My Pinterest recipe board is a graveyard of all the delicious things I will never, ever make. Last time I made one was a disaster; I found a miso eggplant dish I’d been salivating over for months, and finally decided to try it on a weekend.

I wrote down all the ingredients and felt ready to go. Of course, when I got to the grocery store, I realized I had forgotten to write down an ingredient. I tried to pull up the recipe on my phone, but there was no service in the grocery store, so I guessed, and I guessed wrong and bought the wrong type of chilies. Typical.

Then, they didn’t carry miso paste, which was one of the main ingredients, so I had to go across town to a store that I hoped would have it in stock. All I could think about during the drive was if my frozen items were melting. The store carried it! But only in a GIANT tub. This recipe needed one single tablespoon of the stuff, so I really hoped I would like it.

When I got home, I went to make it. The recipe SAID total time was 23 minutes, but I couldn’t get the miso sauce to bubble like it did in the pictures, so it took much longer in the oven. I dried out the eggplant, and the flavors were slightly off from the chilies but I did it!! And it was delicious.

There’s nothing better than that feeling of a homemade meal. The sad part is? That was a whole year ago.

Yes, that tub of miso paste is still at the back of my fridge. That dish was so expensive, took forever, and turned my kitchen into a mess, so I really can’t justify trying funky new dishes all the time. I’d splurge on takeout once in a while, but there’s no exciting cuisine near me.

One day, when adding more recipes to my ever-growing board, I noticed an ad for HelloFresh. I thought they were mostly standard meals – like chicken and veggies or meat and potatoes, but the ad had a beautiful-looking rice dish. I actually clicked on an ad for once, and it brought me to their recipe page; I saw Korean bibimbap, Mexican tacos, Chinese pork dumplings, and more. There were detailed recipe cards for everything, so no chance of me messing up.

Starting off at $3.99 per meal, it would be more affordable than any recipe I could find. They also had pre-measured ingredients, so no more tubs of food I’d never use again!

I knew they had a good reputation for actually fitting the time suggestions, so I wondered if this might be my cooking solution. I at least wouldn’t have to set up camp in front of my oven, so I signed up to try it!

They would deliver next week, and to be adventurous, I chose an Indian recipe for my first batch. When it arrived, I started right on my shrimp curry. Immediately, I was disappointed when I saw rice. 30-minute meal, yeah, right, rice takes 45 at the minimum!

Turns out, this was Basmati rice, which only takes 15-20. My bad!

I loved how many little packages came in my meal – there were perfect amounts of garam masala, turmeric, cayenne pepper, mustard seeds, and curry powder – no measuring and no leftover spices I’d never use again.

The dish cooked in about 30 minutes, and even the packages were easy to rip open in seconds.

When I sat down, I had to take a picture of my beautiful meal; all the colors of the curry, the shrimp, and the jalapeno blended to make a gorgeous food mag-worthy meal.

I dug in, and it was so yummy. I’m thrilled I took a gamble on HelloFresh. I got to skip the grocery store, save money by avoiding those large portions of stuff I’d never use, and still get that amazing home-cooked meal feeling and taste! If you are a chicken and veggies person or you want to try new things, HelloFresh is the most affordable and convenient option.

Update: Our friends at HelloFresh are extending a special holiday offer to our readers! Follow this link to get 9 meals free + free shipping!