugar Snap Peas, but I appreciate they're comments. Again with this one, it was kind of like a gravy more than a sauce, and you have to work with it and eat pretty quickly. (You'll see in my photo it split on me - you can see the butter pooling.)

HelloFresh Sub Box - Caramelized Onion Burgers with Garlic Aioli and Baked Cauliflower "Frites" (1/3)

This week was kind of an exciting week in my house. The Picky Eater (PE) I live with is actually going to eat all three of these meals! That is a minor miracle, to say the least. That is one of the major problems with these boxes, if you have dietary restrictions or have picky eaters, they can be hard to commit to. (Note you can always skip a week if you don't like the selection.) It's a little bit of an adventure, you are often forced to try something new or settle for certain things. Like I said before I often have the sides to myself because my PE either can't eat it or doesn't like it. I made this recipe on December 2nd, 2019.

This burger was pretty good, again there wasn't much meat. So it made two patties and that was it. The buns they sent were also a little strange, they were more like sandwich buns, and it was kind of a lot of bread for a hamburger. My PE doesn't like Greens, he doesn't like Mayo on his burgers and he doesn't like Onions, so his was pretty plan. And let's face it those are the things that make a burger look bigger than it actually is. The Cauliflower was delicious. It kind of reminded me of Mac and Cheese. Adding the Garlic-Mayo to it really made it creamy and I was very surprised. Again though the garlic was a problem. You don't really cook the Mayo so the garlic in it stayed raw, and as I said before I am not great at mincing by hand and don't have a garlic press, so that was a bit of a turnoff. Overall, a good meal I would say. The only thing I would have changed was maybe some cheese with the Cauliflower, which takes away from it being a healthy option but I think it could really rival Mac and Cheese for someone who maybe doesn't like vegetables all that much. 

(Side Note: I added a salad to this dish. You can see that in the photo. As I said my PE doesn't eat greens so there was a lot left and I had the Tomatoes from the Tomato Jam in one of the recipes in the last box. You can also see that the bun is much larger than the meat, you can't even see the meat in this photo. For reference, there was more cauliflower (285g) than there was meat (250g).  After cooking the meats shank of course and they definitely didn't cover the bun completely. Also, that was all the cauliflower they sent for two people. As you can probably tell since I added my own salad to it, there wasn't too much food here.)

HelloFresh Subscription Box Week 5

This week I really realized that they try and have something for everyone. As you may be able to tell by now they try and have one meal with the basic proteins. So, there always seems to be a Chicken Dish, a Steak Dish, a Pork Dish, a Fish or Seafood Dish, and they usually try to have an ethnic dish or something that is a little outside the box. It is nice that you can always try something different and yet still in your comfort zone also. This week I picked Pan-Seared Steak au Jus with Warm Potato & Green Pea Salad (spoiler alert, this is the same one as last week just without the Peppercorns), Cajun-Spiced Chicken Burgers with DIY Dill Mayo, and Caramelized Onion Burgers with garlic Aioli and Baked Cauliflower "Frites".

HelloFresh Sub Box - Southwestern Style Pork Tacos with Tomato Lime Salsa and Cheddar Cheese (3/3)

I was alone again for this meal, and again that was probably a good thing. The Picky Eater I live with wouldn't have eaten this anyways and again there really wasn't much meat for two people. Like the last Tacos, it was supposed to make three each, this time they look fuller because of the Salsa they have you make. I would compare these in size to Taco Bell Tacos (size-wise not taste-wise). I ate all six by myself. Again there was no side so all you had for two people was six tacos. I have friends that can eat double that alone! I made this recipe on November 29th, 2019. 

There wasn't much cheese for these tacos, which I understand. They probably wanted to stick as close to tradition as they could while giving it a little familiar twist. The salsa tasted nice and fresh, which is a good thing because it was the more dominant item in the whole dish (portion-wise). I think I liked this one a little better than last time, this has ground Pork instead of the Pork Strips so it was a little more of what I am used to. 

