What's on My Plate: Plated Jerk Red Fish & Pork Tonkatsu

It has been about 3 months since my last Plated delivery. I missed the order for the squid ink and crab claw menu, laaaaame.  I honestly forgot I had a meal scheduled, then after several email reminders I chose a menu that looked fun and tasty.

Meal 1: Jerk Redfish with Chayote Squash, Tomatillo, and Scallion Sauté

The updates to the menus include novice vs pro prep time. With those additional parameters I decided to treat my kitchen like a cooking reality show. After unpacking all of the items and laying out all my prep tools I set the timer for 50 minutes and went at it.

My prep time is still a little long. My chopping skills are getting better each meal, but still take the majority of my time. My new ingredients for this dish were redfish and chayote squash. The Chayote Squash resembles a pear and has a similar texture but took on the flavors of the food it was cooked with. At the 50 minute mark the fish was seasoned and cooking, the veggie sauté was ready to go, and I was pouring lime sauce over the fish.

The next 7 minutes were dedicated to me plating the food. The fish cooked in about 6 minutes. I was able to plate the squash and fish before the 10 minute timer went off. 

Loved this dish. The jerk fish was a nice mix of sweet and spicy. The squash and tomatillos sauté was tart and tender. The 2 parts balanced each other really well. This created a light, flavorful dinner.

Total prep time was 57:35. Next goal is to hit the novice time of 50, then the pro time of 40.

Meal 2:  Pork Tonkatsu with Yuzu Cherry Salsa and Mizuna

The goal for this meal was 40 minutes, yeeeeeah, not in my kitchen. The hardest part of this prep was pitting the cherries. I chose to cut them free and thatt was fairly time consuming. Everything was chopped and prepped at the 40 minute mark.

I added 15 minutes to the clock to finish everything. I was able to prep and cook the pork at 10 minutes. The last 5 minutes was plating the Mizuna and Pork Tonkatsu. With an additional 15 minutes I was able to cook and plate everything. Total prep time: 55 minutes

The 2 new ingredients for this meal we're the Yuzu juice and Mizuna. My favorite part of this dish was the Yuzu Cherry salsa. I looked up Yuzu, it is a citrus fruit from east Asia, it was tart but thicker than a lime or lemon juice. The salsa was a tasty blend of sweet, spicy and tart. Another new ingredient for me was the Mizuna. This tiny green was packed with tons of flavor, tart and very fragrant. I should have decreased the soy sauce in the salad, it was too salty for me. But, when I put the salad and pork together it balanced the flavors. The Yuzu Cherry Salsa added tons of flavor to the pork and balanced out the bitter and salty taste of the Mizuna salad.

Loving cooking with Plated. Have you tried any of the home chef delivery programs? What is your favorite meal you've prepped.

Cooking with plated allows me to explore new flavors and ingredients while preventing food waste. Each menu provides the portions you need to serve a perfectly plated meal. If there are any left over seasonings I save them for slow cooking and broths. Fun, tasty, creative meals in the comfort of my own home. Taking my home cooking to a whole other level.

Health and Happiness,
Larissa

What's on My Plate: Plated Peppercorn Pork and Chicken Tikka

Another Plated delivery arrived.

This time I chose Pink Peppercorn Pork and Polenta for meal 1 and Chicken Tikka Masala for meal 2. Chicken Tikka is one of my favorite Indian dishes, full of flavor but not overly spicy. Indian dishes always seem so complex I thought using Plated would be a great way to take some of the complexity out of it. The great thing about Plated is having all of the ingredients portioned and prepped for me without any extra trips to the grocery store or farmers market.

Meal 1: Pink Peppercorn-Crusted Pork Chops with Pearl Onions and Polenta

The prep for this one was super easy. The hardest part was the grinding of the peppercorn blend. I don't have a pepper grinder or mortar and pestal so I just used a heavy pot for the grinding. Other than that I just had to peel and halve the onions. Everything else just had to be mixed or cooked.

Mmmmm, another great meal. I pan roasted the pork and it came out tender and juicy. The pink peppercorn blend gave the pork so much flavor and the white wine reduction made for a tasty sauce. This was my first time preparing polenta, but it was the perfect pairing for the pork. Polenta is a corn based dish similar in texture and preparation to grits but made with an Italian corn. Our reciep served it with goat cheese and milk. But it can also be served as a kind of fried cake. All the seasoning made for a very fragrant kitchen. Approximately 710 calories.

