Dream Dinners 4 ounce Steaks

 We get comments from some of our guests about the size of our steaks.  They love the flavor and the tenderness but want a bigger steak!4 ounces is the recommended size of protein.  Dream Dinners is not diet food, but it is good for you, it is a lifestyle.  Once in a while it is Ok to eat a big steak but as a lifestyle, everyday dinners should have a 4 ounce portion of meats.

 

Cooking and Portion Control

by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine

• Q. What’s all the fuss about measuring and weighing your food?

A. You may think that eating just a little more than your daily meal plan allows won’t make much difference. In fact, you may be surprised to discover that consistently eating more than your recommended intake, even as little as 200 or 300 calories a day, has an impact on your weight and blood glucose levels.

It’s difficult to imagine that eating an extra banana or a large baked potato rather than a medium one could affect your health. After all, they are healthful foods. However, this excess food may raise your blood glucose levels, and consistently eating extra calories will increase your weight unless you increase your exercise as well.

That’s why it is so important to measure portions and learn techniques for accurately determining portion sizes. The more practice you have weighing and measuring food, the easier it will be to estimate the correct portions when you’re eating out.

portion sizes when you eat out is easy when you use tricks like these.

• A deck of cards is equal in size to a 3- to 4-ounce portion of meat, poultry, or fish. The palm of a small or average-size hand is about the same portion.
• The last joint of your thumb or a domino is about the size of a 1-ounce portion of cheese.
• A tennis ball is equal in size to a medium apple or orange.
• A medium-size closed fist or a baseball is about the size of a 1-cup measure of cereal, pasta, fruit, or vegetables.
• A handful of chips is equal to a 1-ounce serving.
• A computer mouse is equal in size to a medium potato.

Although these are excellent guidelines, even an experienced estimator will need to reassess portion sizes against weights and measures occasionally.
When portioning recipes, look for a definition of the serving size. If this information is not provided, use these tips for determining that information yourself.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/health-illness/wellness/physical-fitness/weight-loss/cooking-and-portion-control.htm

Mango Chutney Chicken with Jasmine Rice

This is one of my children’s favorite Dream Dinners.  It is sweet and savory and the chicken is tender and we love the smell of Jasmine rice cooking.  This is a great dinner to have leftovers!  The next day you can make a delicious rice salad.  Cut the chicken in bite size pieces, mix with the rice, add some chopped celery, chopped green onions and frozen peas.  Toss with enough sesame salad dressing (Kraft has a great one) to hold the salad together, chill until ready to serve.

Old Fashioned Breakfast Bread Pudding

We will have this on Christmas morning! As we open our gifts from Santa, the kitchen will smell like fresh-baked cinnamon and apples.  I pull it out of the freezer and take it out of the foil pan before it thaws, placing it frozen into my traditional Christmas baking dish, let it thaw in the refrigerator and then bake.  I like to add a pinch of nutmeg at home before I bake it and dust with powder sugar after it comes out of the oven.  With a spiral cut ham, thats all I need to serve.  Merry Christmas from Dream Dinners!

Thai Ginger Beef Kabobs with Sesame Sauce

We purposely put several Dream Dinners on the menu in December that could be used as a great dinner or a delicious appetizers.  This dinner can be wonderful served for both.  So could the Bruschetta Chicken Skewers, Coconut Shrimp with Sweet and Sour Sauce, Oven Baked Almond Chicken, or serve them all and self cater your next party! 

When your setting an appetizer buffet, use catering tricks like 3 different heights of boxes, placed bottom side up and covered with a pretty table-cloth and then, bunch up the cloth around the covered boxes.  I like using big 12 marble tiles from the hardware store, wash them and serve your appetizers on them, they are beautiful and create a matching theme.

Build Your Own Calzones

We love the ricotta filling in these.   I made one with chicken and  for the girls and one with, sausage and pepperoni for the boys.  Everyone is happy!

I like to bake these and then put on the highest rack of my oven and broil them for a few minutes giving them a brown crisp crust. Remove them and let  sit for 5 min. before cutting to set all the flavors.

Sesame Ginger Salmon

This salmon is great to serve with my Dream Dinners Prime Rib!  It also would be a great dish to bring cooked and chilled to any party.  Grill the salmon, chill it and serve over a bed of mixed greens, top with the sesame ginger sauce and thinly sliced red onions. ( I would sprinkle red pepper flakes over the top to add some heat)

Need a good lunch idea for company?  Grill the salmon and serve on a roll spread with the sauce.  Make an Asian coleslaw…perfect lunch!

Bruschetta Chicken Skewers

Yum!  I love these!  I am going to them as an appetizer at our neighborhood Christmas party.  I will line a large platter with fresh spinach and fresh basil, layer the skewers in a round, with the chicken in the middle and the skewers to the outside of the platter like spokes on a wheel, then top the middle of the chicken with the bruschetta, and sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan.  Enjoy!