HelloFresh Sub Box - Pan Seared Steak with Peppercorn Pan Sauce and Warm Potato Salad (2/3)

This one was interesting. After making the last Potato Salad cold, I decided to actually try this one hot! SPOILER ALERT: it was DELICIOUS! I think it was the highlight of the meal for me and it really made me think of Warm Salads and how other salads might be perfect this way also. Really a lot of things to think about with this one. I made this recipe on November 28th, 2019. 

I am going to start with the Salad because that was the best part for me. The only thing I would have added would have been pickles. I guess it is just something in my head when I taste dill, I want pickles. But besides that it was great. The Pan Sauce was alright, I think it would have used a little cream though. It was kind of like a gravy more than a sauce, and you have to work with it and eat pretty quickly. 

(Note: I had a cereal bowl on the side of the remaining Potato Salad.)

Open-Faced Mushroom Melt with Tomato-Shallot Jam, Dill-May and Sweet Potato (1/3)

This recipe I have to say was a little odd and confusing to me. I really didn't like the thought of Tomato-Shallot Jame, especially with Mushrooms. I didn't really think that through. They only sent two Portobello Mushrooms. And looking at the photo they send, you realize only four slices of Mushroom should go on each piece of bread. Needless to say, the Jam was a filler to make it look bigger and be more filling. Again I think I was lucky I ate this alone. They did send 2 Bun, so it technically made two each but in reality that one sandwich. You can see from my photo (below), that they didn't really send much cheese either and I tried to average out the number of mushrooms on each. I wouldn't really recommend this recipe (especially for the money) but the flavour was good.  I made this recipe on November 27th, 2019. 

Overall, I would have changed a few things. Instead of the Jam, I would have used Worcestershire Sauce along with the Balsamic Vinegar and made a panini instead. These buns are great but they were a lot of bread for not so much filling. Also, I would have probably used smaller mushrooms. That way you get more surface covered with them and they tend to be cheaper than Portobellos. I also didn't like the Dill Mayo for the sandwich and it didn't really add anything to the Sweet Potato Fries either. I would suggest just plain Mayo for the sandwich and a Spicy Mayo for the Fries. 

HelloFresh Subscription Box Week 4

As I said last week one of the things I liked about HelloFresh is that they would send you little goodies in their boxes. Toward the holidays (Christmas), they would send "gift cards", these were for a free box (up to $120), you could give out to your friends and family. They also had a holiday box around the end of December that was a Turkey Dinner with all the fixing, they sent a lot of papers for that. (You can even see some in the photo below). 

This week I picked Open-Faced Mushroom Melt with Tomato Shallot Jam, Dill Mayo and Sweet Potatoes; also, Pan Seared Steak with Peppercorn Pan Sauce and Warm Potato Salad; and finally, Southwestern Style Pork Tacos with Tomato Lime Salsa and Cheddar Cheese. Two of these the Picky Eater I live with will not eat so I will be alone for those. But he doesn't eat most of the sides anyways. So keep in mind most of the time if you see a side in the photos that is supposed to be for two people (at times it is a lot and at other times it probably wouldn't be much if two people were going to eat it).

Paint By Numbers - Lakeside Cabin (UPDATE)

My amazon addiction is now in overdrive with Christmas coming! The first thing I ordered and received was a paint by numbers kit called Lakeside Cabin.

I have loved Paint by Numbers since I was a child so to find more adult/advanced versions was a great thing for me. Unfortunately, they are really hard to find in stores and hard to find online at a good price. This one was $10.00 (CAN) it was sold by Amazon.ca so it would have shipped for free if my total had been over $25. (It was not so it cost me a little over $6.00 for shipping.)

It's a beautiful picture and hopefully its fun and easy to paint!

This was very fun to paint but not as easy as I thought it would be. It took me a total of 8 days (spread out) to finish and I worked for a couple of hours on it at a time. This one was one that you had to mix colours. That was time-consuming and you really had to play around with it to make sure you got close to the same shade as before if you didn't get all the numbers in one shot. But I do love the way it turned out.

You can find this photo and other Paint by Number Paintings for sale on our website or our Facebook Page.