You're not coming here for fully cooked meals, fyi. Dream Dinners is a service that allows you to come and assemble your own meals for the month... or few weeks, or whatever time frame you're looking at. Start by going online and booking a time - you'll also see the menu selections for the month. Place your order and show up at your designated time. Easy as pie. Unfortunately I don't think they have actual pie.
The dinners you assemble are frozen, and should remain so until you're ready to cook - bring your cooler with you. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and follow the included cooking instructions. Listen. I know we're Yelpers. I know we like to go out for dinner. Seriously, I love it... but sometimes you need to stay in. Sometimes you want the satisfaction of serving your own meal. Sometimes you need to spend less. This is a fun way to stay in and still have some variety in your dinner - because I'm a salad and pasta chef normally. I also make some mean fajitas. It's not that I'm a bad cook, it's more that I cook for two little boys who aren't going to like anything too exotic. Dream Dinners helps with that. Because I'm choosing what I'll prepare, I can choose things that (I think) my kids will eat. Now who knows if a chicken embargo will happen before dinner that night, but at least I've made an attempt.
So, for maximum fun: the customer service is great. I walked in not really knowing much the first time, and it wasn't a problem. Wash your hands, get your apron, fill up with plastic baggies and go. I got a quick hand-holding walk through for my first meal, then some light guidance for the rest of the evening. You assemble the meals at salad bar type stations that are pre-stocked with all of the ingredients you need. There are clean containers waiting for you, a color-coded recipe card, and all measuring instruments (already in the correct containers). they provide samples while you assemble. This is a pretty fool-proof process. My favorite part? SOMEONE ELSE CLEANS UP AFTER YOU. You finish and just walk away. I feel some guilt about this, but I'm paying a bit of a premium for this service, so I was able to get over it. Meals come in 3 or 6 servings, your choice, and run about $4 - $10 per serving. They pack your cooler for you at the end of your session, give you an opportunity to order something for next month, and check out the pre-made meals available, then carry your cooler to the car for you. Again, some guilt. The first night I went I was much larger than the woman carrying my cooler, and it was raining, but she insisted that it was part of the package. I can only protest so many times before it's meaningless.
Check out the introductory offer on the website for 18 servings for $85. Not bad. You can also have the meals pre-assembled for you for an extra cost, but I think that takes some of the fun out of the process. read more