Taste of Dream Dinners and New Monthly Open House

Chef Danielle — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:53:55 +0000

Taste of Dream Dinners is a great way to introduce your friends and family to Dream Dinners while earning credit toward future purchases. You host a Taste of Dream Dinners party at a local store, and for every new guest who places an order, we reward you with $10 in referral credit. Plus, your guests qualify for 5% off their first order.*

We provide everything you need to host a great party – invitations, food, drink and the venue. All you need are the friends.

Looking for NEW HOSTESSES!

Are you ready to have a party and introduce your friends to your best kept secret? We have a fabulous new Dream Dinner Re-Usable bag to give away …. And would love to give one to YOU! Call us today and get your party on the calendar. Gifts are limited and you don’t want to miss out….neither will your friends!

Too Busy to Host your own Party? Invite a Friend to our Open House!

You are already experiencing the time-savings, convenience and value, now you want your friends to experience this too. It’s actually very easy; all you have to do is send them an invitation. For every new guest you refer to Dream Dinners, we will reward you with up to $10 in referral credit toward future orders, once they have place an order and completed a session. Busy schedule? Then Invite a Friend is the best program for you. We now have an Open House the 3rd Friday of the month. Send them in to taste some dinners and see what its like. They can even make one dinner to take home and try for themselves.

Call 801-225-7655 or email 800northut@dreamdinners.com me for more details

Cinnamon Apple Cake

Chef Danielle — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:52:32 +0000

Ingredients:

Nonstick Cooking Spray

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

¾ Cup Canola Oil

1 Tsp Kosher Salt

½ Tsp Ground Ginger

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Baking Powder

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled & sliced into

bite sized pieces

1 Cup Buttermilk

¼ Cup Nonfat Egg Substitute

Instructions:

Pre heat oven to 350

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, ½ of the cinnamon, canoloa oil, salt & ginger.

2. Transfer 1 ½ cups of this mixture into a small bowl & add remaining cinnamon to it. Stir until incorporated. Set aside for the topping

3. Add baking soda, baking powder, apples, buttermilk & egg substitute to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. (do not over-mix)

4. Pour into prepared baking dish. (sprayed with nonstick)

5. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the apple mixture.

6. Bake for 1 ½ hours, until cake is set and topping is golden brown.

Source:Dream Dinners.Cookbook Pg, 228

Make Time * Make Dinners * Make Memories

Chef Danielle — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:37:05 +0000

Get a FREE Gift!

Our highly anticipated book, “The Hour That Matters Most” is available now! Grab a copy and bring in your purchase receipt for a “free gift” with your order of 36 servings or more at your next session.

Purchase a copy of “The Hour That Matters Most” at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books A Million and more.

Try our NEW Family Pizza Night!

Chef Danielle — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:50:24 +0000

Who doesn’t love pizza? Some of my best memories with family involve pizza night. My husbands uncle, a New York City cop, almost had a heart attack when he saw me put Ranch on my pizza. Family game night got heated several times but the pizza could always help smooth things over. My nephew first started cooking by making “Chef Barrette Pizza”.

I bet you can all think of some of your own really good Pizza Memories. We know have a really great dinner to help create even more. Don’t just cook for the family. Now, involve them in the whole process. Pick all your favorite toppings, create delicious pizza together and then enjoy a wonderful family meal at the dinner table. Now that’s memory making at its’ best….don’t forget the camera!

Positive Benefits of Eating as a Family

Chef Danielle — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:53:02 +0000

Studies have shown having family meals around the dinner table is beneficial to child development. Here are some facts!

1. Benefits of the Dinner Table Ritual, by Laurie Tarkan, The New York Times
2. The Family Dinner Deconstructed, by Alix Spiegel, NPR
3. The Family Dinner Reduces Childhood Obesity, mommmd.com

Available in August 2011

Chef Danielle — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:58:07 +0000

Dream Dinners annual Best of the Best menu will leave you speechless! Don’t miss out on your favorite meals this summer, sure to win every member of your family at dinnertime.

August is also the Anniversary of the Orem Store so come celebrate 7 years with us! Jean and I bought the store 4 years ago and have loved every minute. We love getting to know all of our guests better everytime they come in. We also love hearing all the wonderful stories of how we helped so many families have regular dinnertime together.

You are the reason we do it and the reason we are still here and thriving after seven years. Thanks so much!

Our Menu Launch is Wednesday August 3rd. So come and sample 8 of our delicious dinners! Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich, Cornflake Crusted Chicken, Herb Crusted Flank Steak, Pub Style Chicken, Coconut Shrimp, Steak Gorgonzola, Chicken Marsala, and Grilled Apricot Pork Strips.

