Food – Page 7

November 5, 2012

Easy, Hearty Soups & Biscuits for Fall

So, not to beat a dead horse but I’m a little bit of a Family Dinner fanatic. Remember all the important reasons for eating family dinner?!

As you also know-I’m all about making dinner from semi-scratch most nights; however I love it when I can have a dinner that takes me 5 minutes to throw together the best! I’m always on the lookout for meals that will be easy, delicious, and healthy!

Ricotta & Lobster Ravioli in a Seafood Bisque

Now that fall is in the air I love turning to all the delicious cooler season comfort food I love-especially warm and thick soup & stews–mmmmm!!!!

When I found out that Bertolli had just come out with two new Meal Soups – Italian-Style Wedding and Ricotta & Lobster Ravioli in a Seafood Bisque – I couldn’t wait to try them! They were easy to find in the frozen section of Wal*Mart and at $5 a bag they make for restaurant quality meal at home for a fraction of the price!

The Ricotta & Lobster Ravioli in a Seafood Bisque was a huge hit–even with my 2 year old! It was definitely my favorite and I am planning on making it one of our staple meals through winter.

It paired *perfectly* with these Cheesy Garlic Biscuits–here’s the super easy recipe from Betty Crocker!

Ingredients:

2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1 Heat oven to 450ºF.
2 Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Everyone was scrapping their bowls clean on this meal!

The Italian-Style Wedding Soup was also a big hit for everyone-even hubby wanted me to buy it again and my Mom-in-law was impressed. She said she had always looked at the frozen Bertolli products and thought that she should try them out but she’d never taken the leap before.

I’d highly recommend both of these and as I mentioned I’m definitely stocking up on them during our next shopping trip!

Four Lucky Winners will get to try these for themselves!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Bertolli for providing the delicious soups for my family to sample! All empty soup bowls and full tummies are our own.

Nicole Elliott

November 5, 2012

Easy, Hearty Soups & Biscuits for Fall

So, not to beat a dead horse but I’m a little bit of a Family Dinner fanatic. Remember all the important reasons for eating family dinner?!

Now that fall is in the air I love turning to all the delicious cooler season comfort food I love-especially warm and thick soup & stews–mmmmm!!!!

The Ricotta & Lobster Ravioli in a Seafood Bisque was a huge hit–even with my 2 year old! It was definitely my favorite and I am planning on making it one of our staple meals through winter.

It paired *perfectly* with these Cheesy Garlic Biscuits–here’s the super easy recipe from Betty Crocker!

Ingredients:

2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1 Heat oven to 450ºF.
2 Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Everyone was scrapping their bowls clean on this meal!

I’d highly recommend both of these and as I mentioned I’m definitely stocking up on them during our next shopping trip!

Four Lucky Winners will get to try these for themselves!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Bertolli for providing the delicious soups for my family to sample! All empty soup bowls and full tummies are our own.

Nicole Elliott

April 29, 2012

Create A Relaxing Evening Routine with Numi Tea

I’m the kind of person who’s brains spins at about a million miles an hour all day long. I’m sure my mommy friends feel the same way!

Even since I was a little girl, however, it’s always taken me a longer time to fall asleep. Especially on days that I’ve had a lot going on it seems like I sometimes have a hard time getting my brain to switch gears from spinning a million miles to “rest” mode.

I’ve found that have some much needed down time in the evenings really helps. Once the kiddos head to bed I try to just “mush out” the rest of the evening. Favorite shows on Netflix while snuggled with hubby (or old English BBC if he’s gone) a good book, a hot bath, and a cup of tea do the trick! By the time it’s time to crawl into bed my body and brain are both unwound and sleep normally comes easily!

My favorite tea for unwinding in the evening are flavors like Numi Moroccan Mint Tea. The low caffeine and comforting taste are perfect when paired off with some honey and a cozy blanket. Last night I had Numi Orange Spice Tea (it’s the one pictured) and it was great too–not too strong like some Orange Spice brands–just the right amount of smooth and spicey.

Tea isn’t just great for unwinding in the evening either–thanks to my sister-in-law I was introduced to how tasty black tea (the kind you have with sugar and creamer) is. Now Numi Aged Earl Grey Tea is a favorite of mine and a great replacement for coffee some mornings. Plus it makes me feel Brittish when I drink it (a little odd? Maybe…..I think the association came about because when I got hooked on it we were watching lots of BBC Dickens at the time……)

One of the things that I really like about Numi Tea as a brand is that it is Organic and on the packets they list the caffiene (high, low, or no) so that when you’re reaching for that perfect evening cup you can know at a glance what would work good and aid you in going to sleep–not detract from it!

