Recipe: Gnocchi with Baby Zucchini, Crispy Squash Blossoms and Lemon Brown Butter Sauce {Blue Apron Meals}

Delicious ingredients delivered to your door, making a perfect and quick dinner that you can feel good about eating and serving. Gnocchi with Baby Zucchini, Crispy Squash Blossoms and Lemon Brown Butter Sauce … let’s go.

One of Nick’s favorite shows is Shark Tank, which I will happily watch with him any time. It’s a weird but awesome phase we’re in where there is little to no animation on the tv and we’re all agreeing on what we watch together. I’ll take it.

A few months back, one of the businesses profiled on the show was Blue Apron. The concept is pretty awesome. For $9.99 per person per meal, you will get a box delivered to your doorstep that includes all the ingredients to make a fresh, easy, and delicious meal. When you’re building your profile, you can note allergies, strong dislikes, whether you’re vegetarian or not, and other preferences, so you can be fairly certain that you’re getting meals you’ll actually eat.

Because, really, that’s kind of the point.

Using fresh produce that is in season, the meals are relatively simple to prepare. Your Blue Apron delivery includes large recipe cards, guiding you through the recipe step-by-step, and all the ingredients are neatly packaged up (this is how the first meal looked when it arrived). Whether you need a quarter cup of rice flour, or just a bit of butter, it’s all in there (so far, every single ingredient with the exception of olive oil; not sure why they don’t include that). Which is wonderful in terms of waste and cost effectiveness – no buying a four pound package of rice flour when your recipe only calls for a quarter cup. Your package includes three meals for the week, and you can get a peek at what recipes/food they will send you for the upcoming week.

Our first box arrived last week, and as soon as I opened it, I figured out one of the things I love most about Blue Apron.

It includes items I’ve never had before. So it became an exploration of sorts. Squash blossoms? Drum (fish)? Rice flour? All in that first box.

Our first meal from the box was Gnocchi with Baby Zucchini, Crispy Squash Blossoms, and Lemon Brown Butter. I have had gnocchi maybe twice in my life. Once when I was married, but since The Ex didn’t like it, I just never made it again. Unfortunately the kids haven’t been fans in the past either, and since I’m usually eating minimal carbs, gnocchi is just a double whammy (a soft pasta made with potatoes). Madeline still doesn’t like it, but Nick actually did. So. Progress. Since neither of them will eat zucchini (yet), I figured they wouldn’t be a fan of this meal, and I was right. That being said, it was delicious. The gnocchi was soft and pillowy, the zucchini was the perfect nod to celebrate the season, and the lemon brown butter sauce is something I will definitely make again and again and again.

My only critique on the actual Blue Apron meal service is that I wish the recipe cards had nutritional breakdowns. While it *does* include the calorie count (most average 500-700 calories, and this one was 500), there are no stats beyond that. The timing of how long the recipe takes to make isn’t included on the cards either, but after poking around on the web site, I found that most are said to take about 35 minutes, and that was spot on, both for this first meal, and for the second one we had tonight.

I loved the convenience of having three meals delivered to my door, and the fact that I’m not wasting money on buying regular size packages of ingredients when I only need a little bit. It’s also nice to have three meals completely taken care of. With spring soccer and track finishing up, as well as the school year, this is a godsend. I also love the fact that they are sending meals that are full of fresh ingredients, with a heavy nod to in-season produce, taking full advantage of spring and summer bounty. They partner with a lot of local and organic purveyors with sustainable practices, so bonus points for that. Always.

You can find the recipe for this dish right here.

PS Have YOU tried a Blue Apron meal? Would love to hear your favorite. If you search the hashtag #BlueApron on Instagram, you’ll find tons of other meals pictured. Prepare to start salivating.

*This is NOT a sponsored post. Just sharing the love of a new discovery.