Garrett’s birthday was yesterday, but we didn’t have time to celebrate on the actual day (he worked all day and went out of town at night). Last year I made a ridiculously good chocolate cake, so I had set the bar kind of high for myself.
I saw this recipe on Pinterest and knew it was perfect for Garrett’s birthday: a GIANT POP-TART!
Now, I’m super wary when it comes to recipes I find on Pinterest. Too many times, I’ve found a recipe that looked great only to be disappointed. Well, Food 52’s “pop-tart” recipe is a home run. It’s actually just a slab pie, with frosting and sprinkles.
Pies are hard, and I rarely get it right. Between the filling, the crust, and the baking, there are too many factors that can go wrong.
Somehow I pulled it off:
It’s not picture perfect but omg it was SO good.
On a somewhat related note… we canceled our Plated subscription. We’ve been doing it for a year and truly loved the service. However, we’ve been having problems with our boxes for the past couple of months, and I finally got fed up. Do you guys have any recommendations for meal services? (We’ve tried Blue Apron and didn’t love.)
Hi Carly,
Try Real Plans (www.realplans.com)! It is meal planning service that will create meal plan and your shopping list- you can download on your iPhone! It is highly customizable, you set your own schedule, type of recipes you want, diet preferences, etc. I used it for last 5 months and love it! Grocery shopping is a breeze and they have endless list of creative recipes that are delicious every single time.
Have a lovely day,
Viktória
That pie is such a good idea 🙂 I haven’t had a pop tart in so long.. Now I kind of want one hehe
What didn’t you like about Blue Apron? I just signed up and was surprised at how much I loved the recipes, ingredients, and the convenience, and I was already a pretty proficient cook to begin with!
We tried it about a year and a half ago so maybe it’s different now but the recipes were super bland and boring. Like no color, no flavor!
I’ve found that just adding spices that are not included really helps improve the flavor of my Blue Apron meals. I’ve purchased a few different varieties to keep on hand, and it really seems to help. I like to think of Blue Apron as providing me with all the basics, but I can “spice” things up a bit if I choose to!
I really love Home Chef!
I second this!
I’ve never tried a meal delivery/prep service but when I was thinking about getting a subscription, I found a Buzzfeed article where they test out recipes from eight different companies and did reviews on each. Sunbasket came out on top, with Marley Spoon and Purple Carrot second and third. If nothing else, it was a good article to read to get an idea of what the service is like. (Just search ‘buzzfeed meal delivery review’ in Google and it comes right up!)
OMG I want!
That pop tart dessert looks good. I enjoy making pies so I think I could handle it! Have you tried Munchery? They deliver the meal to you prepped already and all you have to do is warm it up. I love it on lazy nights, especially since I don’t cook.
Hello Fresh!
We’ve been really happy with HelloFresh amd have used it for about 9 months. I have also tried Sunbasket a few times with happy results. I found Blue Apron’s meals to be too “fussy”, especially for weeknights when I’m short on time. This past week, our HelloFresh included mole tacos w/ corn salad and crema. It was my favorite meal yet!
Oh, that’s so good to hear!!
Wow! What a bummer for Plated that they lost you as a customer – you were a huge proponent of theirs and really are what introduced me to the service. Their loss! I hope you find something else that you love just as much!
I am surprised too! We often ordered the same meals. I noticed when you snapped them! I’ve never had a problem with a single box so I hope their service isn’t going downhill!
We kept getting late boxes and missing/incorrect ingredients. I think they ship from different distribution centers so we might just be in a bad one!
My hubs and I actually really loved Hello Fresh. I feel like the ingredients are actually attainable in a grocery store if you want to recreate a recipe and the food is just plain and simply delicious. I also like the fact that it’s not just bland but also has other great flavors. Definitely worth checking out, and any time I’ve had to deal with their customer service they have been SO helpful!
Try Sun Basket. It’s all organic food and they have really interesting menus with foods that you’d never think to work with on your own!
I have tried Blue Apron and Plated and didn’t love either. What I find best is overall to meal plan better. Ie have dishes you can make in one pot in 20 minutes. Or that you can throw 2/3 of the components in the oven while you cook the other part.
I was so disappointed with Blue Apron. I’m signed up for Hello Fresh and have heard great things!
We have been having problems with our Plated box showing up completely destroyed. I don’t think the box could handle the 4 meals plus all those giant icepacks lol. We are still keeping it though because out of all we’ve tried Plated is the best. Hello Fresh was straight up awful, with Blue Apron being in the middle.
I second this! I’m having the same problems (with FedEx thankfully reboxing so nothing is missing). HomeChef is the only other we’ve tried and liked but had the same sentiments around HelloFresh and BlueApron.
Sunbasket is good — I find it bland sometimes? — but I really really like Marley Spoon — it’s Martha Stewart! I find it has less carbs and calories than Blue Apron (it’s not diet food, at all, but I found Blue Apron had a LOT of pasta/sandwiches, and I try not to eat a crazy lot of carbs if I can help it, just for my overall health) and it’s slightly easier, while not seeming like something you could have done yourself?
Honestly, stop using meal planning services. I think of them as something to be used by true beginners, and if you’ve been cooking for a year, you don’t need one anymore. Start grocery shopping once per week on the same day each week (so you get into a good routine), and cook recipes from budgetbytes.com.
I feel like I have tried every delivery service and both my fiance and I agree that GreenChef is the BEST! Dynamic meals with multiple sides, and the meat is always good.
This Poptart is so adorable, and I loved watching you make it on YouTube. Garrett’s reaction was also so cute 🙂 Happy Birthday to him!
-Amanda
Affordable by Amanda
Yay, I’m glad you liked my Strawberry Pop-Tart Slab Pie! And I think you’re looks great; I’ve yet to make one without having the fruit leak out, but I think it adds to the charm and proves it’s homemade. =)
You should try HelloFresh. I tried Blue Apron also and I wasn’t as much a fan as much as I like HelloFresh. Plus at my house we like to call it “Hella Fresh” which is always pretty fun.
Hey girl! We used BA for a while and didn’t love either. Now we use Marley Spoon, and it is fantastic!! We find that the recipes are healthier, slightly bigger, and it lets you decide between 2 meal, 3 meal, or 4 meal per week plans. I love the flexibility in plans because I allows us to still eat out/cook other things when the inspiration strikes, and not feel pressured to finish meals. Also, the meals come already divided up into their own cute paper bags! This is my husband’s fave part–we used to hate having to organize the BA ingredients.
Definitely check them out!
xo