Plated Meal Subscription Box Review & Free Plates Coupon – October 10, 2015

Plated sends weekly dinner kits with high quality ingredients and chef-created recipes. Each week you’ll choose from a variety of dishes that range from meats, chicken, seafoods, and purely vegetarian options. There’s enough selection to please all palates, and the recipes are seasonally focused. We love the way each meal incorporates only a couple key herbs or spices; the flavors shine through, and the recipes remain easy to follow. We love getting boxes most week to try new recipes, and we save the must make again recipes – although they’re also available in your account. Plated’s recipes rely on mise en place and then cook, and to be honest, we often mix up the steps, but we’re both experienced cooks and know what can be accomplished while something else cooks. So, read your cards if you need the step by steps.

 The recipe card was updated earlier this year, though I wish it would indicate the ease of the meal right on the card. When your box is sent out you’ll get an email indicating the pantry items you’ll need (this week:black pepper egg kosher salt olive oil) , plus a reminder of what meals are coming, preparation ease, cook time, and calorie count.  Our last batch of cards had been further updated to add beer or wine pairing suggestions — a great idea, since many of the recipes feature exotic spices or flavor combos that would stump the novice sommelier.  They apparently went back to the old format, omitting the pairings — we’ll have to see if they come back next box.  We get asked a lot – Sometimes we order Plated and sometimes Hello Fresh. It just depends on what meals we’re interested in. [Hello Fresh: Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8]

They’ve also reverted to the former packaging, abandoning the jute insulation.  They have continued packing herbs in an envelope to protect them from the ice.

Saucy Meatball Sliders with Classic Caesar Salad. Cook Time 35-45, Calories 680, Difficulty Easy.

This dish was was a great feel-good meal.  The sliders were big, hearty, meatballs — making this a neater version of a meatball parmigiana sub.  The marinara sauce was really delicious, with a big fresh tomato taste that gets left out in most jarred sauces.  The simple Caesar captured the necessary flavor notes and balanced the hearty burger with its zesty creaminess.  Three sliders is a pretty big portion — we usually plan on getting two generous servings and a single lunch’s worth of leftovers from most recipes.  Two sliders made a decent portion (the recipe made six altogether), so we had some lunch!

Ribeye with Whipped Goat Cheese and Maple Blue Hubbard Squash.  Cook Time 30-40, Calories 780, Difficulty Easy.

I may have failed to measure the milk when preparing the goat cheese creme — most items are pre-portioned for the recipe, but occasionally more of something is provided than is called for in the recipe — so we repurposed our goat cheese milk to make a mashed potato side for the dish.  The kids loved the goat cheese potatoes!

The squash make a great, sweet and creamy hash.  The chili powder was a great way to crank up the flavor of the squash, and it didn’t add distracting heat.  In fact, it seemed very mild, and the squash tasted as though it was seasoned with turmeric and cumin, a tasty and odd result of the combination of flavors.  The steak was superb — I don’t think I’ve ever thought to slice a ribeye like this.  For some reason, I always cut off sections and cut off bites once on my plate — this way gave a bit of the strip and loin in each slice.  We like it when dishes are offered that the kids can try, too.  They loved our potato mishap.

This was a good set of fall recipes.  They were hearty, tasty and filling, and very simple to put together.

Visit Plated to find or more or to subscribe. Currently you can get 2 free plates when you buy 4 when you sign up with this link (no coupon code required).