May 18, 2009 7:23 pm US/Eastern
Money Saver Report: Assembly Kitchens
Why Shop And Cook Certain Meals When You Can Pay Someone To Do It For You For A Great Price?
By ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS, CBS 2 HD News
BELLMORE, N.Y. (CBS) ―
These days, any opportunity to save money and time, while still eating healthy is one you can't afford to miss.
It's even better when someone else does the shopping, prepping and cleaning up.
CBS 2 HD recently got a firsthand look at what's cooking in an Assembly Kitchen in Bellmore on Long Island.
A group of working women was getting ready to make dinner.
They've come to an assembly kitchen to put together several dishes they'll freeze to serve over the next few weeks.
Before customers arrive at "Dinner Myway" they choose the meals they want to make from a list of 15 entrees that change monthly.
"The steak here is actually everybody's favorite," school teacher Shannon Carioti said. "The steak is marinated very nicely."
At Assembly Kitchens you pay for the groceries you need for a specific dish without spending time wandering the aisles of a supermarket and without any wasted ingredients.
"We're doing the shopping, the chopping, and the mopping," said Cheryl Dattoma, "Dinner Myway" owner. "A wife and mother of two teaches school five days a week."
Added Carioti: "It's like a homemade meal instead of having to go to McDonalds or take out.
Assembly Kitchen meals serve six and the savings add up quickly. Take, for instance, Dinner Myway's "Pork Chops Mama Mia."
If a family of four ordered this dish at a restaurant it would cost more than $60. To pick up all the ingredients at the grocery store costs around $40. The Assembly Kitchen price is just $21.
"It comes out to $2 and change per serving to $4.50 per serving depending on the meal," Dattoma said. "The real test though is feeding three teenage boys."
Said emergency room nurse Maryjane McCarthy, "The first time I made a Cincinnati-style chili, they loved it. They kept saying when are you going back to that place?"
And for this group there's a value even beyond the bargain meals. The Assembly Kitchen is also a place to dish with friends.
You can go online and see what meals "Dinner Myway" is offering for the month, choose the ones you'd like to make and reserve a kitchen time. To find out more including locations nearest to you, please click
here.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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