I first heard of Blue Apron, a service that delivers all the ingredients you need to make three gourmet-quality meals, back in December 2013.
My friend Merri followed a Blue Apron recipe and made us a delicious dinner of udon noodle soup during one of my visits to New York City. She initially signed up for Blue Apron to teach herself how to cook since she was not really comfortable in the kitchen and absolutely raved about the step-by-step instructions that came with each shipment of the meal delivery service.
I came home from New York and spoke highly of the service to Ryan… so much so that he ended up giving me four weeks of Blue Apron meals for Christmas that year! We had so much fun trying new recipes and using fun, flavorful ingredients. We continue to use the service regularly and I promise you we have yet to make one meal we didn’t love. I now have my mom and dad hooked on regular deliveries, too!
In case Blue Apron hasn’t been on your radar up until now, here’s how it works: Blue Apron is a service that sends you all of the farm-fresh ingredients you need to make three delicious meals a week for $9.99 per person per meal (with free shipping). (A Family Plan is also available and feeds a family of four for $8.74 per person per meal.) All ingredients are delivered to your doorstep in a refrigerated box and come with three chef-designed recipes that are easy to follow thanks to gorgeous photos of each step of the recipe. (The Tom-Yum Style Shrimp and Noodles and the Orange Ginger Salmon are calling to me!)
Ryan and I initially opted for the vegetarian meal plan to help ourselves learn to cook more delicious meatless meals, but you can choose whether or not your want your meals to include red meat, poultry, seafood, etc.
For our most recent Blue Apron delivery, we opted for a pescetarian meal plan and received all the fresh ingredients we needed to make two vegetarian dishes and one meal with fish.
Here’s what our menu looked like:
This dish was truthfully the one we were least excited about, mainly because it looked like it might be a little bland since, at first glance, it seemed like simple white fish, cooked rice and wilted spinach. Well, we were in for a very pleasant surprise because this dish was a big-time hit with both of us!! (It actually ended up being Ryan’s favorite!) It was absolutely delicious thanks to the salty miso yuzu glaze and the fresh ginger. Definitely not your average fish and rice dish!
I couldn’t wait to make this salad. The colors from the bright orange sweet potatoes and deep green kale made it look so vibrant and tasty. I am happy to report that is ended up being every bit as delicious as I hoped it would be! The chewy texture of the farro paired together perfectly with the soft sweet potato and the crunchiness of the hazelnuts. I also loved that I learned how to pickle onions while I made this recipe, as that’s something I never knew how to do before! I told Ryan I think this salad would also taste delicious chilled as a summer side dish to bring to a BBQ with friends.
If you put a fried egg on top of something, Ryan will definitely order it at a restaurant, so this recipe caught his eye the minute we pulled it out of the Blue Apron box. (My egg was cooked all way through – pregnancy precaution.) Ryan ended up cooking the sauce part of this dish (for some reason, during pregnancy canned crushed tomatoes are currently making my stomach turn) but by the time he was done following the recipe, the smell encouraged me to give it a try and I loved it!! While he tackled the peppery sauce, I made the tortilla chips that served as the crunchy bed for the dish and fried up the eggs. Team work at its finest! Also, I loved the way this recipe had us toss fresh avocado in lime juice, salt and pepper before using it as a delicious garnish. That really kicked the flavor up a notch!
Giveaway
Now here is your chance to try Blue Apron for yourself! One PBF reader will win a free week of Blue Apron meals for two!
To enter this giveaway, click here to pop over to Blue Apron and check out what’s on the menu for this week and leave a comment below telling me which recipe you’d be most excited to create!
Please note: This giveaway includes a week of meals for two people. Blue Apron delivers to 80 percent of the United States. In order to win this giveaway, you must live in one of the delivery zones. (A map of the delivery zones may be seen here.) I will randomly select a winner on Friday.
And please don’t worry if you don’t win! The first 100 readers who try Blue Apron will receive two free meals on their first order! To receive this promo, please click here to order.
Good luck!!!
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Disclaimer: While this post is sponsored by Blue Apron, affiliate links are not included and I am not receiving any compensation for orders placed with Blue Apron. Thank you for your support!
