Chef'd For The Holidays (GIVEAWAY)
What do you do when it's 5 degrees outside and the ground is covered in ice, snow or both? You avoid the grocery store and leaving the house as much as possible. But you have to eat, right? Delivery gets old (and expensive) really fast and sometimes you just want a home-cooked meal. For the worst procrastinators out there, I want to share with you not only a great last-minute Christmas gift but also a great option to take advantage of when hitting up the grocery store is the last thing you want to do.
*Lattes, Life & Luggage received a credit from Chef'd for an authentic and original review of the product and service. The information, online code, and gift cards have been provided by Chef’d. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Chef'd is the first and only online meal kit marketplace featuring hundreds of recipes from celebrated chefs and highly respected brands. There are no membership or subscription fees; you order the recipes you want, when you want them, and all of the fresh, pre-portioned ingredients will arrive at your door within 48 hours! Unlike subscription services, Chef'd gives consumers the ability to choose the meals they want, when they want them. All meal kits come with pre-measured ingredients, step-by-step directions and estimated cooking times. Recipe cards include photos, and the website features instructional video tips. Chef'd meals range from gourmet to family-friendly, indulgent to lighter fare, and quick & easy to chef-in-the-making in 2-and-4-person servings.
I had the privilege to try a few meals from Chef'd for this post. Normally, a lot of options would intimidate and overwhelm me. However, as you look through the website to choose meals, there are several options to narrow down the choices to better match what you're looking for and you can organize the meals by price, alphabetically and other options. They make it incredibly easy to navigate so that shopping for meals is fun rather than a chore. They're also not limited just to dinner! They offer breakfast and dessert options. I personally tried two dinners and two breakfasts. Check them out below and stick around towards the end for the giveaway!!
Mom's Fabulous Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Crust
This easy, delicious homemade classic pot pie combines tender chicken, sweet peas, carrots and herbs to create the most comforting of comfort foods. It's scratch cooking with a short cut! Our family-favorite uses pre-made biscuit dough for the top crust. I wasn't hungry after my one serving of this but it was so good I couldn't help going back for seconds. This meal does take a minute to prepare but it's not difficult by any means and oh so tasty. It's a great winter meal when it's frigid outside. My only suggestion would be to halve the biscuits lengthwise rather than cutting the discs in half so that they cook all the way through and put it on the middle rack so the top doesn't cook quicker than the biscuit dough on the bottom.
Quaker Overnight Oats with Blueberries and Honey
Fill your belly and your soul with delicious overnight oats, packed with blueberries, honey and delicious Greek yogurt. Assemble this simple breakfast before you go to bed, and wake to enjoy a cool and creamy - yet hearty - delicious oat breakfast. This guy was a surprise in the box but a welcome one at that. The amount of ingredients you get for this recipe are good enough for two mason jars (or two servings). I have a ton of jars so I made both at the same time. I've always wanted to try overnight oats and was really happy to have a simple enough recipe to follow for my first time. Next time, I'll leave out the vanilla and maybe add some strawberries and brown sugar. I'm oatmeal obsessed lately.
Sausage Ragu
Meat sauce is one recipe many American home cooks start with. It seems so easy; brown some hamburger, pour in a jar of marinara, and presto! Meat sauce. Not so fast, friends. This dish, which comes by way of Julia Moskin from the New York chef Sara Jenkins, who grew up in Tuscany and has cooked all over Italy, puts that poor imitation to shame. Italian pork sausage, separated from its casing, adds a dimension of flavor. Being Italian, I just want to point out I've never had a meat sauce with hamburger and jarred marinara. We always made our gravies from scratch. Yes, I said gravy. This ragu is a true testament to Italian cooking. Fresh ingredients always win at life and this sauce embodies that flavor so well. Even the pickiest of eaters in my home loved this recipe and it's something I will most definitely replicate on my own. Serve with a side of crusty bread.
Spinach Scramble with Mushrooms & Mozzarella Cheese
This delicious scramble with tender spinach, earthy mushrooms and gooey mozzarella goes together super fast - so it's perfect for a week day morning or a leisurely weekend brunch. A hearty breakfast doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming. Clean up is easy and fast, too! I confess. I did not have this for breakfast. I had it for dinner on a Wednesday night when I didn't feel like cooking anything extravagant. I wasn't expecting much from a scramble but the combination of flavors in this one are surprisingly comforting and all that Mozzarella is a winner. I served it with a side of tater tots and fruit for what I consider a "well-balanced meal" because in my humble opinion, you can't have eggs without potatoes.
All of these meals are currently available on the Chef'd website if you'd like to try any of them for yourself. There are several other breakfast options and different variations on the overnight oats in case blueberries or mushrooms aren't for you. I highly recommend trying out the pot pie and ragu for yourself...
...and you know what? You can! Chef'd is generously gifting a $25 gift card to one lucky reader to receive a meal or two to your own front door. Simply enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
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