What are your tricks for creating a relaxing evening routine?

I received the products above from Shoplet your online stop for office supplies. The cozy blankets, opinions, and fake British accents are all my own.

April 25, 2012

Using Gorton Dinner "Cheat Nights"

I’ve been talking a lot lately about the importance of family dinners, but that is just because it really is SO important, and it’s something I happen to be very passionate about!

I won’t go into all the details again, but just wanted to throw out a reminder that eating meals together helps children to succeed in school and be less likely to develop eating disorders and drug problems–serious stuff! You can go to The Family Dinner Project which is based right close to “home” here in New England since it’s a Harvard based project.

Let’s face it though–cooking from scratch EVERY night can get exhausting, even if you love to cook! That’s why I have several different favorite brands I turn to when I need a quick, easy, and tasty “cheat night” dinner. Gorton’s is one of these brands. They are also based close to here–just right down the road in Gloucester MA. I actually was just there last week for a playdate! Gloucester that is, not Gorton’s, haha!! Their popcorn shrimp is one of the few meals that every single member of our family loves and inhales with just a few bites. They have some great recipe ideas on their website-but we’ve found that even “straight out of the box” they are simply delish. To be honest we used to buy a different brand but I fell in love with Gorton’s breading! And when clean up involves only sticking one pan into the dishwasher then Mommy is a happy Mommy for the rest of the night!

a Rafflecopter giveaway You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway. I received coupons for free products in exchange for my honest opinion–and we buy this all the time even without coupons 🙂

April 25, 2012

Using Gorton Dinner “Cheat Nights”

I’ve been talking a lot lately about the importance of family dinners, but that is just because it really is SO important, and it’s something I happen to be very passionate about!

April 21, 2012

Apple-Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Even though we do try to eat healthy we definitely enjoy indulging every now and then! 🙂 A favorite around here is Monkey Bread, so I was excited to try my hand at a new twist on this favorite classic!

I found the Apple-Cinnamon Monkey Bread recipe on the Pillsbury Bake Off website–they have a bunch of great ideas for taking “in the can” desserts and items and turning them into something a little extra special!

This recipe was super simple and didn’t take too long to whip together this morning. Wal*Mart has super affordable prices, and I was able to get everything, including the pan, for hardly any money at all! You can find great coupons on EveryDaySaver.com that will bring the amount you spend down even lower!

We were all thrilled with the final result–(especially the kiddos, haha) This would be a perfect breakfast for a special holiday! Or just to turn a regular Saturday into a special event–like we did today!

What do you do to turn a regular weekend into a special one?

One Lucky will win a $25 Gift Card to Wal*Mart! Be sure to “like” Wal*Mart on Facebook

The gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Walmart and General Mills, through MyBlogSpark

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February 15, 2012

Flowers & Chocolate on Valentine’s Day

Hubby is not very big into Valentine’s Day. Actually he’s not big into *any* holiday. He doesn’t like the pressure that they bring, and he can’t abide “made up” holidays-as he claims Valentine’s Day is. Now-I somewhat agree, however I love me some flowers, jewelry, and–of course–chocolate! So he does his best to meet me half way, most of the years.

This year he made me these ridiculously cute roses out of construction paper (yes I know he made them because I saw him working on them–when you’re married for nearly 7 years you basically lose the surprise/privacy factor most of the time).

Right when he had gotten home he saw me sorting through the mail and opening my box that had my Milk & Truffle GHIRARDELLI SQUARES® I teased him that my “secret boyfriend” had gotten me chocolates for Valentine’s Day (goodness I don’t care WHO sends me chocolate as long as they send it….in reality it was the sweeties over at SheSpeaks…bless their hearts)

So when hubby was finished putting my flowers together he comes out of the bedroom, grabs the chocolate bag off the table, and places it and the flowers onto our kitchen counter. With a dramatic flourish he tells me “Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!” then walks out of the room.

So there you go. Flowers and Chocolate on Valentine’s Day—can’t get much better than that!

BTW — because I know you’re wondering–YES the Ghiradelli Squares are completely decadent…NO I haven’t eaten the WHOLE bag….yet….well….I promise there’s a few left in there. The outside is sweet and the inside is silky smooth and altogether it is everything a trufflely chocolate should be. So if you weren’t lucky enough to get some today go treat yourself to a bag! They’re super affordable and everyone deserves some chocolate for Valentine’s Day 🙂

February 15, 2012

Flowers & Chocolate on Valentine’s Day

So there you go. Flowers and Chocolate on Valentine’s Day—can’t get much better than that!

