Being empty-nesters isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Not only was I almost crippled when the kids left, but I didn’t realize how many different things would be effected. The main shocker is how deafening the quiet can really be. I didn’t think that I’d miss all the chaos and noise, boy was I wrong! I still find myself wandering around the house from time to time reminiscing about years past. We were some of those crazy parents that enjoyed our kids being around. I was always in awe of how wonderful they were turning out to be. Excited to see what they’d end up doing and praying that they’d get as much joy out of being a parent as we do. This being said, they are now gone, and I haven’t got a CLUE what to do with myself. Pour a pandemic on top of it and now I’m really confused. So, I decided to start trying new things, slowly. I thought it might be nice to have an unbiased opinion of the different we try, so here we go.

We just finished our first week of Hello Fresh. The reason I decided to try this was I was starting to crave some variety in the things I cooked. I tend to get very intimidated with exotic spices and the like. So I felt this was a good way to start stepping out of my comfort zone. Our first meal was Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops. When I first opened the box, everything was nicely divided into the three meals for the week.

Your given a well illustrated information card full of easy to follow directions. From prep to cook, I was very comfortable doing it.

One of the scallions I received was rotten. I had another one to use, and on contacting Hello Fresh about it, they were extremely fast at resolving it. Next was the meat prep, and getting the veggies ready for roasting. Some of these recipes are very time sensitive. For example, while the chops are cooking, you are getting the vegetables ready for roasting. Try to stay as close to the times as you can so the food comes out fairly close together. I did find that I had to fry the pork almost double the time stated. This is more likely due to my crappy oven than an issue with the recipe. The sauce is where I was a little worried I’d mess up, but once again,the recipe card takes you step by step, and it was ok. I actually plated it as close to the picture as possible. And the taste…..WOW! It was amazing! The sauce was the key. It incorporated sweet with a slight tang from the balsamic vinegar which really complimented the pork.

I will be posting the next few dinners and giving my honest opinion on them. We are going to be trying this for a couple of months then reassessing if it is worth the money. We received a deal with the first box, but now it’s up to $57 dollars a box. I figure that I’m saving money by not having to buy as many groceries while experiencing new flavors. So far so good….

Onward!