I just had my first Dream Dinner..Yummy.

[Mom21]

I did a session today at Dream Dinners.....one of those places that cook the food and you assemble it into ready to cook containers. It was fun to do. Would be more fun with a friend. Everyone there was so nice and even helped me assemble some meals as I didn't realize it took about 2 hours and I needed to pick up dd. I will plan better next time so as not to be rushed. Anyway, we had Arroz con Pollo for dinner. My husband is so picky (which is the main reason I did it). He liked it. My 8yo ate hers and asked for more. That is another reason I like it, controlled portions. My dd loves to eat. I've had her to a nutritionist that says we eat well, just dd eats too much. I was able to tell her that was all there was, and that was it. However there was enough rice, black beans, and corn left for my hubby tomorrow for lunch--funny she wasn't hungry enough to eat more of that. Clean up was so quick. No pots, no pans. I just put our bowls (I added in a salad), and plates in the dishwasher. The cooking pan into the trash. However, my husband does not like food served in the cooking tray, so in the future I will have a serving dish. Still better than pots and pans.

All in all I recommend this. I am sure I will be doing more in the future. Tomorrow we are having the sirloin steak with garlic and herb butter. I plan to throw on some potatoes for mashed pots and another salad, maybe some rolls but we are trying to cut down on carbs. I'll let you know if it is as good as tonight. That is another thing. The meats all looked better than I have been getting at the grocery store. No need to trim fat or gristle. All ready to go. Can you tell I like this way of cooking?

 

[Rock'n Robin]

They just opened up a franchise here in our area. I may have to give it a try. Is it comparable price-wise to grocery shopping for a few dinners, or eating out? We are trying to eat out less and save our $ for Disney.
Robin M.

 

[canwegosoon]

Several of my friends rave about a similar place here....but I can not see spending the $$$(because I only work about 40-48 hrs a month), so I try to saye by shopping wisely, and cooking most of our meals. But in a dual income family I can how they would be great. Glad you like it.

 

[Disney_1derland]

REALLY wish I had the money to franchise one of these into our city. I know it would go over huge! Glad your family liked the meals!

 

[CathrynRose]

Ive heard about these places - they have a similar one here:

http://dinnerbydesignkitchen.com/

Ive wanted to try doing it - thanks for the review!

 

[Mom21]

Well I agree it isn't cheap. For us though it is making sense. My husband hates my cooking. I have tried everything I can, but he just prefers to eat out. That is pricey. Luckily since it is just me, dd and hubby I can divide the meals in half. For example the meal tonight was $18.25 but I divided it in half so got 2 meals out of it. For $9 plus the cost of a salad we saved eating out. Also my husband will eat the leftover beans and rice for lunch tomorrow saving $5 for lunch. Not too bad. I would say for large families or families that don't eat out it would be way too pricey. This is my order for the month:
Entrées Qty Entrées Title Item Price
1 Arroz con Pollo - “A Dream Dinners Signature Dinner” $18.25
1 Sweet Cider BBQ Chicken with Seasoned Rice $15.75
1 Sirloin Steak with Garlic & Herb Butter $25.95
1 Flank Steak with Honey, Garlic & Lime *(spicy) $17.75
1 Beef Tips in Hearty Marinara Sauce with Penne $20.95
1 Lemon-Broiled Salmon $19.75
1 Shrimp Creole with Rice $21.75
1 Mango-Glazed Pork Chops $17.50
1 Roasted Pork with Potatoes Gratin $17.50
1 Asian Chicken Wraps $17.75
1 Chicken Lo Mein $18.75
1 Italian Baked Cheese Ravioli with Meatballs $19.25


The only things I didn't divide were the flank steak (1 large piece), shrimp creole (only 1 lb of shrimp...not enough for our shrimp loving family), and roasted pork (a loin that couldn't be divided). With the flank steak and pork loin as leftovers I should get 23 meals. Total of $230. So about $10 per meal. When I consider that the meals are restaurant quality I am getting 3 meals for less than the price of 1.The steak tomorrow looks to be a steak that would sell for $15 in a cheap restaurant. So I am getting 3. Like I said not a cheap meal, but when you have a husband like mine, I am finding ways to save as best I can.
My husband is home for 4 dinners a week (he works nights the other times and will most likely eat out as he hates to pack). I thought that using these meals 3 times per week with a fast food meal the other alternated with a restuarant meal the other week. DD and I are ok with something easy the other 3 nights. She is happy with South Beach wraps (she loves those things) or PB&J or spaghetti. I should get almost 2 months out of each session.

I know it wouldn't be right for everyone, but believe me it is saving me money. At an average of $30 week even if it saves me from eating out once I have saved money. In all likelihood it will save at least one restaurant meal and 1 fast food meal for me per week. Usually when we eat fast food it is Subway or Chinese so that is $20. Even a restaurant meal at Chili's or Applebees (not exactly gourmet) it is $50.

 

[Minnie824]

I'm going with some friends this weekend! Can't wait to try it!

 

[Swimnoid]

I have done the DD thing for 2 months now. Love it! And while it may seem pricey it really works out to be $3-$4 per serving. And it is worth it just because of the ease! We had the steak with garlic herb butter tonight! WOW!! Great. The meat cuts that I have had have been superior. The interesting thing about the steaks tonight was that there were 2 sort of thin ones, 2 sort of medium ones and two sort of thick ones making it easy to grill for different tastes of doneness. That was probably just a fluke but it worked for us. The honey lime flank teak was fantastic.

I have only done 6 meals at each my two sessions. But everything I have had has been great. I thought the chicken lo mein would be so-so but it was really good. I also got the canadian bacon stuffed bread. Wonderful! The pork roast was a very nice cut and very good. I also got the shrimp creole but havent tried that one yet. One of my favorites from last month was the gingered apple porkchops!

Are you pouring over next months menu?

Oh, I just noticed my prices are about $1 lower than yours.