February 7, 2012

The Importance of Family Dinner ~ Bertolli Style

Growing up my family always had sit down, homestyle, everyone gather at the kitchen table family dinners. I always loved this time with my family of 6 as it was full of good food, talking, and laughing. I always knew that I wanted to carry on this tradition with my own family once I was married, so from the time we were newlyweds I would cook a sit down meal and Bob & I would sit at our itty bitty table and eat them. Now that we’ve grown into a family of 4 we continue to have sit down dinners every night–even when our picky 4 year old refuses to eat them. 🙂

Since growing up I’ve heard of a plethora of studies that confirmed what I’ve always believed. From this article on WebMD I found this:

“One of the simplest and most effective ways for parents to be engaged in their teens’ lives is by having frequent family dinners,” says Joseph Califano Jr., chairman and president of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA).
CASA recently reported on a national phone survey of 1,000 teens and 829 parents of teens. Eating dinner as a family helped kids in many ways. It helped them get better grades, and kept them away from cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana, and more.

If that doesn’t encourage you to step away from the TV trays and fast food I’m not sure what will!!!

I will be the first to admit that cooking a home made meal from scratch every single day is tiring and time consuming. But because I love my family I want the very best for all of us and our health-not to mention the things listed above! I do love to “cheat” from time to time though, and this is where meals like Bertolli Frozen Meal Soups come in. Super simply, super fast, and super yummy they give me a great break while still letting me get a great family dinner on the table.

I was challenged to take a simple weeknight dinner and turn it into something special–so here are my top 3 tips to do this:

Tip One ~ Set the Mood
Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest? Oh I have, sorry! But seriously–GREAT source for inspiration! From a picture I saw on there I was able to create this beautiful centerpiece in under 5 minutes using things I already had in our house. I used wine glasses, a doily, voltive candles, seashells, and a Family Conversation Jar–which leads me to tip 2

Tip Two ~ Get the Conversation Going
We made these awesome Dinner Coversation Jars at MOPs a few weeks ago. Here is all you need to make one for yourself! They are an amazing way to get the conversation going and to learn about your family beyond just “how was your day?” “fine” routine!

Materials: Canning jar, ribbon, scrapbook paper, packet of questions/games (print them out on some pretty paper. Go here to find 100 Questions to ask Your Kids)

Instructions: Take off the jar’s top, separate the pieces. Trace the circle piece onto the paper, cut out. Glue paper onto the top of the circle piece (you only need to glue along the edge), then glue this to the ring piece-to create one, solid jar lid that can come on and of the jar easily. Glue the ribbon around the lid-you can trim the ribbon as needed to create less overlap. Cut up the packet of questions into individual strips (use “fancy” scrapping scissors for special effect if you like) fold and put into your jar!

Tip 3: Break out the Best for your family
Do you have a set of good china? A set of fancy cocktail glasses that never get used? A pretty tablecloth reserved for guests? Do you wait to use these for special occasions? Well guess what–the people who mean the most to you live under your own roof and TODAY is a special occasion because for all you know it could be your last. Break out the candles, dust off the china, and make your family feel like the special, loved people that they are!

Take one weeknight and turn it into a special event to remember! Doing all the above took me well under an hour and was so much fun and well worth it!

Be sure to Follow Bertolli on Twitter and “like” them on Facebook as well for ways to make your family fast, easy, and nutritious dinners!

I was compensated by Bertolli to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge.

January 16, 2012

Surf Sweets ~ Natural & Organic Candy Review

As I’ve mentioned before I’m a pretty strict ruler when it comes to sweets in our house. I’m not a totally meanie though, and do let Amber & Tyler enjoy a “special treat” (as Amber calls them) from time to time. I like giving them treats even more, however, when I know that they are made from all natural ingredients and have vitamin C in them along with the sugary stuff! Surf Sweet are tasty treats of all your favorite kinds of candy–just better for you since they’re made with organic ingredients. The kids gobbled up the jelly beans and gummy bears like crazy–I stole the sour berry bears for myself and was very impressed–they were very tasty, it’s a good thing they came in such little packets! 😉 They’re also made in the USA which is a definite bonus as well! To find out more about these tasty treats visit the Surf Sweets Website or look for them in natural and specialty food retailers like Whole Foods.