Meal 2: Chicken Tikka Masala

Another fairly easy prep. I cut the chicken then minced the garlic and ginger. I have never used yogurt as a marinade, but from what I read it serves as a natural meat tenderizer. All of the other spices were pre blended so all I needed to do was add them to the marinade and sauce. The scents of cloves, cumin, and cinnamon were filled our home. While the chicken roasted I prepped the sauce. I prepped the main part of the meal on Thursday. Then, Friday night I heated the meal on the stove top and after a quick saute' of the spinach and toasting of the naan and we were ready to go.

This was our Friday night dinner date. This is one of my favorite Indian dishes, it was fun trying to recreate it at home.  I forgot to add salt during the broiling of the chicken, so at first it did not quite taste right. A pinch of sea salt after really helped to bring out all of the flavors. Just the right amount of spice and loaded with flavor. Approximately 660 calories.

Have you tried Plated or any other meal delivery system? Use this link to checkout the current menu and if they deliver to your area: Plated .

I enjoy eating high quality foods and trying new recipes. If you do too, you should try Plated. Let me know what you think.

Disclosure: This blog includes a referral link to plated. If you chose to buy a Plated box using this link you will recieve a 2 plate discount on your first order and I receive a discount on future Plated orders.

Health and Happiness,
Larissa

What's on My Plate: Plated Mushroom and Leek Udon with Tofu and Spinach

This weekend another awesome plated box arrived. I chose a vegetarian dish and a hearty chef's table plate. I like to try recipes with ingredients I would not readily buy or recipes that just look and sound appetizing. Sunday night we tried the Udon.

All of the products straight out the box

Food prep always takes more time for me than what is listed on the recipe card. I like reading through the whole card and having everything laid out before I start. But, each time prep to plate gets easier.

My food prep station

The hardest part of prep for this one was the chopping. My knife skills are still pretty rough, but I am learning new tricks each time. A sharp knife makes chopping and mincing things like fresh ginger much easier.

The smell was amazing. The ginger and garlic was so aromatic. Mmmmm just thinking about it is making my mouth water again.

The final product

This was my 1st time cooking with tofu. I was not sure how my husband would react to a vegetarian dinner. Guess who loved every bite. That lets you know how good it was.

For us, it made way more than 2 servings. It made about 4. I am still eating from it. It was great as a dinner and made an even tastier lunch the next day.

Have you tried Plated yet? Use this link to check out their current menu and if they deliver to your area. Try Plated

If you love eating high quality food and enjoy trying new recipes you should checkout Plated. Let me know what you think.

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Disclosure: This blog includes a referral link to Plated. If you chose to buy a Plated box using this link you will receive a 2 plate discount on your first order and I receive a discount on future Plated orders.

Health and Happiness,
Larissa

What's on my plate? Cooking with Plated

I learned about Plated through my work with Everymove. One of the rewards I earned was a discount on a Plated membership. Then I saw an ad on Facebook offering 4 meals for $20.

I set up my account but never ordered. Then last week I got an email saying my plates were going to expire. It was now or never.

I decided to choose 2 recipes that looked tasty and used ingredients I had never cooked with before and that I probably would not try on my own. I few days later my package arrived! 

I love the packaging, 

"This is your moment of glory!" What a great greeting for my foodie adventure!

In my box were all the major ingredients: fresh spices, carbs, veggies, and protein. I just had to supply the oil, salt, pepper and cookware. Let the fun begin!

Meal 1 I prepped for date night with the husband: Quail with Quince

I have never cooked quail or quince before. With a little help from The queen of quince I figured out how to core and pit the fruit. 

Then I prepped the potatoes, seasoning, and quail.

The final product was quite fancy.

The final product was delicious. I loved the taste of the Dijon seasoning on the quail. The balsamic have the quince a nice balance of sweet and tart. The plated description was pretty accurate, Quince taste like a blend of an apple and a pear. We had some leftover cucumber tomato salad so we added that to our meal for some added color and vegetables.

Meal 2: Pork Chops with Cider Gravy 

This time, with a little help from Martha, I learned how to chop a fresh fennel bulb and mince shallots.

It took me about an hour to prep this meal, it took a lil while to find videos and mince and chop, but it was soooo worth it. This was soooo good. 

We ate every succulent bite! The sweet and savory of the roasted fennel and apple salad was a perfect compliment to the pork chops. The cider gravy was an amazing glaze for the pork chop. Absolutely delicious! My favorite recipe of the 2 of tried.

Plated made me feel like a gourmet chef! I absolutely loved it.  The meals I picked were full of healthy oils and fat, low carb, high protein, paleo friendly, and were between 630-500 calories. So it is easy to fit them into my healthy lifestyle.

From the packaging to the positive feedback on Twitter and Instagram I loved the experience.  I look forward to my next Plated adventure!

Have you tried plated? What new recipe did you try?

Health and Happiness

Larissa