Getting to Know AZ

As of late I’ve noticed quite a few food preparation companies sprouting up around the Valley. With kitschy names like Super Suppers and Dream Dinners they market themselves to busy moms who need help getting a nutritious, fresh meal on the table for their family. I decided to see what all the hype was about and visited one such business called My Girlfriend’s Kitchen. It’s actually a franchise with 5 locations around the state and over 60 across the country. I stopped by the east Mesa location at Greenfield and Brown and sat down with manager Jen Siever to get the low down on what happens at these new, hip, dinner assembly stations.

Getting to Know AZ: So what’s the process here all about?

Jen: It’s a dinner store, people come in, they assemble meals here then they cook them at home. Otherwise we can assemble them for them. All the meals come with the cooking instructions on the top of them and we provide all the containers for them. So then basically all they need to do is take it out of their freezer, follow the instructions, and they have a whole meal for that night. And they can get as many as they want they can come in and order one or order twenty if they have enough room in their freezer.

GKAZ: What makes creating meals at My Girlfriend’s Kitchen better than doing it at home?

Jen: Well, you still do it at home, but you don’t have to do any of the shopping, you don’t have to do any of the prep work, you don’t have to do any of your recipe planning, its already there for you to go. And I mean if you come in here you can make six meals for all week in one hour when it would normally take you, who knows how long if you’re going to cook six nights in a row.

GKAZ: Can you describe what your average customer looks like?

Jen: I would say most of our cliental is young families or just moms with not a whole lot of time on their hands. And also we get a lot of senior citizens. Its really convenient for them to not have to worry about their shopping, and meal planning and dicing and chopping and all that.

GKAZ: Do you think this could work for college kids who are cooking for one person vs. a whole family?

Jen: I think it could work for anybody. The small sizes contain servings for about 2-3 people. But if its just you can always have that for leftovers or lunch the next day. So you’re saving money on that and you’d have another meal for that night. So I mean it could work for anybody.

My Girlfriend’s Kitchen offers a whole host of menu options that rotate out monthly. Here’s a sample of what customers can choose from…

Smothered with Love Burritos

GIRLFRIEND RATING
	(4.32 out of 231)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

If fresh, use in two to three days. If frozen, defrost completely in the refrigerator.

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. If covered with plastic dome, remove before baking and cover lightly with foil. Place pan on a standard cookie sheet and bake on center rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until hot in center (minimum internal temperature of 155°F). Remove foil. Bake uncovered 10 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.

2. Salt and pepper to taste.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Amounts per serving based on exact recipe quantities and 6 servings per recipe.

Weight Watchers® POINTS: Total: 11 Weight Watchers® and Winning Points® are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. The number of Weight Watchers Winning Points® provided here was calculated by MGFK, Inc. based on published Weight Watchers International, Inc., information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement of such number of Winning Points or of My Girlfriend’s Kitchen® products by Weight Watchers International, Inc. (Amounts per serving based on exact recipe quantities and 6 servings per recipe.)

Mmmm, sounds tasty enough to try! Check out My Girlfriend’s Kitchen and give yourself a little break from dinnertime woes.