Let's Dish: My Review

Oh gee, I have a crazy winter work schedule... it is grueling, in fact.  Some time in the early winter I saw this Groupon advertisement for $79 for $136 worth of do-it-yourself meals at Let's Dish.

There are several companies similar to this.  The premise is that Let's Dish offers all of the ingredients for lots of meals (roughly 12 different meals to choose from -- the menu changes monthly).  I go in and put together all of my meals and walk away with ready-to-eat meals for my family and I didn't have to go to the grocery store or mess up my kitchen to prepare them. 

I bought the Groupon. My plan was to make the meals and use them during my hectic work schedule to fill in when we we stressed for meals. Alas, I never got the time to go to Let's Dish until this week.

The cost for the meals (per meal) is definitely a little bit more than I would spend in the grocery store, but often the Let's Dish recipes use ingredients that I wouldn't use because it isn't cost effective for me to use them. For example, one of the recipes I chose called for 1/4 cup Hoison Sauce. Um... I can tell you that I will probably never use Hoison Suace again... and if it were in my kitchen, the rest of the jar would go bad. However, this was an opportunity to prepare tasty meals that we don't usually try, without commiting to all of the seasonings and sauces.

Can I tell you -- I had such a great time at Let's Dish!  Yes, I had to prepare my own meals, but everything was already set out for me:  directions. ingredients, supplies... and more!  This could not have been easier!

I went with a friend.  We chatted the whole time we were there.

They have a snack and coffee bar. You can stop, chat, grab a bite (then wash your hands again) and get back to prepping some meals. 

Lulu went with me.  I thought it would be fun if she helped me.  She did her homework chilled out and ate all of the snacks instead. 

The staff was so friendly.  You felt like they were your girlfriends... seriously.  I felt so... at ease!

In the end I went home with four main courses for a family of six (we are only a family of five).  Also, i got three side dishes, four family-size servings of scones, and one family-size dessert... all for $79!  I had so much fun, this was so easy, the meals are so new... it was worth it for full price... in my opinion!

Lat night I made two of the six mini-Hot Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes and they were a hit.  I threw the Luau Pork in the crockpot last night (now it's in the fridge) and we will eat it for dinner tonight, along with the coconut rice.  We already sampled it this morning and it gets rave reviews -- Yum!  I am eager to cut and bake the scones for the family for a breakfast treat!  I think we are making the Raspberry Mango chicken this weekend. 

I could make this a monthly event.  I want Let's Dish gift certificates for Christmas. 

Have you been to one of these ready-to-go meal places? 

What did you think?



Metro Diner Cafe Review

About once every few months we meander out of the house on a Sunday morning to get some grub.  With three children, we want something that is fast, cheap, fast, has lots of choices, and is fast.  {{Emphasis on fast.}}

We have our favorite watering hole, but we decided to try Metro Diner Cafe this past Sunday.

The bells and whistles were cool.  Your menu is viewed on three large plasma screens on the wall.  You order from a self-order kiosk or from a cashier.  The decor is modern, crisp, and clean.

Fun!

Well... that is... it was fun... until the cashier (remember, we are in a diner cafe)... said, "Your total is $36.38."  That is when my husband had a silent heart attack.  OK - not really... but I could see the "life" drain from his eyes.  He was NOT open to paying close to $40 for diner food (two adult meals and two kid meals).

I kept smiling!

I was further delighted when I saw the coffee bar.  Here is my version vs. his version of the coffee bar.

Napmom:  Ok - lookie lookie!  A coffee bar!  Four choices of coffee... a selection of three types of cream.  Hmm... look at all of the teas too.  Sugar AND honey!  Yum!  Oh wow!  Let me grab one of these nice big white mugs over here.  Oh - I love these mugs -- they're huge!  I love this place!

Dear Husband:  For 36 bucks I shouldn't have to get my own coffee!  {{Um... I think those were his words verbatim.}}

The bread that came with my eggs was whole grain.  I got four large pieces of bread and it was the thick type of whole grain where you can see the seeds and stuff. Yum!

The syrup came warm in mini-carafes on the plate next to the pancakes. So sweet!

According to their website, "Metro serves America’s favorite foods for today’s on–the-go lifestyles, giving you control with healthy fresh & local options, speed and value!"  They also advertise locally farmed Amish eggs, organic breads, green packaging, and more. Their cupcakes were made by Nostalgia Cupcakes, in historic downtown Annapolis.

I mean to tell you... this Metro Diner Cafe was delightful for breakfast!

To be honest, it is a diner/cafe and I don't know that I want to go for a date night, but it was great for a family breakfast and I am looking forward to going back again.

When I was little, my Grandma would take me to the local firehouse for Sunday breakfast before church.  I guess it was a fundraiser for the firehouse.  I wish we had a local firehouse that cooks Sunday breakfast.

