I don’t know if you are like me, but if you get annoyed or upset thinking about what to cook for dinner, well… You are not alone. (Get $130 off HelloFresh with my discount code…scroll down to the bottom of the post to learn more)

What to cook for dinner is the eternal question as a mother, and one that after a full day of working or if you are exhausted is hard to face.

It is so easy to resort to family favourites; spaghetti bolognese, a simple stir fry or maybe it is mac and cheese? Whatever your go-to dinner is, it can get super boring very quickly. Or maybe, you just try and encourage others to cook until you realise that no one is hungry.  Or you resort to having breakfast for dinner.

Also, from the perspective of a mum that thinks about way too many things to keep the house and family going, it is nice to not think about what to cook. It is so nice to have a break about what to create for dinner, well other than actually cooking it and also getting all the ingredients from the supermarket.

I organised 5 meals for the week from HelloFresh and made sure to pick family-friendly recipes. I’m trying to encourage the kids to eat something different. Below I will detail what we cooked each day (Also check out the video above and see the timecodes for each recipe).

Day 1: Quick Sweet Chilli Beef Stir-Fry

One of my girls cooked this meal and she did an amazing job. I did help her out with a few things; however, she did the majority on her own. 

The food was fresh, the recipe was easy to follow and my thirteen-year-old was able to create the meal with no issues. 

It was a yummy and simple meal that was also quick to create and having a quick go-to dinner for a weeknight meal is a good thing in my book. You don’t want to be fussing for hours to cook a meal for the kids and yourself. 

I added chilli flakes to hubby and my meal, and the kids had their meal chilli flake-free.

Day 2: Quick Caribbean Chicken Tacos with Pineapple & Corn Salsa

I don’t know about you, but I think nearly everyone loves a good taco. These tacos were more like a soft tortillas and were filled with tasty cooked Caribbean chicken and fresh pineapple and corn salsa. It was topped off with garlic aioli.

This meal was cooked by one of my girls who was excited to be cooking a meal with our HelloFresh box. It was nice to see the kids getting involved in cooking meals for the family and learning life skills.

The Caribbean Chicken Tacos with Pineapple & Corn Salsa were tasty and very yummy. In fact, it was a huge hit with everyone. This meal is one that we will definitely be making again.

Day 3: Chicken & Creamy Peppercorn Sauce

Hubby wanted to have a go with the HelloFresh meals and cooked Chicken & Creamy Peppercorn Sauce. I thought he would like this as he is a big fan of spice and I also love a good peppercorn sauce.

Hubby found the recipe easy to do however the sauce took a little longer than stated on the recipe card.

Day 4: Kale and Beef Cottage Pie

This was a new take on the standard cottage pie, otherwise known as a shepherd’s pie. I for one have used Bok Choy in my own thrown-together home versions of a cottage pie but have never used kale before. It was a nice change to Bok Choy or Broccolini. 

I normally add cheese on top of the mashed potato and use tasty or aged cheese, however in the HelloFresh box there was parmesan to use. In the HelloFresh recipe, it said to mix the shredded parmesan cheese in the mash mixture and add it to the top of the dish and then bake in the oven. 

I’ve never added cheese to the mash before baking so this was a little different for me. I followed the instructions and of course, kept a little extra parmesan to sprinkle on top. I must admit that adding the cheese to the mash worked a treat and I will adopt this method next time I make a cottage or shepherd’s pie. 

The flavours worked well with the sauce and added vegetables and were very tasty. The only extra item I added was some chilli flakes to make the meal for hubby and I spicier.

Day 5: Creamy Bacon Carbonara with Pear Salad

I do love a good creamy bacon carbonara, however, I have never made a carbonara sauce from scratch until now. Creating a carbonara sauce I always thought was terribly complicated, but it really isn’t.

HelloFresh had simple instructions and made me a carbonara sauce expert….and all I have to do is keep my recipe card to do it all over again.

Next post: Stay tuned for part 3 and learn about what we liked about HelloFresh and what our favourite meals were.

Giving HelloFresh a go is so easy.
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