I’ve been trying out a subscription to Marley’s Spoon, a weekly meal delivery service so my cooking chops (pun intended) will be tested from time to time. (I was hooked so I decided to try out a subscription. If you’re interested in trying out this sub for yourself, use the coupon code COOKSMART for $30 off.
My meal plan is for a weekly delivery of 2 meals, which costs $48.
Greek Chicken Burger with Tzatziki Salad
I chose this because who could resist itty bitty pretzel rolls? Can you? I don’t think so.
As usual the meat came well sealed and looking super fresh. A paper bag held all the other items except feta, which of course I didn’t realize was missing until I went to make this recipe and couldn’t find it. The lone feta tiny feta bag was left behind in the insulated packaging. And so our Greek Chicken Burger was going to be Feta-less. I’d failed this food test before I even started.
Our itty bitty chicken burgers go into the pan to cook.
The Tzatziki salad is super easy to make and gets served on top and alongside the chicken sliders.
Taste: Hit!
Despite the sad loss of the Feta, these burgers and salad were still really tasty. The only annoying part of this recipe was making the tiny patties. As cute as these pretzel rolls are, I really wish we’d gotten some big ones instead and made two regular sized burgers. I also would have liked an additional side dish or more than just the salad, which was a bit light to serve with the sliders.
Portion Size: A bit on the small side. The tiny burgers and light salad weren’t as filling as I’d hoped.
Good for Entertaining?: Absolutely!
I’ve made a similar salad for Greek dinners before and these sliders can easily be transformed into Greek Chicken meatballs or larger sized burgers. For entertaining, I’d serve these as larger burgers, with the tzatziki salad and some Greek oven fries. I have a super simple recipe I copied off of a Greek restaurant I love. You slice potatoes in thin rounds, coat in a little olive oil, sea salt, pepper and a generous amount of oregano, then roast in the oven until crispy. For a starter I’d go with some type of grilled seafood with Mediterranean flavors, dessert would be a yogurt poundcake with a lemon glaze and for a drink, I’d serve a white sangria.
Pork Schnitzel with Warm Cabbage & Potato Salad
I let my boyfriend chose the second recipe and he went with the Schnitzel, as men so often do.
The same deal here, lots of well packaged items and this time I managed not to lose any.
This recipe required a “breading station” and for me once again to take out a meat mallet and pound the pork, but first I needed to wrap it in plastic.
(This entire recipe is just one giant euphemism, isn’t it?)
Now we’ve got to make the side dish so a pound of tiny little potatoes go into the pot. (Marley Spoon certainly loves tiny little food).
They get finished in the pan. For full disclosure, I did make the executive decision to omit some of the vinegar. I find a lot of Marley Spoon recipes are very heavy on vinegar and I think it takes away from the other flavors.
I take my breaded, pounded pork and throw it into a pan.
Somehow, I end up with a surprisingly fancy pants looking plate.
Taste: Like
Maybe I’m just a chicken girl, (did anyone else hear the tune “You’re not a man, you’re a chicken boo”, in their heads? Just me?), but I think I would have preferred it instead. The pork tasted good, but the breading did seem to come off a little too easily. (Did I screw up my breading station? The horror!) The salad was fine, if uninspired. I do think this recipe really needed a fresh element to brighten it up. Maybe a fresh salad and roasted potatoes instead of the warm potato salad.
Portion Size: Quite Ample. The side in particular made a ton.
Good for Entertaining?: I’d skip this one.
The recipe is a little too fussy for guests and most of the folks I know would probably prefer a different meat in this style of preparation.
OVERALL
Verdict: Hit!
I really enjoyed the Greek Chicken sliders and picked up a great recipe to use in the future. The Pork Schnitzel was a little time consuming to make, but it tasted just good and was a fine recipe for a weekend. I like that Marley Spoon forces me to try new recipes and make things more complicated than eggs or pasta during the week.
Have you ever tried a fresh meal subscription service? If so, what did you think?
THE BACKSTORY
Marley’s Spoon creates delicious, easy to follow recipes.
They deliver fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and you select your recipes from their changing weekly menu.
They are dedicated to sourcing organic and sustainable whenever possible. Building relationships with environmentally aware farms and producers ensures that the highest quality ingredients arrive at your door each week.
Using trusted delivery partners, your Marley Spoon boxes come insulated and chilled, staying cool for 30 hours! After delivery, all the ingredients are guaranteed to stay fresh for up to 4 days – allowing you to decide when to cook.
Marley’s Spoon donates any leftover ingredients to City Harvest. City Harvest exists to end hunger in communities throughout New York City through food rescue and distribution, education, and other practical, innovative solutions.
Each week you’ll automatically receive great dishes, but as a flexible subscription, you can skip a week or pause your subscription anytime. You can also change delivery frequency, recipes, and the number of portions you’d like to receive.
Marley’ Spoon delivers to the mid Atlantic and New England regions: most of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.
Monthly Cost:
Varies by number of servings and number of meals.
Check here for the configuration of your choice
COUPON CODE: COOKSMART
Lisa Preziosi 