Where do you eat Sunday breakfast?

The powers of a working oven.

I am sure that you all remember my no-bake Christmas last year.  It seems like so long ago that I made all of the little treats without the aid of a working oven!  Ahhhhh...

To refresh your memory, last year we no-baked oreo snowmen, oreo truffles and scotcheroos, and mint wafers.

This year my little helper and I made Peppermint Kiss Cookies.

It was very hard to patiently wait for them to come out of the oven.

We topped our cookies with Peppermint Hershey Kisses.  However, it is very hard for these to maintain their shape.  Tip:  Someone else recommended that you place cookies with peppermint kisses directly into the freezer to keep the white chocolate from losing its shape. 

To be honest, the milk chocolate kisses held up much better!

I know that it might be a little late for you to make these cookies for Christmas. 

But the red and white color would be great for Valentine's Day too. 

Peeps

It was a gorgeous weekend here in the Eastern United States - just gorgeous.

You are NOT going to believe this.

Dear Husband took Bro and I to National Harbor (Lulu was at her dad's house) to the Peeps store.

OMG - National Harbor was gorgeous!  And, there was hardly anybody there.  And, we walked out to the edge of this pier.

I asked Dear Husband to take some pics of Bro and me together.  It was gorgeous.  We had the whole pier to ourselves.  The wind was blowing my hair.  Bro was hugging and kissing me and... {{gasp}}... posing for the camera... we had a great bridge in the background.  Pictures!  Snap!  Pictures!  Snap!  Pictures!

We went to review the pictures - "NO MEMORY CARD."

I'm NOT kidding!

whishhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  {{that's the sound of my heart deflating}}

The Peeps store was just as I had envisioned - no surprises there.  I had Dear Husband with me so I couldn't buy as much as I had hoped.  {{drats}}

I did walk away with *NEW* chocolate covered Peeps, which are supposed to be available in your local grocery store... but they aren't... I've checked.

If you need to try some on your own... you can get them this Saturday at your local Rita's ice stand.

I sampled both the milk and dark chocolate versions.

My review?  Well, in my opinion...

while they were both very good.  They did NOT AT ALL taste like chocolate covered Peeps.  They tasted like... chocolate covered, runny marshmallows.  I'm betting that if I covered a real peeps in chocolate, they wouldn't taste the same. 

Don't believe me?  Read Candy Blog's review and see her great pics here. 


Lulu tried the Peeps flavored Rita's ice this weekend.  Here is her Rita's Peeps ice review:

"It was very plain Mom.  I mean, very plain.  I was so hopeful that it would be my new favorite flavor.  But it really wasn't that good."

Have you tried the new chocolate covered Peeps or the Peeps Rita's ice?  What did you think?

Happy Valentine's Day!

What did we do over the Valentine's weekend?

A.  Try to lure the squirrels away from the bird feeder.

B.  Count birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

C.  Eat a sugar-filled healthy breakfast.

D.  Enjoy a great after-dinner dessert.

E.. All of the above.

See the piece of corn sitting on the railing?

See the bird sitting on the railing?

Yummy breakfast!

Yummy dessert!

OK - I know that this post is 2 months a bit late, but we had so much fun!  I love Valentine's Day.  It might be my favorite holiday.  {{I might say that about every holiday.}}   

Snowed In.

We. Are. Snowed. In.

Lucky for moi... Fairy Grandmother and Luvs2Boat live 1 mile away.

Lucky for us, Luvs2Boat has a 4-wheel drive truck and Fairy Grandmother gathered ALL of the materials needed to make Valentine cookies.

Before we started the day, Lulu packed all of her Wii games for a day at Fairy Grandmother's house.

Hence, Lulu played the Wii, while the rest of us made cookies.

How to Make Valentine Cookies - as told by baby Bro

First, find some space inbetween Fairy Grandmother and Mommy.

Sprinkle dough with flour.

Roll out the dough.

Select a cookie cutter.

Press down real hard.  Don't make fun of my hair.  I can't believe my mom let me go out of the house like this.

Put the cookie on the tray.

Sneak a quick bite when Mommy isn't looking while Mommy plays with her camera and then set it down real quick in hopes that she won't notice.

Eat some cookie dough when Fairy Grandmother steps away.

Ta-da!

Play Wii with Lulu while the cookies bake.

Add sprinkles to the cookies.

Thank Lulu for taking time away from the Wii to be our afternoon photographer.

Eat leftover sprinkles.

And that, my friends, is how you make Valentine cookies!

Tray 1.

Tray 2.

Tray 3.

And... then... you hunker down for a n-a-p...

while the snow continues to pile up outside.

It is a time-consuming process, but well worth the effort!

