Bertolli Meal Soups – A Fancy Dinner at Home in 30 Minutes

I go through waves. Sometimes I love to cook nice dinners (I really am a good cook, I promise). But other times (the last few months, especially) I don’t want to be bothered to spend two hours in the kitchen getting dinner ready. My biggest problem lately is my lack of planning. I hardly even think about dinner until 5:00, when it’s really too late to make anything nice. Some days I don’t even get home from driving kids to and from practices until after 5:00.

I’m sure a few of you could relate to my predicament.

Eating dinner together is important for my family, and we make it around the dinner table together every night (we rarely miss). However, the hour or two before dinner tend to be the thorn in my side, always causing me grief. There is always something pulling for my attention.

Quick Tips to make the most of your family dinner time:

1. Plan ahead. There’s nothing worse than realizing that it’s 5:30 and there’s nothing planned for dinner.
2. Have a list of simple-to-prepare meal stand-bys. Years ago, I wrote down a list of a dozen meals that my whole family enjoyed using ingredients that I almost always have on hand. That list has been a life-saver!
3. Make dinner time a time to be together no matter what is on the table. Even when we have a mac-n-cheese or sandwich night, we eat together. It’s that important!

 

Bertolli “Make a Weeknight Meal Special” Challenge

This past week I was challenged to not only try the new Bertolli Meal Soups, but to make our meal into a special, stand-out dinner night. And the catch? We only had an hour to make our meal.

I headed out to the store and picked up salad fixings, some Italian bread, milk (because we’re always out of milk), and three bags of Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken and started my clock. When I got home, before unloading all bags, I put the soup in a pot. All I had to do was add water (one cup per bag).

While the soup was heating, I prepped the other parts of the meal. I set Necco on the salad duty, and I got the table ready. I used a fancy table cover and center piece and the kids started asking me what was going on (you won’t see me pull out decorations very often. We hardly use center pieces for holiday meals…). They really gave me the strange looks when I put fancy cellophane in their cups.

“We don’t have to keep these in here while we drink, do we, Mom??”

The last thing I prepped was the garlic bread. Just a few minutes under the broiler and it was breaded perfection!

In less than 30 minutes from the time I came home from the store, we had a fancy-for-us meal all ready. The kitchen smelled amazing already, but the kids even lit some candles for the occasion.

Ambiance was set, food was ready, table was set with our mismatched bowls and cups….and it was time to try out the soup.

As we were getting the table ready, CandyMan made a comment that made me laugh:

“The only food that is better frozen is ice cream.”

He was skeptical at first, I admit, but he LOVED the Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken soup. I think I saw him take thirds. I also loved the soup – the chicken and tortellini tasted fresh and the tomato bisque had the perfect blend of spices and flavors.

Honestly, I can’t wait to have it again for lunch tomorrow, and I will definitely be keeping some Bertolli soup in my freezer for those nights when I don’t feel like cooking or don’t have enough time after running kids to practices to spend much time preparing dinner.

What are your best tips for making dinner when you don’t have much time? Is family dinner time important for your family? Share your meal time tips on twitter with the hashtag #BertolliMealSoup.

 

About Bertolli Meals Soups:

• Bertolli® Frozen Meal Soups are hearty and fresh-tasting with vegetables, meats, pasta and herbs individually flash frozen at the peak of freshness.

• Bertolli® Frozen Meal Soups are available in the frozen aisle, and can be prepared on your stove top in minutes.

• With robust flavors and rich textures, new Bertolli® Frozen Meal Soups are available in four varieties: Chicken Minestrone, Roasted Chicken & Rotini Pasta, Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken, and Tuscan-Style Beef with Vegetables.

• Connect with Bertolli on Facebook and Twitter and with the hashtag #BertolliMealSoup.

 

Bertolli compensated me to participate in the Make a Weeknight Meal Special Challenge but as always thoughts and opinions are my own. If you don’t believe me, believe my skeptical husband who doesn’t usually like frozen foods – it’s really good stuff!

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