Dream dinners

Dream dinners

I had my first session at Dream dinners with Tita Edith & Holly earlier today.

I think the idea behind it is really great. They take out the mess and the prep work of cooking. You go to the Dream dinners kitchen, prepare the meals you have chosen. They provide the baking pan or ziploc bag to put the meals in. You put your meals in your freezer. And you're set. In the morning, you choose what you want to eat for dinner, take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw it out. To prepare your dinner, pop your baking dish into the oven, follow the cooking instructions that come with your meal and in about an hour, you've got something prepared for your family without having any mess to clean up! Could it get any better than that?

When you register for a session, you choose 6 or 12 meals to create. They have a monthly menu that you choose from. Each meal is said to serve 4-6 people. Since I have a pretty small family, I divided one meal into 2 so I can serve it on 2 separate nights. I chose to make 6 meals: Santa Fe shredded pork wraps, Chicken & broccoli bake, Baked Spaghetti, Mexican Pizza, Barbecue Pork Loin, Creamy corn & shrimp chowder.

I arrived at the place at a little past 12 noon. There were women who were starting already. Holly arrived early so she was right there preparing her meals. Tita Edith & I were given a short tour to orient us so we know where to get our supplies, etc. Each meal had a station. The ingredients for a particular meal are laid out in the station, all cut up and ready to be mixed. The recipe is hanging in front of you. All utensils (measuring spoons, cups, spatulas, mixing bowls) are laid out for you. You follow the recipe. Mix up your meal. When you're done, you seal your pan or ziploc, affix the label (the cooking instructions are printed on it), set it aside and proceed to your next meal. The utensils that you just used are then gathered by the staff and washed and ready for the next person. I finished at about 1:30. Imagine that. I prepared 6 meals in an hour and a half.

The cost depends on the meals you choose. For my set, I spent $117. It seems a substantial amount at first but if you think about it, that's about $10 a meal serving 2 adults and 2 kids. That's about the cost of a basic McDonald's meal for our family. I will have to see how this will affect our household budget. I'm hoping that because this lessens considerably my grocery list, I will be able to save some money or at least eliminate some food wastage. Really now, how many of you have that big bunch of parsley when the recipe really calls for only a handful? Anyway, I'm hoping that I will not be spending more for food because of this service because if going here will cost me more, I will have to go back to the old-fashioned wa of preparing our meals. :-(

Re: taste, we'll have to see. I served the Pork wraps tonight. It was tasty. I think it was too spicy for the kids. I should not have put in tabasco, although I had only put in half the recommended amount in the recipe. Dream dinners also give you a list of suggested sides for your meal. It's usually a side of salad or mashed potatoes. Something you can easily get. For this meal, they suggested Spanish rice and pinto beans. I had in my pantry a pack of smoked chipotle rice. It's one of those Lipton ready-in-5-minutes side dishes. It worked well with the wraps. DH thought it was pretty good.

The choice of dishes is limited. It is understandable though. It just means that I'll have to cook some Filipino dishes on some nights. Yeah, that chore is not totally eliminated. But at least, it's lessened considerably. I'm thinking it will benefit us most when the baby is here already. DH can pop the dish in the oven and have dinner ready.

So, go check it out if you have one in your area. I think it's worth a try.

Our store has a promo that if you book your next session at the end of you current session, you get one free meal. So, we all booked our next session already for Feb. 18. I'm getting these meals: Pepper-crusted London Broil with Horseradih Chive Creme, Southwest Pork Roast with Seasoned Rice, Seafood Cioppino, Lasagna Rolls w/ Marinara Sauce, Four Cheese & Meatballs Calzone, Crispy Mu Shu Chicken Rolls & Baked aspberry French Toast w/ Almonds. Sounds yummy, huh?