I’m a Working Mom Who Tried Home Chef Meal Kits

The meals came in a large cardboard box filled with recyclable insulation and cardboard dividers, as well as cooling gel packs with instructions for defrosting and trashing the filling and recycling the plastic packaging. However, the cooling gel was a heavy, goopy mess that was difficult to dispose of.

The food was mostly fresh and crisp, except for some random wilting and browning, and the boxes and bags of food were not crushed or damaged.

Each two-serving meal was in a clear, resalable plastic pouch with a handle, and all the ingredients came in individual packages within that pouch – except for the meat, poultry and seafood, which were packed separately from the produce. , the grain and the dairy. . Some of the proteins were also folded twice for food contamination safety purposes.

home cook meal delivery

I was able to recycle the boxes, dividers and insulation, but not the meal pouches, ingredient packs, and heavy cooler packs, which were quite a pain, although they served their purpose well.

I saw a wide selection of toppings and sauces for the meat and vegetables; more than I was used to. Lots of mayonnaise, sour cream, and cream cheese were used for these sauces. Other toppings that added texture and interest were crispy fried onions, walnuts, and bacon—lots of bacon.

Among the grains available were pasta, rice and bread. I could choose from a wide variety of cuisines, such as Mexican, Southern, Midwestern, California, Tex-Mex, Italian, Mediterranean, Japanese, Chinese-American, Greek, Mozambican-African-Portuguese, German, Thai, Southwestern , New England , and Cuba.

Cooking and Preparation of Meals

Each meal came with printed recipe pages that list preparation and cooking time estimates, maximum shelf life, cooking tools needed, difficulty level, ingredients, and “before cooking” tips (on preheating the oven, rinsing the produce, etc.) as well. such as the cooking steps. You can also find this information in the app if you lose your prescription card.

Each step on the recipe page is also accompanied by photos, making it easy to follow even if you’re a novice cook. The steps also clearly note which ingredients you will use more than once so you don’t accidentally use it all on the first step.

Keep in mind that basic items such as olive oil, salt, pepper and aluminum foil were not included in the meal kits.

Most (but not all) of the ingredients are pre-cut and pre-cut, which cuts down on your prep time, although there were a few instances where I had to chop some chives or lettuce or mince some garlic. Still, even with pre-cut ingredients, I had trouble matching the cooking times listed on the recipe cards. Full disclosure: I’ve never been great at making a meal within the recipe’s suggested time frame, even before Home Chef.

Still, I don’t know if the extra time some of these meals took was all I needed. For example, the Chive Creamy Mahi-Mahi was labeled as intermediate difficulty, with preparation and cooking time listed as 30 to 40 minutes. But it took me more than an hour to make the dish because the pre-cut cauliflower had to be cut into even smaller pieces.

home cook meal delivery

Meanwhile, the Green Chile and Garlic Salmon Hatch has been categorized as a quick meal and should only take 15 minutes. It took me a total of 37 minutes because, despite being easy and coming with pre-made butternut squash, I had to chop the poblano and mince the garlic.

The Butternut Squash, Fig, and Blue Cheese Risotto wasn’t easy (or quick) to make either. No matter how time-saving it is on meal equipment, the risotto must be stirred several times because it absorbs every infusion of boiling water or risk ruining it. Fortunately, it worked out, but the estimated 40 to 50 minutes of preparation and cooking time was far too short for a risotto. This meal took 90 minutes to cook.

Part of the extra time it took to cook some of the meals may have been because I was making four servings and the recipe instructions were written for people preparing two servings. This meant that I had to remember to double up the packets of oil, salt, pepper and ingredients, which made it easy for me to make mistakes that had to be corrected along the way. And sometimes it just takes more time to cook more food.

home cook meal delivery

For example, the directions and photos for the Sheet Pan Bacon and Cheddar Pork Meatloaf showed two loaves of pork, but I was making four and was concerned that they wouldn’t bake for the specified 20 to 22 minutes. So I added a few minutes, and they turned out fine.

The extra time also applies to cleaning. While some meals were a quick and easy cleanup, most required three or four pots and pans, which was just too much on a busy weeknight.

For example, the popcorn chicken and mashed potatoes (for which I swapped out the chicken thighs for shrimp) required a large pot, a mixing bowl, two medium non-stick pans, and a microwave-safe bowl. It also took me an hour to make – double the recommended time for the recipe.)

The good news is that most of my meals turned out like the photos, and I learned some good tips and tricks that I plan to use again in my everyday cooking.

Tasting the Meals

As I tasted the Home Chef meals, it was clear that a lot of thought had gone into the taste of these meals. Almost every protein, vegetable and grain had a sauce, spice mix or topping.

Our favorite dish was the Butternut Squash, Fig, and Blue Cheese Risotto, which struck the ideal balance between savory and sweet with plenty of creaminess – no actual cream, just a few pats of butter. It may have taken me a while to do it, but the results were worth it. The dish felt so rich that it didn’t matter to us that it didn’t contain animal-based protein, and the portion sizes were just right. The blue cheese, which can have an overpowering flavour, was used sparingly so that their signature mustard was not overpowering the dish, adding just the right amount of savory tang to offset the sweetness of the squash and fig jam. complete

Another winner was Chile Hatch Green and Garlic Salmon. It was labeled as spicy, but I did not notice that there is much heat, but flavor from the included Amarillo seasoning and taco seasoning. There was good flavor from the whole ingredients and dry spices. We eat salmon every other week in my family, so I was surprised that I enjoyed the meal as much as I did, and I’d like to try replicating the chile topping again sometime.

Another meal I chose for pure pleasure over nutritional benefits was the Pan Bacon and Cheddar Pork Meatloaf. The meatloaf was made with ground pork threaded with melted salty cheddar, then with ketchup, more cheddar, and bits of bacon – and it was divine. Adding the baked potato wedges to the buttermilk dill cream was another step up in flavor, but with the loaded meatloaf and potatoes coated in buttermilk-dill relish, it might have felt a bit overwhelming.

The Chipotle Beef Tenderloin Burrito featured mixed colorful bell peppers, shredded beef, and a delicious chipotle crema that added a nice touch to the burrito. Two servings were enough, but with our four servings we had leftover lunches for a few days.

home cook meal delivery

With the Chicken Fig Mostarda, I loved the idea of ​​mixing mayo, mustard, and fig jam for a sauce to spread on top of the chicken breast and finish it off with a sprinkling of fried onions. I could easily replicate that concept when cooking from scratch. But the Parmesan on the broccoli side dish tasted like cardboard and was almost eaten.

To be honest though, most of the cheeses I have received from Home Chef have not been of the quality I expected. Additionally, some of the Home Chef single parts weren’t enough to satisfy me. That’s why I ordered four servings for three people—even when one of those people was a 4-year-old. If I had leftovers for lunch the next day, there would be enough most days.

Home Chef’s lunchtime microwave meals – Sweet Soy Chicken and Cheddar Bacon Ranch Chicken – were my least favorite. The Cheddar Bacon Ranch chicken was soggy, and the garlic broccoli side was oversaturated with butter. The chicken in the Sweet Soy Chicken had a texture that felt processed and had a few gelatinous bits that I would have preferred to avoid. I would much rather eat dinner leftovers for lunch than the microwave meals.

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