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My First Try at Dinner Delivery

I'm trying out a subscription box from Dinnerly

By Leann Rich August 6, 2019

I watch Food Network every Sunday morning, I enjoy reading new recipe books, and I watch the cookie decorating videos on Facebook. What I see on my screens does not transfer to how I cook at home.

I am a simple dinner kind of girl. I like popping stuff in the slow cooker, and I tend to stick to the basics. I stay away from the over-processed stuff (for the most part), and we try to buy meat and produce at our local farms. 

I didn’t think I needed the help of a dinner delivery service. How could those ingredients match what we get fresh locally? How would it be quicker than what I’m already doing? 

I was pleasantly surprised by Dinnerly. My box came with ingredients for three different recipes to feed a family of four. Through my online account, I was able to pick from a few different recipe options. I chose a tortellini salad with yellow squash and peas; sausage with potato and arugula salad; and creamy ramen with broccoli and onions. I chose the ramen for my teenage son – he just learned how to cook his own ramen, and I wanted to show him it was more than those 25-cent “dorm room” packets. 

So I unpacked all of my ingredients – the produce looked really good, nice green broccoli, fresh arugula, peas, and squash, a few Yukon gold potatoes, a red onion, and an entire head of garlic.  Ingredients for the sauces came in individual packets, Dijon mustard, cream cheese, and these cute little parmesan cheese blocks.  All of the ingredients were what I considered “real food.”


I could have taken these basket ingredients (I told you…Food Network) and just figured some stuff out on my own. I probably would have made tortellini with parmesan and butter, had an arugula salad and had sausage sandwiches with fries. However, with Dinnerly, I discovered how to combine the simple ingredients in unexpected ways.

The tortellini dish was my favorite – I sautéed the squash, blanched the peas, and combined it all together with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette and topped it with shaved parmesan. It was delicious – all of the flavors worked together, and it was perfect for a summer dinner on the patio.


I found that with the other two recipes as well – the ingredients were not what I would instinctively put together, but in the end, it all worked. I had a happy family as well. My daughter loved everything (but then she will eat anything). My aforementioned teenage son is still a picky eater, and I couldn’t do much about that. He ate the sausage and tried the ramen, but he tends to stay in his lane when it comes to eating. 


So would I try it again – in fact, I am! I kept my Dinnerly account open for another delivery.  I’m getting lemony chicken, Greek burgers, and brown butter ravioli this time…I hope all of these will be winners with my family and get me to the dessert round! I love that with Dinnerly we can all try new recipes in an easy and convenient way.


*I was provided compensation for the purpose of this review, however, all opinions are my own.