In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s been a struggle to get in our weekly meal prep: making trips to the grocery store, preparing, cooking and then cleaning. But with a family of 6, it’s harder on the wallet if we head to a restaurant, so we’ve been putting together last minute dinners of whatever we had on-hand, more often meals we eat over and over.
I was recently introduced to Dream Dinners, which could change the way I meal prep forever!
Dream Dinners is a unique company founded on a mission of bringing families together around the dinner table. We provide everything you need to assemble great dinners to enjoy as you relax and talk about the events of the day. We offer freedom from the hassles surrounding the planning and preparation of meals night after night. We give friends and family an opportunity to come together in a fun-filled setting to assemble their Dream Dinners in a very short time just once a month (most make their meals in under an hour).
At Dream Dinners, you take a look at their monthly calendar and select then pay for the meals you would like to make. You schedule a date and time to visit the store to prepare your meals, then meal magic happens from that point.
When I arrived at Dream Dinners in North Richland Hills, Texas, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I knew my meals were chosen, but that’s all. I walked into a kitchen with stations, each filled with meat, spices and sauces needed to complete a particular recipe.
You simply find the recipe card you are prepping, then head to that station in the kitchen. Everything is already prepped ahead of time, and the directions are very easy to follow. And, since you create the meals yourself, you know exactly what is going into each meal and can customize the recipes to fit your families taste preferences and dietary restrictions as needed. *I know my daughter doesn’t care for onion tops, so I just left those out of the recipe.
Since I had chosen the Pub Style Chicken with Mashed Potatoes as one of my 6 meals, I was given a quick introduction and got started. As you read through the ingredient list, you find that item, use the measuring device in that item’s container and add it to your ziploc bag. For the Pub Style Chicken with Mashed Potatoes it was as simple as tossing in the (frozen) chicken breasts, adding spices and then preparing the topping. The individual ziploc bags are all placed into one large 2 gallon ziploc bag, then that meal is done and ready for cooking at home! It took less than 10 minutes to assemble, then I was onto the next meal!
After each meal was prepared, you can add that bag to your labeled spot in the fridge so your food stays cool while you finish the rest of the meals. (Safety first!) And, to add to that safety note, as customers finished up at one meal station, a staff member was right behind them to gather the dirty dishes and wipe down the space. There was no rush to finish your meals, and the staff was there to answer questions and give their personal tips along the way.
I was impressed at how fun meal prepping could be, and I think I found my love for cooking again! I was able to prepare 6 large meals of 6 servings each in 1 hour. There’s no way I could have accomplished that at home – especially when you factor in shopping, prepping and clean up!
While the meals are ready to store in your freezer for a month or two, I couldn’t wait to try the new recipes! It was so nice to grab a meal from the refrigerator, complete one or two steps to mix the bags and pop it in the oven! The pub chicken has become one of our favorite meals of the week, and we really enjoyed the chicken mirabella, too!
Dream Dinners is a great solution for the kitchen! You can find menus and a list of locations on their website, then connect with them on social media!