Weeknight Cooking
The Meal Kit That Changed My Weeknight Cooking Routine
And helped me find new inspiration in the kitchen.
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When my boyfriend and I first moved in together, one of my favorite parts of our Sundays was planning the upcoming week's worth of dinners, carefully plotting out the shopping list and making a trip to the store, always with our trusty rolling cart in tow (because hauling multiple grocery bags 10 blocks and up the stairs was no easy feat). Our menus were a mix of recipes we both already loved—like warming rasam with white rice and ghee, quesadillas loaded with veggies, and an endlessly riffable pantry pasta when ingredients were running low—plus new dishes we'd try out and occasionally work into the rotation (this hearty sweet potato stew was an unexpected hit).
But as the months went on, we found our cooking inspiration lacking more and more, preferring to spend our weekends exploring New York City or catching up on a television series. And almost a year later, we've pretty much run out of fresh new ideas for vegetarian dishes that satisfy us both (he's a lifelong vegetarian, and while I'm not, there's rarely any meat or fish in the house).
We were officially in a cooking rut. So when I had the chance to try a few of Blue Apron's meal kits, I immediately said yes. With three different menus to choose from—from their Signature to wellness-inspired—there are options for just about everyone. We made our selections from the Vegetarian menu, which featured a range of different flavors and cuisines, opting for a banh mi-inspired tofu sandwich with sesame oil-roasted Brussels sprouts and a cozy-looking butternut squash pasta bake.
As it turns out, selecting which recipes we wanted to make was the hardest part, though it still only took about 10 minutes—the rest was up to Blue Apron. A few days later, our box arrived with all the ingredients, pre-portioned and labeled for extra ease, along with handy recipe cards that included step-by-step photos.
The tofu banh mi was first up that week. The verdict? It was an absolute winner—the glazed, oven-baked tofu was tangy-sweet and perfectly complemented by quick-pickled sliced cucumbers and shaved carrots. The finishing touches: soft, toasted bread, a spicy mayo with sambal oelek (an Indonensian chile paste), and a side of tender-crisp Brussels sprouts. The whole meal seamlessly came together in about 30 or 40 minutes and cleverly used a single sheet pan to do the majority of the cooking work, from roasting the tofu to toasting the bread. I even saved the recipe card for when we want to make the recipe again, which I think will be very soon.
Our Friday night was saved for the butternut squash pasta, and it hit all the right notes: sweet butternut squash and fresh spinach balanced by a luscious, savory sauce of cream and mascarpone cheese and little briny bursts of capers. The smart twist on this dish (I've noticed each Blue Apron recipe seems to have one) was a super-speedy breadcrumb topping seasoned with rosemary, garlic, Parmesan, and crushed walnuts, which creates a flavorful, golden-brown crust on the finished pasta. Another winner.
Working Blue Apron into our routine helped bring some delicious new dishes to our table, but my favorite part is that it helped us take the pressure off dinner a few nights that week, which helped us both stress a little less and actually enjoy the process of cooking—instead of feeling like it was a chore.
This holiday season, give the gift of delicious, stress-free dinners for the whole family with help from our friends at Blue Apron. With a variety of menu options and dishes to choose from, their meal kits are just right for everyone on your list. Bonus: The Blue Apron Meal E-Gift Card doesn't have to be wrapped or shipped—send one in a snap (and maybe throw in some wine, too).
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A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).
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