Come anytime from 4-7pm.

Getting to the Table

Chef Danielle — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:55:03 +0000

Every parent knows, getting everyone to the dinner table is half the battle. Author and family mealtime expert Miriam Weinstein has some great pointers to make dinner time a special event.

- Mark dinner on your calendar and let your family know it is an important commitment.

- Clear the table of homework, bills, projects, etc. and make sure there are enough chairs for everyone. Eat facing each other.

- Say no to distractions. Turn off the TV. Don’t answer the phone. Declare this time interruption-free.

- Say yes to each other. Make this a time for family. Let your family know that they are expected to show up, and that they are expected to eat together.

- Set the tone. Take pleasure in each other’s company. Give everyone a chance to talk, and then listen respectfully.

- Keep it light, keep it fun. Save the lectures for another time.

- Make the food yummy and nutritious. Offer tasty dishes, and let people choose how much and whether they will eat. Remember that it can take many tries before someone enjoys a new food. Don’t be too quick to prepare individual dishes; that only encourages saying no to the main meal.

Providing Fresh Produce with Innovative Partnerships

Chef Danielle — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:50:18 +0000

Dream Dinners produce is supplied by Sysco, the largest foodservice distributor in North America. Sysco endeavors to use region-specific local growers for their produce whenever possible. What does that mean for you as a Dream Dinners guest? The produce that the Dream Dinners in Framingham, Massachusetts uses may not be the same produce the Dream Dinners in Carlsbad, California uses. It’s the same high quality, but it often is grown in the region where it is sold.

Produce is at its peak nutritional value when it is fully ripe. But fruits and vegetables that will be packed to travel long distances to the market point aren’t picked when they are ripe, but instead before ripeness. While the produce may gain color and softness on its journey to the wholesaler, nutritional value comes directly through the stem from the living plant. Once harvested, a vegetable is as nutritious as it is going to get. Furthermore, nutritional value actually decreases every day past the point of harvest. So, when the item comes off the tree or vine, it has a set amount of nutritional value, and the clock starts ticking as it loses a little bit each day. Buying local produce you’ll find that it’s fresher, crisper and more flavorful.

Fewer than one million Americans now claim farming as their primary occupation (less than 1%). Farming is a vanishing lifestyle. And no wonder: the farmer today gets less than 10 cents of the retail food dollar. Local farmers who sell directly to consumers cut out the many middlemen and get full retail price for their food — which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.

An innovative partnership between the Produce Marketing Association and Sysco is providing much-needed produce food safety training to small growers across America to help them increase their produce sales. Local growers can receive training via a series of workshops held around the country. The workshops are designed to help growers understand current food safety demands, how to meet them and how to navigate food safety requirements.

As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops that prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture emissions and help combat global warming. In addition, the patchwork of fields, hedgerows, ponds and buildings is the perfect environment for many beloved species of wildlife. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

Sysco also has a code of conduct with suppliers which requires that all facilities where goods are produced for Sysco must provide a safe and healthy work environment for all employees. When housing is provided, it should also be clean and safe.

Sysco has a commitment to the communities in which it operates and a responsibility for the environment it impacts, and they seek to work with suppliers that share this commitment.

Dream Dinners is proud to be serving you local produce when and where available!

Table Time Talk

Chef Danielle — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:45:11 +0000

Ever had a hard time getting more than a one-word answer from your child while trying to start a dinner time conversation? Many other parents have as well! Wayne Parker explores the problem and offers some ideas to solve it in this great article on About.com.

“What were the highs and lows of your day, today?” Rather than just a quick summary of the day’s activities, a question like this focuses on evaluating and offering opinions about the day.

“The word of the day is enthrall.”
The New York Times has a word of the day website where you can get ideas.

“If you could invite three famous people to dinner, who would they be and what would you want to talk about?” Questions that get children and adults to think less superficially will often start great conversations.

“Does our family seem too busy? What should we change to change that?” Questions that ask for feedback on family lifestyle open some doors to meaningful conversation.

Taste of Dream Dinners

Chef Danielle — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:25:39 +0000

We provide everything you need to host a great party – invitations, food, drink and the venue. All you need are the friends.

We also have Special Private Party options:

At our Private Party you mingle with friends, enjoy delicious food provided by Dream Dinners at no charge, and everyone can make a dinner to take home and enjoy with their family.

If you have a special event coming up and want to add a unique twist considering having it at Dream Dinners. We provide everything you need for your event and you don’t have to clean your house.

Girls Night Out, Service Project, Bunko, Baby/Bridal Shower, Birthday Party, Fundraiser, Employee Rewards, Book Club, Girl/Boy Scouts, Service Project, Scrapbook Group, You Name It