My Chef’s Hat – Paprika Shrimp and Cheddar Grits by Blue Apron

Paprika Shrimp and Cheddar Grits is my first foray into the food delivery service world. This dish is so delicious, full of bold colors and flavors.

I recently decided to try a new angle with my blog, and explore some of the food delivery services. You can’t get away from the ads and promotion, whether it’s on social media or TV. I have to say, I’ve always been leery about these services. I like going to the grocery store, and want to pick out my own produce. Even when I meal plan, I often change my mind and make something completely different. The delivery services take away that control. However, I have friends who swear by it for the convenience. Aaron sent me a free week of Blue Apron, so who am I to pass up a gift?!

The basic premise of these services is essentially all the same. You order weekly, and the food shows up at your door in a refrigerated box. You can schedule ahead, skip weeks, and even cancel the service at any time. The recipes change weekly, don’t repeat for an entire year, and focus on seasonal ingredients. Blue Apron also offers wine delivery, where you get 6 premium wines monthly. I already have my wine guy so I wouldn’t need to use that, but it is very handy.

The ingredients are pre-portioned and clearly labeled, so they are pretty much idiot-proof.

Meals are available for a 2-person or a family plan. So as a single person who doesn’t do leftovers, that made me pretty hesitant to even try these out. But, as I looked at the recipes, I realized that most of the ingredients are items I have in my fridge and pantry anyway, so now I just have extra for other meals.

I’m such a visual person, and won’t buy a cookbook that doesn’t have photos of the recipes. So I was so happy to see that each recipe has step-by-step photos and instructions on individual cards. Not only that, but once you get the recipe you can find it on the Blue Apron website for future reference.

The first recipe I tried in this box was the Paprika Shrimp and Cheddar Grits

I love grits, but have never cooked them with fresh corn. I am officially a fan, and will definitely do that moving forward. The sweet corn adds such a wonderful texture and bite to the grits. I went light on the cheddar cheese because I don’t typically use cheese in my grits, but I do really like that as well.

I always buy extra-large or jumbo shrimp, so I was a little disappointed to see small shrimp for this recipe. Shrimp overcooks so easily that I was afraid these little shrimp wouldn’t stand up to the cooking process. I was wrong…the shrimp was still very nice and tender.

I didn’t follow the instructions correctly, and didn’t cut the tomatoes small enough. But that is a very easy fix.

The only seasoning on the shrimp is the paprika, and I was sure it wouldn’t be enough. But I was wrong again. The paprika provided just enough spice to add a wonderful flavor. Next time I would add garlic in with the tomatoes and shrimp, and maybe add onion powder and garlic powder with the paprika.

The website touts that the ingredients are perfectly portioned to eliminate waste. To me, most of the condiments (or “knick knacks”, as they are called) are too much for even a 2-person meal. But, just like the rest of the ingredients, I can store the sauces in the fridge and use them for later recipes.

My first Blue Apron meal was a hit! I will definitely make this paprika shrimp and cheddar grits again.