We’ve Been Using This Meal Service for the Last Week and We’re Hooked

Dinner has been incredibly easy and appetizing the last few nights, and it’s all because of Hello Fresh.

Have you ever used them? PJ’s cousin Lauren recommended we try it out, after raving about how she’s been doing it for her family for a while now, and even gave us some coupons for major discounts. After thinking it over for a week, we finally decided to make the jump and place our first order of Hello Fresh.

For starters, this isn’t a sponsored post, I just really like this meal service. I mean, any opportunity to make dinner easier each night I can get on board with, and bonus points if it’s actually easy and tasty, which every meal we’ve made so far has been. Like, really really delicious and actually really fun to make. I made a buffalo panko chicken the other night and PJ revealed he thought it was better than his lunch he had that day (which was from a favorite local joint).

Tonight’s dinner was pork and veggie bibimbap (pictured above), which was, you guessed it, SO GOOD. The thing about the recipes we’re receiving is they’re all so easy to make, with every day ingredients (for the most part) and they take all the guessing and hard work out of thinking what to make for dinner every night. We did the math, and it’s definitely way cheaper for our family of five to eat these meals as opposed to going out to eat, but also, in some cases, cheaper than buying a bunch of groceries to make dinner. Plus, where we’re at in our lives right now, we’ll take anything easy if we can help it.

We’re doing the four nights a week for four people, but the servings are such good sizes that they’ve been enough for all five of us. Again, this post isn’t sponsored, we’re just having fun with these recipes and the convenience of Hello Fresh right now. How long will we be using the meal service? TBD, but for now, it’s easy and delicious.

And at the end of the day, can you really ask for more?

What Do You Put in Your Coffee?

For years, we’ve only put one thing in our coffee…

Well, I should be more specific: I have only put one thing in my coffee for the last 5+ years, which is International Delight’s Sweet Cream. Have you ever tried it? It tastes like vanilla ice cream mixed with a ginormous hug right in your mug. I equate the feeling I get from drinking it in my coffee to the same feeling of wrapping up in your favorite, old cozy sweater. In short, dear reader, it’s marvelous.

PJ also uses ID’s Sweet Cream, but he’ll usually add some heavy whipping cream or half n half in his mug, too. He used to go all out and add salt along with it, but over the years he’s simplified his coffee routine down to the essentials.

Our coffee time is our happy time. We usually drink a cup in the morning when we first wake up (I’ve sadly gotten to where it’s borderline impossible for me to function for the day if I don’t immediately start it with a cup of coffee) and then a one in the middle of the day for a boost of energy. Sometimes, if we’re working late, we’ll put a pot on after the kids go to bed. I’m actually drinking some as we speak.

What about you? What do you put in your coffee? Honey? Milk? SweetN’ Low? Cream and sugar?

Should You Actually Rinse Your Pasta/Noodles After Cooking Them?

A question for the ages!

To some, in might be common knowledge, but since I’ve been cooking more and more for our family the last couple of years, I’ve also been looking more into different “myths” I learned about cooking growing up (washing chicken before cooking it doesn’t really have to be done!).

One of those myths was rinsing pasta noodles after draining them. It was one of those things I had always heard from one source or another that it didn’t necearrily have to be done, but I was never entirely sure. Until today!

So do they have to be washed after you cook and drain them? In short, no. But also, sometimes.

Sarah Jampel from Bon Apetit explains that “Rinsing noodles removes starch from their surface, thereby making it more difficult to get any kind of sauce to cling.” That explanation makes sense, right?. But what about the times when you do have to rinse them?

“If you’re making a dish that will be served chilled or at room temp—think cold soba, rice noodles, pasta salad—you do want to rinse so that you get toothsome (sorry) individual strands rather than one big gummy clump” Sarah says. Again, make sense!

So to wrap things up: No, don’t rinse your noodles unless you’re making a dish that specifically calls for it. Simple as that!