The Family Dinner Survives!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g16Kt_aVGSPXiHJ_EmppGF4YeaKgD9BU8DCG0

 

All you need for Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinnner

Personalize Your Holiday Menu with Dream Dinners Everyone has their own twist on how to celebrate the holiday’s, but one thing most of us agree on is it must include turkey or prime rib. If you’re looking for a simpler way to serve a complete holiday dinner, we have the answer. If you all you need is a few things to round out your menu or a potluck dish, we have the answer. Our holiday menu delivers on the value, quality and simplicity you’re looking for. Holiday Roasted Turkey – Available only in November This spectacular, simple-to-prepare turkey will raise your dinner to an entirely new level of distinction. The bone has been removed, so it’s easy to carve, and by keeping the skin intact, it remains juicy and flavorful. Better yet, easy to prepare and serve doesn’t mean you skimp on quantity. This cut of turkey is the equivalent of a 16 to 20lb whole turkey! Find this in the Fast Lane category on our menu. Holiday Prime Rib – Available only in December An entertainers dream – a simple to prepare prime rib! This tender 3 lb. boneless, aged prime rib roast comes out perfect every time, and is ready in under an hour. This dinner is also an excellent value when compared to similar cuts from a premium retailer. They can’t help you prepare it to perfection, but we can. We provide the horseradish sauce, you provide the presentation. One order yields 6, 1/2 lb servings. Larger cuts are available, just ask. Find this in the Fast Lane category on our menu. Holiday Family Favorite Side Dishes – Pick 3 Order the side-dish combination that works best for you! Combine our turkey with a selection of our sides and you’ll serve the ideal dinner, personalized to your family’s tastes, time and budget. We’re offering choices from among 5 side-dish options, including 3 different mashed potato seasonings. Ordering is easy. First, print a copy of this page and identify the side dishes you want. Second, online today, or during your October session, place an order for the Holiday Family Favorite Side Dishes. One order gives you a choice of 3 items from the list below. (Bring the printed version with you to your November session.) During the month of December, all of our side dishes are available individually as a Chef Touched Selection at participating locations. Green Bean Casserole We think you’ll find this to be a big hit at your holiday table! Young and old alike will enjoy the creaminess of adding Alfredo sauce and Parmesan cheese to these green beans, combined with the surprising crunch of water chestnuts. All this topped off with bread crumbs and sliced almonds to make an overall wonderful Holiday dish! Mashed Potatoes We think we’ve solved the only problem with mashed potatoes and that is there are never enough! This year we’re providing you with 5 pounds of mashed potatoes and letting you personalize them with your choice of seasoning. Cheesy Mashed Potatoes Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes Sweet Potatoes The holiday dinner in many parts of the country isn’t complete without sweet potatoes. You’ll find the ease of the already chopped and ready to bake sweet potatoes perfect for this busy time of the year. We offer two seasonal choices. Brown Sugar and Pecans Savory Sweet Potatoes, New Recipe Savory Stuffing You combine the traditional bread, celery, butter and spices with sausage, apples, cranberries and pecans to make this stuffing really something very special. You can add all or just a few of the above ingredients to personalize this recipe for you and your family. Gravy, Cranberry Sauce and Biscuits This combination will round out your meal, leaving you with time to sit back and enjoy this special time with family and friends. A sparkling bowl of jewel-colored cranberry sauce is a must for the holiday table. (We’ve added a little orange flavor to give it some zest.) We finish with savory gravy and pearl onions, plus 12 home-style flaky biscuits.

Crispy Coconut Chicken with Jasmine Rice

I love the way Jasmine Rice smells when it is cooking!  I served these as an appetizer.  I cut each raw chicken breast into 4 strips and skewered them on a 4 inch wooden skewer, then coated and cooked them.  I layered them over the bed of Jasmine Rice and served the skewers with a sweet and sour dipping sauce that I added 1 tsp of red pepper flakes to on the side. It was a hit!

Monte Cristo Chicken

I gave this dinner to a friend who had a house full of sick kids!  Hopefully it worked like chicken soup and helped them get well.  I know it helped her to not have to think about making dinner!  It is so hard to seeing your kids uncomfortable, especially when they are all sick.

Greek Island Shrimp with Pasta

This is one of my favorite Dream Dinners.  The trick to making this perfectly is to cook the shrimp just until they start turning pink.  As they begin to turn, remove the pan from the heat and serve, they will be tender and perfect as you pour them over the pasta. To kick it up I added 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes to my sauce as it was cooking, we like it spicy!

Sheppard’s Pie

This recipe came from our Dream Dinners owner in West LA, Mar Vista, CA, thank you Brook Hensley.  It is a classic delicious one pot dinner, meat and vegetables all topped with fluffy mashed potatoes.  We had unexpected company for dinner and this was perfect.  I pulled it our from the freezer, peeled the foil off and put the frozen dinner into a beautiful Williams and Sonoma baking dish to defrost in the microwave.  Then to the oven and everyone enjoyed a warm and cozy dinner.

Mango Glazed Salmon

In Seattle we BBQ in the rain!  My husband grilled these and used half of the glaze, I heated the remaining glaze in the microwave and topped them just before serving over rice.  We cooked all 6 filets so that we would have leftovers.  There are so many things to do with good salmon.  I used one filet the next day to make a dip, one I took to work over lettuce for lunch and the other two went into a wrap for dinner 2 nights later!  We are keeping up on our Omega’s!

Salmon Dip combine:

1 cooked and chilled Mango Glazed Salmon filet, broke up with a fork. 

1/2 cup light mayo

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 cup mango chutney

1 green onion, sliced

3 Tb crushed cashews on the top

 

Ranch House Chicken and Potatoes

I love the Fall!  Even the food taste better in the fall! This is a classic comfort dinner.  We love Walla Walla sweet onions, I sliced 2 onions and surrounded the chicken, tucking the onions around the edge of the pan before baked it.  The onions cooked down into the potatoes tasted and smelled delicious as they roasted away while the chicken and potatoes cooked.