So, have y’all heard of Blue Apron? Ring any bells? You know, that thing that sends uncooked food to your home for a fat $60 charge and you still have to do the actual cooking? Now I have you. Yes, that’s Blue Apron and it sounds like a waste of money, right? Wrong.

Blue Apron is for people who like cooking but aren’t really that great at cooking and have absolutely no time to do learn and instead waste two hours a day on Pinterest pinning recipes they’ll never make. So, you know, niche… or everyone I know.

I took the opportunity to be challenged. And, despite the easy-as-one-two-three idea, it was kind of challenging. Before I tell you my Chopped IRL experience, here’s what BA is all about.

The promises:

Original, different recipes.

Fair. I obviously didn’t get a bunch of recipes, but I got three. They all had different meats and starches, but two had eggplant and two had a very similar sauce. #firstworldprobs

Pre-measured ingredients.

Where’s my Staples “That Was Easy” button? Can I always cook with everything pre-measured?

Seasonal ingredients that are fresher than the grocery store.

IDK. I pretty much shop once a month (#fair), so yes, these foods were fresher than a motha to me.

Convenient delivery in a refrigerated box.

Well… the delivery dude got freaked out my the “REFRIGERATE IMMEDIATELY” stamp and thought he’d hand deliver to my apartment door, rather than the air-conditioned office at my complex. Maybe he thought I’d be home… on a Tuesday… at ten am. Ugh. The food was still cool, but Houston DESTROYED the box. Everything was wet with a questionable liquid.

35 minutes or less.

Accurate. There’s a lot of prep time for the chopping and slicing all those fresher than a motha veggies.

Delicious, easy to cook meal.

YAS. I had a hard time not bragging more about the DELICIOUS MEAL I MADE. But, alas, we all know it was Blue Apron’s pre-made ish that made the dish. I helped?

The meals:

Meal 1: Seared Cod & Fregola Sarda with Braised Summer Vegetables

I started with the fish dish, per BA’s recommendation. So, I checked out what I would be making and i realized I only knew 50% of the title? Awesome.

I followed the instructions and it turned out AMAZING. So good. Pretty & delish. Where do I sign up for Chopped?

Meal 2: Tandoori-Spiced Chicken with Green Lentils, Heirloom Eggplant & Cucumber-Mint Yogurt

Uh oh, Indian? I don’t eat Indian, much less cook it! I made this one with an audience (my Indian food loving friend) and she was so impressed. The spices were a bit much while cooking, but it turned out really good. I especially liked the Tandoori spice for the chicken and the yogurt sauce—which is pretty easy to replicate! Greek yogurt, mint and cucumber! Done.

Meal 3: Rigatoni Puttanesca with Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplant & Fresh Oregano

I made this one right after the Indian success. I wanted it for lunch for the week, and i felt the produce was going bad. I whipped it up a little faster than 35 minutes (no meat). I felt like the eggplant was a little too much. I wound up eating around it.

The verdict:

When I win the lottery marry rich, I’ll do this guy ALL the time. In the meantime, I’ll keep eating SnapKitchen and maybe treat myself to this every once and a while if I’m good.