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View Full Version : Has anyone used the Dream Dinners book?



LD92599
10-14-2006, 04:19 PM
I bought it last night and can't wait to make something from it. 1st though I need to hit the local Dollar store for foil containers. I'm on a roll though...just made 3 pans of ziti and 3 pans of low fat brownies!

Laura
Will is three...and doesn't sleep :-(

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daisymommy
10-19-2006, 04:18 PM
I was going to buy that one and the Super Suppers Cookbooks, but they got poor reviews from Amazon.com I bought "Don't Panic, Dinners in the Freezer" which just shipped out today. I'll post a review on it once I try it out.

Please let us know how you liked the Dream Dinners book. I really would like to try it if the recipes are good.

hannah
10-19-2006, 10:32 PM
I have the Dream Dinners cook book as well as the Supper Solutions and Don't Panic book. I have tried several of the recipes from them (most from the Don't Panic book). I need some sleep now but can post more tomorrow about what we have tried/liked/disliked.

hannah
10-20-2006, 03:41 PM
I have all 3 cook books mentioned in this post but I am not sure which one is my favorite. Here are the meals we have tried from each as well as whether or not we liked it.

Dream Dinners:
English Muffin and Ham Strata (p 34) - just okay; not sure if I would make it again
Chicken Cordon Bleu (p 178) - good; would make it again
Chicken Parm (p 180) - good; have made it again; freezes well
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (p 202) - didn't like at all


Don't Panic:
North Woods Wild Rice Soup - yummy
Buttermilk Herb Chicken Breats - okay
Chicken Parisienne - just okay
Lemon Glazed Chicken - okay
Orange Teriyaki Chicken - good
Oriental Sesame Chicken strips - yummy! have made multiple times
Dijon Prok Loin Roast - good
Honey Pork Chops - just okay
Sirloin Strips in Wine Sauce - didn't like at all

Super Suppers - I just flipped through the book and I don't think I have tried anything yet.

I would love to hear what recipes others have tried and liked/disliked.

Lynnie
10-23-2006, 02:07 PM
Do you know if you can just pay them to make the food for you, if you don't have three hours to kill on a weekend ??

hannah
10-23-2006, 04:39 PM
Most of the easy meal prep places in my area (like Dream Dinners, Super Solutions, Dinner and Dish) have an option where you can have them prepare the meals for you and you just pick them up. I believe it costs more than if you go and do it yourself. They always tell you to prepare to be there for 2 hours but I have never been there more than 1 1/2. I guess it depends on how speedy you are and how comfortable you are in the kitchen.

LD92599
10-24-2006, 06:18 AM
Thanks for these suggestions! I did make the cheesy chicken and rice from Dream Dinners because I had a ton of chicken sitting in the fridge.

Problem is, i didn't read beyond the ingredients to see that it's 1 1/2 hours in the oven! Arghhh. Those as DH pointed out, if he pops it in the oven the minute he gets in the door, it'll be on the table at 6:30, so not TOO bad. Or i'm thinking I could do that part the night before and then nuke it the next night?!

My goal is to make one recipe per weekend so we have a nice stock in the freezer.

Laura
Will is three and a half - we're now making progress with sleeping!

KrisM
10-24-2006, 12:25 PM
I just got Don't Panic, too. I tried the meatloaf last night and it was a hit. Although, I doubled the recipe and got 3 small loaves. The book said a single recipe makes 2 loaves. One loaf wouldn't feed my family. DS ate 2 pieces, even.

KrisM
10-24-2006, 12:27 PM
My first Dream Dinners experience took well over 2 hours. Maybe 2.75? There was always a wait for a station, so you could only go so fast.

daisymommy
10-30-2006, 09:49 AM
I said I would come back and review the 3 books I bought, so here I am! :)

Dream Dinners
PROS:
Recipes look yummy; a nice variety of traditional family favorites and new slighter "nicer" recipes.
I like that information is given is for batches of 1 and 3 if you are doing large batch cooking.
Little cooking/reheating instruction cards in the back of the book to xerox & attach to your finished dish.
Many recipes are frozen assembled but fresh/uncooked. This is nice because the food quality is better on serving day.

CONS:
Not much. I really like this book. The only thing I might mention is there are many recipes with alot of ingredients, which I'm sure make them flavorful. But it could mean more work on prep. day.

Super Suppers
PROS:
Nice variety of good sounding recipes that would probably be great for just cooking and eating on the same day.

CONS:
They do not include amounts for doubling and trippling recipes (so you have to do all the math yourself and write it down in the book).
Only about half of the recipes include directions for freezing & reheating, making me wonder if they can even be frozen at all.
This book is probably going back to the store.

Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer
PROS:
Nice variety of traditional and new recipes to try.
Math is done for you for larger batch cooking
Very good, detailed instructions for freezing and reheating.
Not too many ingredients for quicker prep. work

CONS:
Almost everything is pre-cooked and then frozen. This is pretty typical of freezer cooking, and it does save time on serving day, but there is some loss of quality doing it this way.

Over-all, I liked this book and will keep it.