A month's menu can be jazzed up at new business

Kellie Butterworth doesn't like to cook.

She doesn't like shopping for ingredients or trying out new recipes. The fancier it is, the more she is predisposed to avoid it.

"Make Parmesan-crusted Tilapia?" she asks. "I would've just broiled the fish, or barbecued it."

That's the easier way, which is the route Butterworth would've taken before she discovered Dream Dinners. Customers order up to 14 meals online, assemble the dishes at a franchise location and then take the meals home to cook and serve.

In about two hours, a parent can make enough dinners for two weeks straight of fine dining or kid-friendly meals.

Butterworth, a part-time dental hygienist and mother of one teenage son, didn't just become a customer. She opened the business in Carson City. It's a crazy reversal that she credits to her desire to reunite the busy American family.

Dana Dolan, a Gardnerville mom, has tried Dream Dinners.

"I'm a working mom. I have two children at two different schools and they have piano lessons, Little League baseball, youth group and I'm working," she said. "I don't want to do fast food. I want to do decent meals for my family and you get tired of doing the same meals every week. And it costs $17 a meal. You couldn't eat out for that."

Butterworth, 40, and her five part-time employees buy all the food for the recipes, provide all the equipment and do the dishes afterward.

"Ladies can come here and have a good time while making meals for their family," she says. "I want it to make their lives easier."

Kim Dekoekkoek says this method is less expensive for her because she's not buying pricey ingredients or eating out as much.

"I hate to cook and I work late and I am very busy, so it's nice to have stuff in the freezer to get out and cook," says Dekoekkoek, Butterworth's younger sister. She has made 12 meals with Dream Dinners, including Hawaiian chicken and meatball hoagies.

In the center of the room are four food-prep stations. Along the walls are freezers, supply shelves and other small touches that make "the giant kitchen" look more like a home, such as flower arrangements and family pictures.

The meal-prep concept is new in Carson City. When her husband, Todd, first saw an advertisement for the business in an airline magazine there was only one Dream Dinners franchise open in Las Vegas. That was nine months ago, and since then, six have sprung up, including the Butterworth's Carson City franchise.

They've invested about $150,000 into their business, which opened Monday.

"I feel like I have grown up in this community and I have gotten a lot out of it," she said. "I thought, with this business I can give people some great food and get them back to the dinner table."

At a cost of about $250 for 12 meals, Dream Dinners may not fit everyone's budget. A trip through the drive-through can cost up to $5 per person, and that adds up, she said. At a cost of about $3-$3.50 per person, a parent can provide a healthy meal for the family.

"Whenever I take my kids through the drive-through at McDonald's I feel guilty," Butterworth said. "But when I pull out the pesto cheese ravioli, I feel proud that I made that with my own two hands."

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

Dream Dinners

135 Clearview, Suite 123

841-3663

How it works

• Visit www.dreamdinners.com and register for a prep session. Times for the Carson City store:

Thursdays: 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Saturdays: 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

• Select meals from the menu. The menu changes monthly. The cost depends on how many meals and which ones you order. The cost of 12 meals, the average purchase, is $200-$250. That breaks down to about $3.50 per person per serving. A $17 fee is added for making only six dinners.

• Attend a two-hour prep session and assemble your meals.

• Take them home to freeze them before cooking and serving. Each meal serves four to six people.