Today I’ve got an episode of Mondays with Marley Spoon. If you’d like to try out this weekly meal subscription service for yourself, use the coupon code COOKSMART for $30 off.
My meal plan is for a weekly delivery of 2 meals (2 portions each), which costs $48.
Sometimes Marley Spoon throws in a free treat. This package came with a free cookie. Yeah for free cookies! (I didn’t even need to go to the dark side.)
Broken Spaghetti with Chorizo, Manchego and Scallions
Download the recipe here.
I chose this dish because I love Chorizo and Paella (which they claimed this dish was based on).
Our usual fresh ingredients and this time they included extra Chorizo that we could add to the recipe or use for something else. (I reserved mine for my rice cooker Spanish style red beans & rice recipe.)
So we start with lots of chopping and what I hadn’t realized was that this recipe contained fennel…lots and lots of fennel. I was concerned as it didn’t seem to be the best flavor to go with the other ingredients and there was just so much of it. But I decided to go on faith.
First, we cook the Chorizo in some oil and then transfer it to a plate.
We add garlic, scallion whites, and the aforementioned 80 pounds of fennel to the Chorizo oil and cook until golden. We remove the vegetables, then add more oil to the skillet and toast the spaghetti.
Next we add tomatoes and their liquid with 3 cups of water, salt and pepper. We cook until the liquid reduces and the pasta is tender.
We finish it with a shave of Manchego and top with Chorizo.
This is the finished product:
Taste: Never again
This was awful. The fennel had no place in this dish and was an awkward texture while you ate the spaghetti. It’s flavor really detracted from the lovely cheese and delicious Chorizo. I kept trying to remove the fennel pieces and just eat the rest. This could have been a great recipe, by just omitting the fennel. There are lots of other better choices for vegetables in this dish (red peppers spring to mind). This one was a huge disappointment.
Portion Size: Generous (too bad it tasted terrible).
Good for Entertaining?: Nope. Never. Ever.
Cowboy Steak and Pinto Beans with Summer Tomatoes
Download the recipe here.
Steak from Marley Spoon is always great quality so I opted for this entrée.
More fresh ingredients:
We start with prepping our ingredients, and unlike most recipes we don’t have too much slicing (which is a nice change of pace).
We make a rub for the steak and then cook them in an oiled skillet.
After the steak is done, we remove it from the skillet and add some more oil. We cook the onions and season them with salt. Then the pinto beans go in and are simmered and cooked until the liquid has thickened. Then we stir in some mustard.
To finish we slice the steak and dress the tomatoes with oil, salt, pepper and chives.
When all is said and done, this is our dish:
Taste: Love!
This was a tasty fresh dish that was super easy. Not a ton of prep or dishes and really nice flavors. The mustard in the beans really added something special to the dish and I loved the dry rub on the steak. This is something I could see myself making on a weeknight.
Portion Size: Excellent with tons of beans
Good for Entertaining?: Yes. I could see this for a casual dinner with some close friends. For an appetizer I’d do a warm seafood dip, like crab or shrimp with pita chips and veggies for dipping. As dinner sides, I’d add make my Outback Copycat Bread and add some creamy mashed potatoes. Drinks would include soft drinks, beer and a spiked Iced Tea – probably something like a Blackberry Bourbon Iced Tea. Dessert would be my “heavenly” brownies which have an amaretto cream cheese topping.
OVERALL
Verdict: A Mixed Bag
I absolutely hated one recipe and loved another so it’s hard to come up with an overall verdict. I did like that that both dishes were “one pot” and I’d love to see Marley Spoon continue that trend. Right now, most of their recipes are ones I reserve for the weekend because there is just too much prep and clean-up for someone with a small kitchen and no dishwasher.
Have you tried any food subscriptions?
If so which one, and what did you think?
THE BACKSTORY
Marley 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 
I’ve never heard of this before, but glad at least one of them was good!
It’s not as famous as “Hello Fresh”, but now that Martha Stewart is backing it, I think it will get more popular. The best part of it is that you can order just 2 meals a week – most meal subs make you get at least 3!