Breakfast (aka Reese's Peanut Butter BIG CUP Review)

I made some dip for the chili luncheon that we were having at work.

I forgot to get the chips.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way to work to get the chips.

At the checkout counter... a Reese's Big Cup was calling my name.

Being a sucker for Reese's cups, I decided to try it. 

Review:  Reese's Big Cup = heaven on Earth.  Enough said. 

I love Reese's Cups.  I have tried several other Reese's products... and all I can say is that each time I try a new product... I can't help but think to myself... I want more peanut butter.  I'm not even a peanut butter fan... but I really dig the peanut butter that they put in the Reese's cup.  If you love the Reese's cup peanut butter too then definitely pick up the Big Cup if you ever run into one.  You can check out other Reese's pruduct pictures and reviews at the candy blog.  {{But, just know that she didn't give this bar rave reviews because she just didn't appreciate the peanut butter as much as she should.}}

Ahem... after I ate the cup... I took my chips and dip to work... only to realize that today is donut Friday.  So I helped myself to a donut... and then another.  ;-)

What did you eat for breakfast?

Easy Potpourri

If you look closely at the working oven... and the stove on top... you will see a small pot... {{see it}} and in that small pot is... easy potpourri.

I read about easy potpourri... on a blog... of course.  And I cannot find that blog so if it was yours then let me know so that I can credit you.

First, I started with the official North Pole oranges from the kids' Christmas stockings... (see the stickers... they are official.)  You can get your stickers (and lots more goodies) from the Giver's Log. 

Then, I poked the orange rinds with cloves.

Then I put the rinds and two cinnamon sticks in a pot of water and simmered.

Gee... look at this picture... has... this is the old stove... I know because it's white. 

Anywhooo... I didn't get much of a scent from the potpourri the first day.  But then the water turned brown (from the cinnamon and the cloves I suspect) and the oranges took on a beige color... and now I have been simmering my potpourri every night for about a week now and it smells just wonderful!  You'll have to add water from time to time as the old water boils out... but this truly is easy potpourri.

Patience my dear...

You may remember that I no-baked my way through Christmas.  Fun... I tell ya... real f-u-n!  NOT!

Look what we have?????

It's a brand new oven... with a large window... and a warmer space on the stove (to keep my stuff warm if it is ready to eat before everything else)... and a simmer option... oh, it's own warmer drawer... and more.  I am soooo tickled.

Eventually we are going to add black door knobs to the cabinets to tie in all of the black accents... you know... kinda bring it all together.

Oh.. I almost forgot to tell you... the best part... about the oven... well... I was walking through K-Mart after work one day... just killing time before a Girl Scout meeting... and looking for a birthday present for Bro... when I rounded the corner and saw 40% off signs on their appliances.  Um HELLO!!!!!!!!  40% off... of the floor model... but it had the same return policy and warranty options as the ones straight from the manufacturer... and 40% OFF!!!! 

Dear Husband said that I could buy it. 

Luvs2Boat said that he would get the truck to come pick it up.

Fairy Grandmother said that she would watch the kids so that I could still go to my meeting!

I came home to... a working oven!  Say it with me folks... a working oven!!!!!

The next day I made coffee cake.

The day after that I made homemade hot pockets (ham and cheese in a croissant roll).

Oh, see the little oven light.  Even the oven in my prior home didn't have a working oven light - yep, I've been opening the door ALL THIS TIME.

I am giddy with delight... and I can make Bro's birthday cake in my own oven... so happy!

Which appliance in your home do you love the most????

Music to my... mouth

Today I am going to our extended-family Christmas... and I am still no-baking it through the holiday.

Every family brings a dish to this party. 

I am making meatballs in the crockpot... and I threw together these homemade thin mints.  There are LOADS of recipes out there for these little guys.  This is the simplest version... (and the one that I saw on the  Martha Stewart show when I was on maternity leave with Bro).

Melt Andes candies.
Dip Ritz crackers in melted chocolate.
Place on tray and chill in refrigerator.
Sprinkles optional.
Eat.

Can you say "yummy"?

Yummy Thursday

Remember the oreo dream truffles that I have been wanting to make for a year now?  I made them.  And they were EASY... and they were DELICIOUS!

Tip:  Mine were measured in 1 tablespoon size balls.  Um... these are very chocolatey... you really could make them smaller than that.  I'm just sayin'.

Oreo Dream Truffles
As adapted from the Kraft Foods Website

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX  the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.


DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with colored sprinkles of your choice.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.


Here are the no bake Scotcheroos (for the cookie swap, remember?).

Tip:  After you cool these in the refrigerator... let them warm to room temp before cutting.  You'd have better luck cutting wood for the fireplace with a steak knife then cutting these right after they come out of the refirgerator.  I'm just sayin'.

Yummy-licious!