Review Wednesday - HelloFresh (Week 23)

 Again this week we have five recipes again! And as I said last week, we have another Hamburger recipe that we substituted the meat out of. We used this ground beef to make Spaghetti or Meat Macaroni, things like that. It has really been handy during this pandemic when meat was hard to find. This week we had Pan-Seared Steak au Jus with Warm Potato and Green Pea Salad, Savoury Mushroom Tacos with Creamy Kale Slaw, Honey-Garlic Chicken Tenders with Potatoes and Green Beans, Pizza Burger with Parmesan Fries and Marinara Ketchup (with the meat substituted), and Maple-Mustard Pork Chops with Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato.

We started with the Pan-Seared Steak. Now usually we cook our steaks on the grill or in the oven, but if you plan on making the au Jus it is best to do it in the pan. With that being said today I made the au Jus in the pan without making the steak in it and it turned out just as good. (Yes it actually turned out this time!) Also a quick note about the potato salad, we have made this one before a few times, this time they sent regular peas instead of the sugar snap peas. They do this when they find the original item isn't up to their freshness standards. And frankly, I am glad they do, it really shows that they care about the products they are giving you.

Next, we had the Maple-Mustard Pork Chops. We very, very rarely have pork of any kind, unless it is bacon. But as I mentioned in a previous post, HelloFresh really had a boom in sales I think when the pandemic hit and things were selling out before we even got to pick our meals. So we had to take what we could get. And I will tell you these pork chops were a huge surprise. I don't like Honey and neither does my Picky Eater (PE) so we didn't make the glaze, but everything else was delicious. The "pork chops" actually seemed more like pork medallions which were fine by us, they were just the right size. And the vegetable hash was amazing also.

Since my PE doesn't like Mushrooms, I was on my own for the Savoury Mushroom Tacos. They were good, if you enjoy mushrooms, you wouldn't even miss the meat. I will say that this made six tacos and I am not even ashamed to say I ate them all. They sent one thing of mushrooms and I cut them all up and to be honest with you, it didn't make much filling for these tacos.

So that was all there was for six tacos. It also came with a salad which you were supposed to add to the tacos. I just made it on the side and ate it as I ate the tacos. The salad was huge, I had enough for the tacos, I ate some alone for lunch the next day and a little on the side for supper. There was a lot.

Later on, in the week, we had the Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders. These were basic chicken fingers really. I made this a pan-sheet meal. I baked everything in the oven together and it came out great. I enjoy making things a little easier on myself than what they make it. I also made the sauce, but since my PE doesn't like Honey Garlic, I did not put it on the chicken, instead, I just dipped mine.

And finally, we had the Pizza Burgers. We saved these to the end of the week because again, we substitute the meat in it so we can wait longer to have them. They had a "Ketchup" which I didn't make for the burgers but I did dip my fries in and it was okay, nothing too special. We didn't make the "Pizza" burgers. We just had regular burgers but I made the fries the right way.

Beyond The Greens

So today we are looking at "Salads" where greens are not the star. There are a lot of salads like these, some that don't include greens at all. This makes them a little less healthy but they still make a great side dish and are usually very simple, cheap, and easy to make. Most of these "salads" you can add greens to if you wish or just eat them as a different type of salad. I will make sure to add what you can throw into these salads to add a little more "green" if you wanted.

1. Potato Salad

There are 101 ways to make Potato Salad. Some go simply with Mayo, salt and Pepper as dressing, some go with half Mayo and half Sour Cream, and some do Mayo and Mustard but these are the basics of a "traditional" Potato Salad. Now when you think of "traditional" Potato Salad you think of Potatoes with vegetables and usually creamy because of the Mayo. My personal favourite is the Peppery Potato Salad I make (using Pepper Bacon, and Green Onions). It is very simple and delicious. But I also enjoy what I call a Pickle-y Potato Salad, where I add in diced Dill Pickles, some chopped Dill, and some green onion.

However, Potato Salads can also be Warm Potato Salads. I have seen this done a few ways. I have seen it done the traditional way except they do not wait for the potatoes to cool. I have also seen a delicious Warm Potato Salad that uses grilled vegetables like corn, peppers, onions, added to a Bbq seasoned potato. I believe the only "dressing" on that is lemon juice.

2. Macaroni Salad

Macaroni Salad like Potato Salad comes in 101 different varieties. Again the basics are Macaroni, Vegetables, and Mayo. I have never really seen many variations on the "Dressing", it is usually mayo some may add sour cream also or mustard but I haven't seen that very often. I think the "traditional" Macaroni Salad has Radishes, Onion, Celery, Carrots, Peppers (and possibly a hard-boiled egg). Personally, all I add to mine is multi-coloured peppers and green onions. I feel that those are the vegetables most people enjoy and it is best for a big party. When I make it at home, I add carrots also and radishes if I have them on hand. But one of my favourite non-traditional salads is the Crabby Mac Salad I make. It is very simple I add a can of corn, a can of peas, Green Onions, and a package of imitation crab. And it is so good, it balances everything really well and it is all about dumping things in, nothing fancy.

3. Pasta Salads

There is a difference between Pasta Salads and Macaroni Salads. Macaroni Salads are mostly a Mayo dressing, where Pasta Salads are usually more vinaigrette type dressings. My two favourite Pasta Salads like this are the Greek Pasta Salad, and Linguine Salad. I make Greek Pasta Salad two different ways but the basics are the same just the dressing changes. I halve Tomatoes, Black Olives, and dice a cucumber (you can also add some red onion). And I either add President's Choice Garlic and Herb Marinade, or Renee's Creamy Greek Dressing. Linguine Salad just uses a package of "Linguine Spices" and Italian Dressing. Personally, I add diced Tomatoes, and Cucumbers to mine but again it is whatever you like.

4. Grain and Legume Salads

Grains and Legumes are not "traditional" Salads but they are just as healthy and delicious as anything else. I put these together because there are just so few salads (that I know of), so I put them together. In this case, I also consider my Orzo Salad as "grains" even though it is technically pasta. But anything like Farrow, Quinoa, things like that in a salad is what we are going for. One of my favourite Legume salads has to be the Lentil Salad I make. This one has so many vegetables in it, and you can really throw anything into them (you can see I have Mushrooms, Brussels Sprouts, Carrots, I also have grated celery, onion and garlic in there). And of course, everything is better with bacon!

5. Other Salads

You may notice that this salad is a bed of greens. That is just my personal preference but typically this salad is eaten without lettuce. I don't even know what it is called but it is delicious. IT is diced tomatoes, black olives, some diced capers, some fresh mozzarella, and some toasted brioche croutons. All with a Balsamic Vinegar drizzle on top. (I pair it with spinach.)