Photos, interviews and meal kits for review are available.
SEATTLE, Dec. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With schools closing for the holidays and families preparing to hit the road, smart home cooks are turning to the convenience of meal kits to make life easier and tastier.
Dream Dinners, which created the family meal kit concept nearly 20 years ago, is sharing secrets that can be used to make holiday meal kits at home. “Assembling and freezing meal kits in advance saves time and hassles, and makes entertaining family and friends far more enjoyable,” says Laura Cookson, Dream Dinners head chef. “Meal kits also are a convenient way to take food to out-of-town gatherings.”
She suggests preparing or purchasing meal kits in early to mid-December. Dream Dinners’ current menu features new items including a Christmas Brunch Bundle with Breakfast Sausage Frittata, Raspberry Cream French Toast and Country Breakfast Potatoes, as well as other items such as Honey Pecan Pork Tenderloin, Dynamite Shrimp with Jasmine Rice and Mini Chicken Pot Pies.
Dream Dinners kits are prepared from fresh ingredients then stored frozen until being cooked. They are available in the Continental United States at one of 69 retail kitchens, through its new home delivery service and on the DoorDash Marketplace. Giving Dream Dinners gift cards is a great way to help family and friends alleviate mealtime chaos during the holidays and throughout the year.
Chef Laura offers these tips for making holiday meal kits at home:
- Plan complete meals with an entrée and at least one side dish. For example, chicken breasts in a marinade or sauce will result in a tasty meal because the chicken will absorb the flavors as it thaws. Fresh broccoli or green beans make a great accompaniment as they offer versatility.
- Pick at least two or three meals to prepare at one time, using ingredients that freeze well. In general, most proteins freeze well as long as they are sealed and frozen properly. Vegetables can be hard to freeze, but a good rule of thumb is to choose more fibrous ones like asparagus, broccoli and green beans. Avoid veggies with high water content like lettuces, tomatoes and cabbage.
- Involve the kids in selecting meals. Children will be more likely to enjoy and eat a meal when they have a hand in creating and assembling it. They can help pick the menu, make the kits and cook them.
To assemble kits, start with laying out supplies, including heavy duty freezer zipper bags of different sizes, markers and copies of cooking instructions.
Assemble each kit following the recipe. Create individual size portions of proteins, and place them in a freezer bag. Add seasonings or marinade if they are part of the recipe. Prepare the side dishes, and place them in a separate freezer bag. Place all of the bags in a larger bag along with cooking instructions. Label it and date it. Be sure to flatten each bag and squeeze out as much air as possible.
48 hours before cooking the meal, place the entire bag in the refrigerator to thaw. If time is tight, thaw the bag in cold water.
Dream Dinners Normandy Pork Roast with Apples makes for an ideal holiday meal that can be assembled and frozen in advance. Here is Chef Laura’s recipe:
Ingredients
2-3 lb. Pork Roast
3 cups Sliced Granny Smith Apples (peeled and cored)
1 Tbsp. Thyme
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
½ tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Sugar
1 cup Fresh Diced Onion
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ cup Apple Juice Concentrate
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
½ cup Water
Prep Instructions
Combine all ingredients except the pork and apples in a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine.
Place pork and sauce in one zipper freezer bag, and put apples in another.
Put both bags in a larger one.
Cooking Instructions
Thaw the pork, sauce and apples in the refrigerator for 48 hours or in cold water if necessary.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Lay apple slices across the bottom of the dish and place the pork roast on top, in the center of the pan. Pour the sauce over the pork roast, allowing the sauce to soak down into the apples.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the pork's internal temperature reaches 145°F.
Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Meanwhile, mash the cooked apple mixture with the back of a fork until a chunky applesauce consistency is created.
Serve the sliced pork with the applesauce poured over the top. Enjoy!
For more family holiday food and entertaining ideas, visit Dream Dinners on Facebook @DreamDinners or check out the Dream Dinners blog.
Founded in 2002, Dream Dinners’ mission is to make gathering around the family table a cornerstone of daily life. Guests choose from seasonal, rotating monthly menus, with meal kits prepared from fresh ingredients then frozen until cooked. They are available in the Continental United States at one of 69 retail kitchens, through Dream Dinners’ home delivery service and on the DoorDash Marketplace.
Learn more at www.dreamdinners.com and www.dreamdinnersfranchise.com.
Contact:
Brad Ritter, Ritter Communications
BRitter@bradritter.com
740.815.1892
