Let's Dish!

Last night I ventured out to Alexandria for an in-store session at Let's Dish!. For those of you who are not yet familiar with Let's Dish!, here is some information:

First, you choose your dishes from a menu when you sign up online for a session. You can choose to make 4, 8, or 12 dishes (4 Dishes -$100, 8 Dishes - $180, 12 Dishes - $240), the more you make the cheaper each serving (as low as $3.26).

I chose to make 4 dishes...

Caribbean Chicken Fingers with Parmesan Green Beans Chesapeake Bay CakesItalian Beef Saute with Farfalle Sizzling Chicken and Vegetable Fajita

Yes, all my dishes are pretty simple, but I didn't want to go in trying to work some elaborate recipe my first time. Now that I know what I am doing and can navigate all the stations, I will choose some more gourmet-like dishes. Each month their menu changes, so you have lots of options from session to session.

Each dish serves 4-6 people, so when you dish, you can bring a friend, split the bill and each make half servings of the dish for 2-3 people , or do what I did....split the meals and have meals for twice as many nights (this is called splitting). And, because Let's Dish! is super organized and easy, there are color coded recipes at each station for the full meal and the split meal. Or you could just make the full meal and feed a hungry husband/boyfriend/yourself/family etc.

The dishing process is fun, there are step by step directions for each recipe, the measuring utensils (also color coded) for each ingredient are provided, and each station houses the necessary ingredients (plus, you get to wear a funky apron and bandana). You then wrap, label (with cooking instructions), and put the entire dish (usually different parts are separated in smaller bags) in one large freezer bag, and your dish is ready to go (make sure you bring a cooler to transport all your dishes). Repeat the dishing process for the number of meals you ordered and Voila! you have meals that are pre-made and ready for freezing, refrigerating, and eating.

So now I have 7 meals (I didn't split the Chesapeake Bay Cakes...because it was my first recipe and I wasn't paying attention to the split vs. whole directions) that I plan on using this week and the week that we return from our honeymoon. Also, because I was part of the Metro Women's Group party, we all got a free desert dish, which is a great incentive to get 12 people together. There are seven locations around the metro DC region, and lots more around the country.

If you have never been to Let's Dish before and would like to get $10 off at checkout on letsdish.com, you can use the promo code NEWDISHERS and my email, jac0610@gmail.com, as the referral and you will get $10 off your order!

I will definitely be dishing again soon! It was fun, pretty economical, and a nice way to prepare meals ahead of time. Oh, and they had free coffee and tea, scones, brownies, and other treats for a little break between stations. A good incentive for me :)

Here is another more detailed review: http://nutrition.about.com/od/healthyfoods/gr/lets_dish.htm