Blue Aprin Tangine Lamb and Beef

The mission at Blue Apron is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone. To save money, I cook most of the meals that my family eats at home. I have a dozen or so go-to meals that I can whip up pretty quickly. I also like trying new recipes, but sometimes shopping for and cooking new foods is quite the hassle, especially with two young children in tow. Thus, I was thrilled to receive the recent opportunity to review three meals from Blue Apron.

About Blue Apron

Blue Apron delivers the fresh ingredients that you need to make delicious meals in exactly the right proportions. The company offers two plans, without commitment or fees. The 2-Person Plan consists of one delivery a week with three inventive recipes perfectly portioned for two. The Family Plan is perfect for feeding a family of four with two or four recipes per week. You can skip any week and cancel at any time.

Price

The 2-Person Plan costs $9.99 per serving for a total of $59.94 per week. The Family Plan costs $8.74 per serving for a total of $69.92 for two meals and $139.84 for four meals per week. Shipping is always free. Compared to eating out, I find Blue Apron very reasonably priced. My family of four and I can eat out a fast food restaurant for under $20, but eating at most sit-down places costs at least $35 or more. Even when just my two young children and I go out, the bill can end up being $20 or more for just the three of us. I do save quite a bit of money by cooking at home, but I am ashamed to admit that sometimes fresh foods go bad on my counter or in my fridge, which wastes money. The 2-Person Plan provides enough food for my husband and me to share with our preschooler and toddler and, at only $19.98, is extremely reasonable. I therefore rate the current cost of Blue Apron extremely highly.

My Experience

For my first Blue Apron order, I received Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine, Lemon-Butter Salmon, and Chicken Piccata. The delivery man brought the package to my door in the late afternoon. He warned me that the box was getting a little soggy. When I opened the cardboard package, I discovered that the ice packages were still almost frozen solid. The food was still very fresh and cold. The outside of the cardboard box was a bit damp from condensation but was otherwise fine. The fresh food would have been fine on my back porch for quite a few more hours, even in the warm weather. I am therefore impressed with the cold packaging used by Blue Apron.

The three recipes that came with my Blue Apron order each had six instruction boxes complete with pictures. I cook a lot of the same foods for my family because I sometimes have trouble following new recipes. I need each and every step laid out as simply as possible. The instructions that accompany each Blue Apron recipe are extremely easy to follow. All I had to do was complete each step one at a time in order. For example, the Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine recipe begins, "Wash and dry the fresh produce. Peel and mince the garlic. Using a peeler, remove the yellow rind of the lemon, avoiding the white pith; mince the rind to get 2 teaspoons of zest (or use a zester)." I read through the entire recipe once to get a feel for the instructions, and then I started working on my meal completely one step at a time. Even if you normally have trouble following recipes like me, the Blue Apron recipes are super simple to complete.

I love that Blue Apron provides almost all the ingredients that you need including the fresh produce for each recipe. The only ingredients that I had to supply were olive oil, salt, and pepper, all of which I keep on hand in my kitchen in abundance. For example, the Spice Lamb & Beef Tagine came with ground lamb and beef blend, couscous, cloves garlic, lemon, zucchini, Swiss chard, mint, medjool dates, tomato paste, ras el hanout, and labneh cheese. All the ingredients came in the correct amounts for each recipe, so I did not have to do any measuring and I did not have any leftover fresh produce to worry about. Blue Apron definitely helps me cut down on my food waste, which is a huge plus! My only criticism of the recipes is that I found myself being instructed to salt and pepper to taste multiple times. One could easily over-salt the dish by accident.

My family and I were very impressed with the three dishes that we received from Blue Apron. We opted for the 2-Person Plan. My husband and I planned to share our meals with our preschooler and toddler. Each recipe made two platings that provided more than enough food for two adults and two young children. I even had leftovers with my Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine. For $9.99 per person, the portions are extremely generous. My entire four-person family was able to eat a delicious gourmet meal that rivaled restaurant fare for only $19.98.

As for taste, my family and I really enjoyed all three meals. I honestly cannot decide which recipe was my favorite. The Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine offered a rich, meaty stew full of new flavor. The Lemon-Butter Salmon provided heart-healthy salmon over chewy barley flavored with fresh dill. The Chicken Piccata was moist and delicious over a bowl of thick, curly pasta. I normally hate cooking raw chicken, but I absolutely loved the lemony and buttery chicken with briny capers and noodles. My daughter especially liked the salmon. In fact, both she and my son ate half of my serving of fish as well as some from my husband. The lamb meal was super tasty and very filling. As a testament to the deliciousness of Blue Apron, my husband and I have opted to continue receiving three meals per week, and I am excited to try even more new and yummy recipes!

Final Verdict

My family and I love the fresh and delicious recipes in our first Blue Apron order. The company offers two plans, without commitment or fees. The 2-Person Plan consists of one delivery a week with three inventive recipes perfectly portioned for two. The Family Plan is perfect for feeding a family of four with two or four recipes per week. At only $19.98 per meal, the extremely reasonable 2-Person Plan provides enough food for my husband and me to share with our preschooler and toddler. Even if you normally have trouble following recipes like I do, the recipes are super simple to follow. I love that Blue Apron provides almost all the ingredients that you need including the fresh produce for each recipe, meaning I do not end up with a lot of leftover food that goes to waste. My family enjoyed all three meals that we tried, and I honestly cannot decide which recipe was my favorite. If you want to cook at home more but are at a loss for new recipes to try, I highly recommend Blue Apron!

Learn more or signup for recipes on the Blue Apron website. Follow Blue Apron on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Image Credits

Blue Apron Review © 2022 Heather Johnson
Blue Apron © 2022 Blue Apron
Blue Apron Box © 2022 Heather Johnson
Opening the Blue Apron Box © 2022 Heather Johnson
Freezer Packs in the Blue Apron Box © 2022 Heather Johnson
Ingredients for Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Preparing the Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Cooking the Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Spiced Lamb & Beef Tagine from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Ingredients for Lemon-Butter Salmon from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Preparing the Lemon-Butter Salmon from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Cooking the Lemon-Butter Salmon from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Lemon-Butter Salmon from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Ingredients for Chicken Piccata from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Preparing the Chicken Piccata from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Cooking the Chicken Piccata from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson
Chicken Piccata from Blue Apron © 2022 Heather Johnson

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Source: https://parentingpatch.com/blue-apron-review/

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