Since we're on the budget board I thought I'd ask if anyone has tried these dinner type place? I'm thinking it might save us money in the end. I do coupons and shop
Walmart mostly. Our schedules are so crazy it's hard to plan dinners. I buy produce for recipes, but then it goes bad before we have a chance to cook it. If it were already made then we could grab it and heat it. I know there are people who cook once for the whole week, but that doesn't really work well for us either. I guess I'm just not organized enough for that. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys!
Let me preface my statements by saying that I LOVE to cook -- so does my husband -- but we've just started using these meal preparation places, and with two full-time jobs and two active daughtesr, we love the concept.
Yes, it IS more expensive than making the same meal from scratch, but the fact that it requires no planning and no shopping is great. Likewise, we love that we don't have half a bunch of green onions wilting in the 'fridge, nor do we find ourselves buying a $9 bottle of spice to use 1/2 teaspoon. Also, while it's more expensive than cooking "from scratch", it's less expensive than eating out.
Also, on the subject of expense, don't forget that it's not a whole meal -- it's just the entree. You still need at least a vegetable to go with it. Some of the entrees come with rice or potatoes.
We have found one way to lower the cost: The meals come in two sizes: medium, which would be three chicken breasts (or equivalent in another meat) or large, which would be six chicken breasts (or equivalent). However, the sauce, breading, whatever has been VERY generous . . . so we've planned ahead and purchased extra meat . . . and when we bring the meals home, we add extra to each package, making the medium meals into larges. Last time I went, I spent $168 on 14 medium meals plus another $35 on extra meat. When I got home, I readjusted my bags, and I had 14 LARGE entrees for $203 -- not too bad a deal for good quality, quick, no effort meals.
Examples of the plentiful sauces/etc.: Last week we had a Coconut Chicken recipe, which required that we dip the chicken in the ziplock of buttermilk, then dipped it into the coconut mixture, and finally baked it. We realized that the coconut-breadcrumb mixture was WAY too much for the chicken . . . so we poured out a portion of it onto a paper plate, keeping the majority of it "clean" and untouched by raw meat . . . and we were able to use the rest of the coconut-breadcrumb mixture to make coconut shrimp another night. Another night recently we had Steak Southwest, which was a very good marinade for the steaks; after pulling the steaks out to be cooked, we threw two large chicken breasts into the same marinade and cooked them up for the next day's lunch.
We've found that the chicken entrees are -- by far -- the best bargain. The steaks are tiny, and the shrimp meals were ridiculously small.
We have quit having frozen pizza and chicken nuggets 2-4 times per week, and while some meals have been better than others, they've all been good.
We have been preparing these meals about three evenings per week. A large entree for our family is often enough for two evening meals (or one dinner plus several lunches for DH and me). As I said, we do enjoy cooking, and we like trying new recipes -- but we enjoy cooking more when we don't feel forced to do it "from scratch" every night.
I gave my mom and my grandmother a session at the dinner entree place for Christmas, and they both LOVED it. Now we're considering doing a budget deal together with family and friends: we're trying to put together a bunch of people who'd each like to prepare 1-2 ready-to-go-meals for 8-10 people, then everyone'd switch.
I know it is for me! 
