Don't have time to cook? Tired of spending hard-earned cash on expensive meals out? Think that fast food is making you a little too thick around the middle?

You aren't alone, and enterprising companies have started to take notice. In Santa Clarita, a new business called Dream Dinners hopes to make the process of feeding your family easier, healthier, and less expensive.

The concept is simple. New Dream Dinners clients register online at their leisure, select a "session" time (more on this later), choose at least six entrees from a monthly menu, then assemble their meals at their scheduled session.

The sessions are what make Dream Dinners unique. Customers arrive at the shop in Valencia at a prearranged time, don a Dream Dinners apron, snatch up their ingredients list, then get to work.

The store is set up into stations, each featuring a different meal (Chicken Lasagna with Canadian Bacon, for example). Guests grab a disposable baking pan or Ziploc bag and begin creating their meals from the mostly pre-measured ingredients (spices, garlic, and other items can be customized to your family's tastes).

In my experience, the process of creating one meal took less than 5 minutes. Add on another minute for wrapping the final product and sticking the cooking instructions on the front and I was done.

After the short Dream Dinners experience, I went home, stuck my meal in the fridge and forgot about it until a few days later when I was starving and couldn't fathom another run to Taco Bell. I quickly stripped the plastic off my Dream Dinner, stuck it in the oven, and ate a tasty, wholesome meal 30 minutes later.

Most Dream Dinner experiences have clients creating six meals at a time. The idea is to invest an hour making six meals at once, then enjoy three Dream Dinners a week for two weeks in a row. While I was at my session, I met other clients that happily made 12 meals at once - the experience can obviously be customized to fit each family's needs.

The price for a Dream Dinner is probably less than you'd guess. Each meal consists of four to six servings (depending on if you're feeding a 6 year old or a 16 year old), and averages around $4 per serving. A hearty pan (9" x 13") of Mexican Beef & Cheese Enchiladas will set you back $16.75 (about $2.80 per person if you are feeding six people), while the Grilled Steak Creole, which features six sirloin steaks and is the most expensive item on the menu, costs $26.45 (about $4.40 per serving if you're feeding a family of six). Smaller families or single folks can split their meals during preparation to get more bang for their buck.

For families that want to monitor the health content of their meals, Dream Dinners also provides complete nutrition information on their menus based on six servings per meal. Most choices hover around 300 calories per serving, with Moroccan Chicken dipping to just 186 calories per serving and Caramel Peach Pecan French Toast taking home the prize for most caloric at 614 per serving. Fat, protein, fiber, carbs and saturated fat information are also provided.


For more information on Dream Dinners of Santa Clarita, call 295-1694 or e-mail santaclaritaca@dreamdinners.com.