2nd Plated June 2013 Unboxing & Review!

I recently received another 4 plates of steak from Plated! This was NOT given to me to review, but I love their company too much to not review it. If you haven't read my other post on Plated.com, you can read it here. Plated.com is a  Gourmet Meal service in which you pay per plate and have all the ingredients, INCLUDING meat mailed to your door FRESH and ready for you to prepare and cook! I was super ecstatic when I was sent 4 plates of London Broil on June 11th to review for you all, that I just had to order it again. Luckily, some awesome lady signed up under my link, received 2 free plates, and also allowed me to gain 2 free plates, so I used it to get my order that I'm showing you all today! This food is better than the stuff you get at a steakhouse! I've hooked my family on it, and we'll be customers forever!  You can purchase these plates, which change on their menu every week, on a no commitment basis, meaning you only have to pay $15 a plate, and must have an order of 4 plates, or if you order 6+ plates you can get them for $14 per plate. If that is too expensive, you can buy a monthly membership for $10 which knocks your plate cost down to $12 per plate for 4, or $10 per plate for 6+!  Now here’s the awesome thing. If you use my referral link, and buy 4 plates, you get 2 of them for free!! That’s right, you’ll get 4 plates for $30 SHIPPED!!! I’ll also receive two plates free for you using my link! But this is where it gets better, when you sign up, you’ll receive your OWN link, and if you get people to buy off of yours, you’ll receive free plates too! It’s a win win win situation  ! Currently they’re only in select cities, so you’ll have to check and see if they deliver to your area. Now, lets get on with my unboxing!  (With this review, I didn't go all out and show you the process of cooking it. I have the pictures of the items included, and the finished product :))

For this dinner I received the Grilled Steak with Red Wine-Onion Marmalade and Farro Salad! Getting this package, I realized my last review was correct, I did actually receive enough for 4 plates. The portions are a little smaller than what we're used to, but you can't expect to get giant serving sizes with everything...especially a dinner service.



 

This is the box that Plated comes in. It's HUGE! It also comes wrapped in a silver/insulated bag with cool packs.

In my box was the recipe card (which I didn't take a picture of), and 2 of all the ingredients :)

The first items in the box were these 2 bags of Thyme & Parsley. The thyme was used in the Red Wine-Onion Marmalade. The parsley was used in the Farro Salad :) I think we used 1 and a half bags. That was plenty for our dishes.

Next were 2 10 OZ packages of Flat Iron Steak from Mosner. This of course was the steak portion of the meal...obviously! The thing is, is 1 of these steaks is not enough for 2 people. Especially in a house that is in love with steak! We were a little disappointed when we realized 1 steak was supposed to be for 2 people...then we immediately thought back to the London Broil...which we ended up getting 2 steaks as well. We ended up portioning the meal to feed 3 people instead of the 4 recommendation.

Next were 2 of these green bags with the rest of the ingredients in them! :) I love these little bags, it's like Christmas...except...not? :)

This was all inside of the 2 bags...of course, just picture every item here doubled. I didn't bother opening the other bag for pictures because it was the exact same.

So in the bags there were 2 (total) Natural Brand Sugar packets. This was used in the Red Wine-Onion Marmalade to give it more sweetness.

Then there were 2 huge cucumbers. At first I didn't think we'd use both, but in the end I did. I thought that it was a little plain with a little cucumber, so I just chopped the rest up and threw it in! :)

Next there were these 2 little bottles of Red Wine. This...obviously...was used for the marmalade as well. It had a very strong taste (I had to taste test before I cooked with it ;) ) It did, however, pull the sauteed onions together nicely (and I HATE onions!).

Then there were the 2 purple onions! Now, I know they're called "Red Onions" but they're not red! They're purple! :) This was used for both the marmalade and the salad. I'm not an onion lover, so I didn't care for using it...I tried skimping out with the salad ;)

Then there were 2 lemons! This was also used for the salad, and OMG it made such a difference! The lemon played an awesome role in the salad, and I think it gave it all of the flavor.

Next were 2 bags of Radishes.  Again, I really don't like radish. I think they're too spicy (I even love spicy things), but also have a dirty taste to them. Everything about them grosses me out, and unfortunately I have parents who are obsessed with them and put them in everything, including salads. I have to pick them out. Job of a picky eater I guess... :) This was used in the Farro Salad.

Lastly, of course, was the Farro itself! I'm going to admit, I had no idea what in the world farro actually was. And I will also admit, I'm so glad that Plated introduced me to it, because I'm in love! Farro, for those who don't know, is a grain that reminds me a lot of rice. It's just delicious and the perfect salad for summer!

Here is the end dish! The Farro Salad was mixed with lemon juice and olive oil. I've never tasted a better side on a hot day than that! It's the perfect light, airy dish that you need when it's 90 degrees out. The lemon really pulls the salad and ingredients altogether. I'm not a regular cucumber eater, but this salad made me like them, and made it taste great. Who would have known Lemon and Cucumber was awesome? The steak was perfect, of course mine didn't have the Red Wine-Onion Marmalade. I did however taste it and thought that for someone who didn't like onions, they were very sweet and delicious.

My parents were overjoyed with the taste of the sauteed onions over their steak. They said this again was another masterpiece thanks to Plated (AND CHEF MISHELLE :D). This was the second dinner I've ever cooked, and they were beyond pleased. My mom wished the steak portion was bigger, because she enjoyed it a lot. We all loved the salad, and my mom and dad have since looked for Farro in grocery stores, but had no luck finding it. We're happy to have been introduced to a new item that will be used in our house (once we can find it that is).

Another awesome dish brought to me by Plated! I can't wait to order again! :)