Perhaps I’ve fooled you into thinking that I am near perfect. Somehow I manage to blog regularly, care for two small children, work outside of the home 2 days a week, keep my home running smoothly, and my family well-fed. Naw, you probably know that I cut as many corners as possible (hopefully not on the parenting where it truly matters). One of the corners I cut is when it comes to dinner.
I am notorious (according to my husband) for not coming through when it comes to dinner. Most of the time he’s on his own to forage for whatever is available. It’s not that he can’t cook, he’s an excellent cook, but he gets home from work around 9pm and who wants to cook that late?
Lucky for him (and me), Bertolli challenged me to make a weeknight meal special.
The challenge consisted of me being provided with a coupon for a Bertolli Meal Soup for 2 found in the freezer section (I would have never thought to look for soup in the freezer section).
The Rules:
- Choose one of the soup options. I chose Roasted Chicken & Rotini Pasta.
- Get creative on decorations, ambiance, and plating.
- You only have one hour max of prep time.
The Results:
The Menu:
- Mixed greens salad with avocado, tomato, and organic Caesar dressing.
- Garlic parmesan bread and a side of Kalamata olives.
- Bertolli Premium Meal Soup for 2 in Roasted Chicken and Rotini Pasta. I added lemon to the soup because I love lemon in almost all of my soups, I think it just takes soup to the next level and I topped it with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese because I like cheese.
- Ice cold lager because the challenge was about making a weeknight dinner special and Unknown Papi likes a good lager.
The verdict:
- An hour was more than enough time to make the meal, set it up, and even photograph it. All in all it took me about 35 minutes.
- We enjoyed the soup. It was not too salty, had lots of vegetables that were not overcooked and had a bit of crunch to them, the size was perfect for 2 as long as you serve it with some sides.
- It was nice to sit down to a meal that was intended to be “special” and made me realize that it really doesn’t take all that much to make dinner feel special on a daily basis.
Having the soup in my freezer would be a great way to have dinner at-the-ready in a pinch and not have it feel and taste like an afterthought. Do you have any quick-go-to dinners that you keep on hand?
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Disclosure: I was compensated by Bertolli to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge. All statements and opinions are mine.
I love those Bertolli freezer meals. I eat them all the time. So easy.
I never even knew they existed. I saw that they have pasta ones too.
Yum!
What a fabulous idea! The frozen packaged stuff we get here are quite expensive and don’t taste as great as they promise. Hmm. Unknown Mami, you ARE perfect. I only wish I hadn’t seen this right now – it has got my tummy growling at me!
Looks delicious and great idea to have on hand for those nights no one wants to cook! Happy Monday!
DiGiorno 3-cheese pizza with my own fresh onions, peppers and mushrooms sauteed and added as topping to the pizza before I bake it is about as creative as I get!
Actually, I have a DiGiorno in my freezer right now. Remember when frozen pizzas used to taste horrible? They have really come a long way.