My husband Mark and I bought our first house together recently, and we are so excited. But a new home comes with a lot of stress. We've been super busy trying to unpack, decorate, and arrange the furniture. It's finally all starting to come together, and we're excited to start making new memories in our first home.

Some of my favorite memories at home growing up centered around me helping out in the kitchen and talking around the dinner table, but so far, most of our new memories are eating takeout. We literally ordered food every night during the move--and if I'm completely honest, before we moved, we were ordering it a lot, too. Neither of us are great cooks, so it's become a bad habit, and it's definitely not healthy, or good for our bank accounts. Now that we have a mortgage to pay off, we want to be more carefu aboutl how we're spending our money.

Plus, now that we have our own home (with its own dining room and spacious kitchen), we want to start making more home-cooked meals. But we had no idea where to start when it came to cooking. I mean, I only had two go-to recipes--my mom's bolognese and my mom's lasagna (she's Italian). That's about it if you don't count cereal, a basic salad, or an egg scramble.

I asked a friend who loves cooking if she had any advice, and she told me to start easy. Her sister recently started cooking with the help of HelloFresh, the meal kit delivery service.

HelloFresh sends pre-portioned ingredients with detailed recipe cards to make delicious meals at home, so you don't have to trek to the grocery store or worry about finding recipes every night.

If it worked out, it could be great for us. But would it be really expensive? I decided I'd check out their website.

I saw they had a few different plans: meat and veggie, family-friendly, veggie, and low calorie. I was able to choose to have 2, 3, or 4 recipes shipped a week (which I could change, depending on how busy we are), and I chose 4 servings per recipe (us both having leftovers ready for lunch the next day). They also have gourmet recipe options for every plan, just in case you're really feeling special. Plus, they have add-ons like cookies and garlic bread! Mark and I LOVE garlic bread.

All the meals with HelloFresh cost less than $10 each - SO much more affordable than take out every night! When I saw all the amazing reviews HelloFresh had online, I knew it would be the solution to our problems – it was affordable and convenient. Plus, the subscription seemed super flexible since you can easily pause a week here or there any time you're busy or out of town. I also was able to choose my delivery day, which is nice--Monday it was!

The day came, and I couldn't wait to try it. The first recipe I tested was the Crispy Chickpea Tabbouleh Bowls. I was worried since I'd never made anything like that before, but the recipe was super easy to follow. It was so delicious and only took 30 minutes! It was our first home-cooked meal in our new place, and accidentally whisking feta dressing across the kitchen is a memory we won't forget.

We've been using HelloFresh for a few weeks now, and it's really been a learning experience each time. I love that there's so much choice--22 different recipes a week for you to try from all around the world. Between the Figgy Balsamic Pork, Salsa Verde Enchiladas, and Teriyaki Pork Luau Bowls, this adventure has really expanded our palettes.

But the best thing about HelloFresh has been the convenience--not having to worry about hauling bags from the grocery store to the car to our home and trying to find new recipes online.

Plus, everything is pre-portioned, so there's no need to measure anything out. HelloFresh has made our first home-cooked meals in our new home really special and made settling into our new home a lot easier. I'd recommend HelloFresh to anyone who is busy and wants to cook at home more.

Update: Our friends at HelloFresh are extending a special New Year's offer to our readers. Follow this link to get 10 meals free, including free shipping!