For Jeff's birthday this year, I was looking at finding some unique presents for him. Something that he normally would not buy on his own, but would be interested in once it showed up to the house. This was a landmark birthday - he turned 60 in May - so I got to work finding at least 7 presents so we could celebrate "Birth Week" instead of "Birth Day."
I ended up finding some meal kits on Etsy - a sort of "Ebay" for artsy craftsy people. You can find everything from handmade jewelry to furniture to journaling supplies to spices to grilling accessories to glasses/plates/silverware to meal kits, and anything in between on there...
I found and purchased a kit from one seller for loaded potato soup, and gave it to Jeff as one of his presents. All of these kits are all of the dry ingredients, so all you have to do is add the wet ingredients and meat, then cook.
Jeff cooked the potato soup one but did not follow the directions on the package, and we ended up being less than thrilled with the results. I blame that on not following the cooking instructions.
From a second seller, I bought a BBQ Chicken Pasta Kit, and a Beef Stroganoff Kit for a couple more presents for Jeff. This seller packages up the kits once someone buys them - they are not pre-made waiting to be shipped out. No additives or preservatives are in the kits either.
I cooked the BBQ Chicken Pasta one first. Jeff was less than enthusiastic about making it because he didn't think that the wet ingredients that were getting added would go well together. Turns out they did, but I didn't read on the website when purchasing it that the seller put Sriracha powder in the kit. It was very good, but also very spicy.
I next cooked the Beef Stroganoff kit. We had a winner here! It was really good, and tasted homemade. The kits are shelf stable for up to a year, and could actually be used when going camping, should one want to use them for that.
A few weeks later, we ended up purchasing another Beef Stroganoff Kit, along with a Cheesy Taco Skillet Kit and one for Chicken Noodle Soup. As of the time I am typing this, we have cooked everything but the Chicken Noodle Soup. The two we have cooked were really good.
One thing I noticed with this particular seller's page on Etsy, is that she also sells other things as well. I have purchased two Oatmeal Kits (Cherry and Cherry Vanilla - I have already tried the Cherry one and it was really good). Since Jeff loves meatloaf, I bought the meatloaf (and meatballs) seasoning kit. Also purchased a Mild Chili Seasoning Kit. Once Jeff makes those, we'll see how they taste. The last thing I have purchased to date is a Muffin Kit (Cherry flavor). We'll need to go get the wet ingredients from the store to see how the muffins turn out.
She also sells bread kits and actually sells loaves of bread, muffins, and biscuits. We haven't bought any of the kits or any of the actual baked goods yet, but I am excited about trying them as well. Who knew this would actually be a viable option for some good home-cooked food that is easy to make?
I wanted to link the Etsy page where I have purchased these kits - Chickens In the Road Etsy Shop.