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I’d like to try the Tom Yum noodles – I’ve had an itch to make Thai recently!
The Baked Fontina Pasta looks delicious! It also sounds like a recipe that my fiance and i would both enjoy making… and devouring!
definitely the Smoky Beluga Lentils!
I’ve always wanted to cook flank steaks!
I’d pick the Smoky Beluga Lentils. I am a huge fan of lentils and have always wanted to try the Beluga variety!
The Tom Yum soup with shrimp looks great because it is not something that I would normally make on my own
Tom yum style shrimp!
I think the baked pasta sounds amazing!
Corned Beef Steak sounds interesting! I’d love to give that a whirl!
We love Thai food take out so I would love to try and make the Tom Yum Style shrimp and noodles!
Definitely the Tom Yum style shrimp. Looks delicious!
I’d love to try the corned beef steaks! Perfect for St. Pats!
I would love to try the corn beef style steak and cabbage!
Corned beef flank steak!
the Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas look great!
Baked Fontina Pasta! Been in the mood for comfort food 🙂
I would like to try the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles one. Thanks!
I love Thai food so I would definitely try the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles!!!
I would love to try the tom yum style shrimp
And noodles!
I’d want to try the smoky lentils! I love smoky flavor and have been wanting to try cooking lentils.
the macadamia crusted cod and the sweet potato and faro salad you got! both sound super good!
The Tom-yum shrimp & noodles looks great!
The baked fontina pasta looks fantastic!
Definitely the Tom Yum Shrimp with noodles … lately I’ve been attempting various Asian dishes so this caught my eye!
The fontina pasta looks Delish!
Definitely the turkey chili!
The Tom Yum Style Shrimp with Noodles looks pretty tasty!
Yum yum noodles!
I have been on a chili kick so I would love to try their turkey chili!
Oh my gosh! The cod dish that you and Ryan made looks soo good! I would love to try it 🙂 Thanks!
The lentils look delicious!
The shrimp and noodles for sure !!
I’d definitely go with the shrimp and noodles and my husband would say the chili, he’s weird and like’s normal things, I’m up for anything though! I might try this out for when we have a getaway at home with the kids going to the grandparents, as a special date at home!
Oh goodness…I can never resist a pasta dish! I’d definitely try out the Baked Fontina Pasta. Thanks so much for sharing with this website! I just signed up to receive free recipes every week. Yay! I love cooking!
I’d love to try the Smoky Beluga Lentils 🙂
I’d love to try to make the turkey chili yummmm
The turkey chili looks delcious! The beluga lentils do to..yum!
I would love to try to the baked fontina pasta it looks delicious!!
I’m intrigued by the salvadoran black bean and cheese pupusas!
Turkey chili looks amazing! ❤️
Turkey chili looks delicious!
I would love to try the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles!!
corned beef flank steaks are something i would NEVER make at home, so i’d love to try it with this service! i got my parents a trial for my mom’s birthday this year, but haven’t tried it myself. they loved it though!
The pan roasted salmon with roasted cauliflower and farro salad looks amazing!
I think the Smoky Beluga lentils look so good! I love lentils but never know what to do with them – this would be the perfect opportunity to try something new!
I definitely want to try the Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas, so yummy!!
The turkey chili looks yummy!!
This looks so amazing!!
The adobo chicken with bok choy caught my eye immediately (on the family plan) because I’ve been dying to learn how to make this dish. I have some Vietnamese friends who post their amazing Asian dishes so it would truly be a treat to give my family something new and out of the ordinary to eat. Plus, as a mom of two little ones I get stuck in the Mac and cheese rut! I would be super excited to win. 🙂
I would go for the Corned Beef-Spiced Flank Steaks in a heartbeat.
I know this is newbie blogger question- but how did you put your picture on your comment? A website you go through? THANKS 🙂
It has to do with whatever the blogger is using for their comments. I wish I knew what it was, but whatever it is must be something which automatically signs us in, because I just entered my info and the photo was there when I left the comment.
I’m not sure if it’s disqus or what?
I want to try that Thrkey Chili! Thanks for the chance to win!