Laurie's Dinner Du Jour: Delivering Dinners to Local Families

Laurie Bellinger is a stay at home mom with knack for cooking. In September, she decided to create a dinner delivery service, Laurie's Dinner Du Jour, to help busy families put a nice home-cooked meal on the table.

"Last year I watched my neice and two nephews for a few days a week here and there and I would cook dinners for them. My sister in law was like, that's a great idea, you should go into business," Laurie said. "That's how it all blossomed."

Laurie's Dinner Du Jour provides a few options for families in need of dinners each week. This week's meal options were Chicken Parmigiana and Root Beer Glazed Pork Chops. Customers get a salad or side with each dinner. Laurie also throws in cookies or sweet treats on occasion, but her main focus is the dinners.

"Everything I try to make family friendly because most of the people I cook for have kids," she said. "I don't want to sell it as gourme because while that's nice and everything, it's for families. It's homestyle kind of meals."

Laurie also added a healthy meal option to her business in January. Grilled Chicken, Shrimp and Vegetables are part of this health option.

She accepts requests and will encorporate them in the following week's meal options. However, Dinner Du Jour does rely on a set menu each week.

"It keeps costs down," Laurie said. "The meals aren't that expensive, they're all under $29 and serve a family of 4 to 5, so two adults and two to three children."

Every Sunday at 8 a.m., Laurie drives to a kitchen in Hawthorne to cook for approximately eight hours, then delivers the meals on Monday.

"It's only one day a week this way I can still stay home with the kids," she said. "I started this to make money because I am home, so we're on one income. It's a little extra money, but it was definitely to help people too."

Laurie started sending her weekly email in September, to just 20 people. Now 60 people receive her email, and her contact base continues to grow. But Laurie said she still wants to remain a small-town business.

"I don't want it to get huge. I like knowing my customers, knowing what they like. I like the feedback, when I hear from mothers, oh you got my kids to eat snow peas," she said. "I don't want to be just the type of business where I bring my food to your door and never hear from you again. I like getting to know the people."

Laurie's Dinner Du Jour delivers within 10 miles of Westwood, to families in the Pascack Valley area, Glen Rock, and a few families in Hawthorne. She hopes her business will continue to grow in the community, so she can remain at home with her kids and help out other families that lack the time to prepare meals every night of the week.

"I hope to get more customers," she said. "I started it to try and be at home with my kids and have a business so I could have the best of both worlds."

Previous Dinners:

• Sesame Noodles w/Grilled Chicken & Snap Peas
• Chicken Francese
• Eggplant Parm
• Portabella Milanese
• Soy Ginger Salmon
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Baked Mac & Cheese
• Italian Meatballs
• Grilled Chicken
• Grilled Shrimp
• Chicken Marsala

Soups & Sides & Salads:

• Black Bean
• Lentil
• Corn & Chicken Chowder
• Baked Potato Soup
• Grilled Veggies
• Hummus & Pita
• Cornbread
• Strawberry Salad
• Greek Salad
• Chickpea Salad
• Apple Walnut Salad

Desserts:

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Rice Pudding
• Apple & Raisin Compote

Order from Laurie's Dinner Du Jour, or visit the Website