DINING OUT:Dream dinners at Dream Dinners

How many of us plod home after a long day’s work, or a long day of anything, for that matter, stand in front of the refrigerator in a fog-like stupor and hope something will jump out at us that’s easy and quick to prepare? Like many other working people, when I come home from a full day, the last thing I want to do is worry about creating some fabulous dinner in a short amount of time.

Enter Dream Dinners. Founded in 2002 by two working mothers in Washington, their mission was to bring the family meals back around the dinner table with the least amount of effort. Intrigued by the whole concept, I stopped by one of the many franchises popping up all over the Los Angeles area to find out more and was greeted with a smile by Lisa Uhern, one of the two owners at the La Crescenta store.

She showed me around the store, which has been open since early 2007. The décor is very welcoming, painted in soft red and yellow tones, designed to excite the senses. Gleaming stainless-steel food counters are stationed in the middle of the room and the atmosphere welcomes you in to have some fun while assembling meals.

Rather than trying to describe how Dream Dinners works, I was invited to one of their “Sneak Peek” preview nights, in which a group of us were shown how to build an entrée to serve either three or six in a family. I showed up for my evening and was greeted by a group of women, most of whom worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

We had a moment to socialize briefly and enjoy a glass of wine or coffee, provided by the hostess. Lissa Mooney, Uhern’s partner, gave us a brief introduction about Dream Dinners and after a flurry of hand washing, we donned our aprons and were shown to our stations, which were prepped ahead of time with fresh ingredients for each entrée.

The stations have a list of easy-to-follow instructions for either three or six servings. I chose the three-serving size as it would be more than ample for my small family and decided on the Herb-Dijon Chicken Breasts ($4.38/serving). Ready to go, I stood in front of my station and started working on the list of instructions. The chicken breasts were marinated in a savory blend of Dijon mustard, buttermilk and herbs, which I pre-measured into a zip-lock bag and added the chicken.

A very organized establishment, the correct measuring spoons and cups were laid out ahead of time for the seasonings. The ingredients were within my reach and all I had to do was read the directions, place everything in a zip-lock bag, add a preprinted label and voila — I had dinner all set to go.

When I was ready to prepare the meal the next evening, I simply coated the chicken with Japanese breadcrumbs. While it was baking, I added green beans and rice pilaf, which were included with the entrée. My entire time in the kitchen took maybe 30 minutes and we were able to sit down to a yummy and nutritious dinner.

The chicken breasts were moist and tender, the green beans crisp and the rice pilaf flavorful with a hint of curry. Most of the meals are stored in zip-lock bags and the larger entrees are prepared in aluminum pans, covered, labeled and ready for the oven.

And all of the meals can be frozen for up to three to five months. I was sold and went even one step further by signing up for a month’s worth of dinners. The best and easiest way to order is to go directly to Dream Dinners’ website, www.dreamdinners.com, which is fairly easy to navigate, and preorder your dinners, with a minimum of 36 orders.

Once the dinners are paid for, the next step is to book a session at a store nearest you to assemble the meals. This part can get a bit confusing, as I was trying to figure out how many meals I would need to get me through the month. I finally opted for 36 dinners and split them up between three and six servings.

Once I arrived at the store, the owners’ staff was available to answer any questions or refill any containers. The menu changes every month and consists of very healthy meals. Some of my choices included Baked Chicken Tetrazzini ($4.98/serving), which I prepared with a light Alfredo sauce, broccoli and artichoke hearts. The meal includes a package of spaghetti noodles.

And I added some crisp garlic bread and a green salad. I also tried the Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya ($3.69/serving). The meal was prepared right into an aluminum baking pan, into which was added uncooked rice, smoked sausage, frozen shrimp, tomatoes and chopped peppers. I tried the six-serving meal, as my husband and son are hearty eaters and will enjoy leftovers.

My entire time spent at the store took no more than 1 1/2 hours and I was ready for the month. I even had time to visit with other mothers during our assembly time. The general consensus was that Dream Dinners was the best thing to come along since sliced bread. The mothers I talked to didn’t have to think or plan ahead about what to prepare for dinner and were delighted at the money they saved at the grocery store. Best of all, you don’t need to clean up after.