I’m a busy girl, and I know I need to eat healthier than I do. It’s tough juggling motherhood, job, household and a pretty healthy music addiction. In Tacoma and Federal Way there are cute little places called Kitchen2Kitchen that offers assistance to wayward souls like me who are desperately in need of a low fat, organic, home cooked meal but have no one to cook it for us.
Last Friday I wandered into the Tacoma version to see if this is something that would work for my daughter and me.

It is a cozy place with homey décor and the scent of sweetness and spice in the air. Helpful people were there to help me set aside those dark memories of meals gone wrong and unwisely substituted ingredients. It’s all very no-nonsense and efficient. You just pick out what meals you’d like to make from a menu (it’s on their Web site: www.kitchen2kitchen.us). 

There are stations set up for each dish with all the ingredients and a recipe to follow. You start with a plastic bag with meat in it. Then you just measure out and add the ingredients on the list. When you are finished, you simply seal it up and smack a conveniently located sticker on it that has the cooking directions printed for you. That’s it. Then you move on to the next meal. I think the idea is you make six dinners for this week, and then you come back a week later and make the following week’s meals.

Since I was just sampling the system, we selected only two dinners: garlic ginger beef and chicken shish kabobs.

I was given two plastic bags, one with chicken and one with beef. I added the ingredients quickly and easily, and after a hop skip and a jump I was all done.

I think I could easily have made six dinners in less than a half-hour.

As I waited for my bill to be calculated, I noticed that there were precooked frozen dinners in a large freezer available for sale too. I grabbed the pork enchiladas and a loaf of semi-baked sourdough bread.

These pre-made items are also available at Mandolin Café, Cutters Point, Tacoma Boys, Stadium Thriftway, Ralph’s Thriftway, H & L Produce and Bayview Thriftway.

The first night we cooked the enchiladas. Brilliant chef that I am, I slightly over cooked them. But they were still delicious. The taste reminded me of Costco’s chicken bake — sort of a hot pocket type thing they sell there. I used to be really hooked on those.

The second night we cooked the garlic ginger pork. The meat was tender and flavorful, but since there were three of us that night, it seemed like not enough food. Since no side entrees were provided, we served it with Beef Rice-A-Roni from our cupboard and the half-baked sourdough loaf. Yum!

On the third night we cooked the chicken shish kabobs that had marinated for two days in the sauce. Despite the marinade, we found the chicken a bit bland; but we were saved by the chicken teriyaki flavored Rice-a-Roni, which gave the meal more flavor.

Over all it was good food but seemed overpriced for what we got, and it still wouldn’t eliminate a trip to the grocery store every week. I’m not sure that a bit of meat and a few spices and/or sauces were worth $18.50. Perhaps if it had come with precooked pasta or a side salad it might have been more reasonable for me.

Meal packages

3 Split Meals: $69, total six entrees, feeds 2-3    
6 Meals: $99, feeds 4-6
6 Split Meals: $109, total 12 entrees, feeds 2-3
12 Meals: $180, feeds 4-6
12 Split Meals: $199, total 24 entrees, feeds 2-3    
15 Meals: $220, feeds 4-6
15 Split Meals: $ 250, total 30 entrees, feeds 2-3

[Kitchen2Kitchen, 4312 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.761.5100; 30406 Pacific Hwy. S., Federal Way, 253.946.6870; www.kitchen2 kitchen.us]