Archive | January, 2014

Romantic Family Dinner with Buitoni Sauce and Tres Leches Cake

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it’s tradition for me to “wine and dine” my sweet Valentines….. all five of them.

Why make a romantic dinner for just two when I have my little ones to celebrate love with.

There’s just one problem.

Who has time to spend hours in the kitchen making a gourmet meal? With a little creative flair, this working mom needs a bit of help in the kitchen. A quick stop by Walmart on the way home got me all of the ingredients for a fun and romantic family dinner including a small bouquet of red roses.

Photo Jan 16, 9 03 58 AM

 

Photo Jan 16, 9 04 48 AM

Photo Jan 16, 9 12 50 AM

Romantic Family Dinner

Creating a romantic family dinner can be both fun and simple. I start by setting the table with some elegant and fun Valentine’s decor. Personally, I don’t do paper products and don’t mind bringing out all of my fine serving dishes and candelabra.

Romantic Family Dinner Buttoni

For dinner, I’ve prepared some pasta with broccoli and chicken but want some gourmet appetizers on the table. I picked up the Buitoni sauces in both Alfredo and Marinera for a “dipping” dinner idea. I prepared some meatballs, cheese sticks and vegetables for my sweet Valentine’s to dip in the warmed sauces.

Romantic Family Dinner Buitoni

 

IMG_5099

Sweets

And now for the sweet part. Tonight was my first time making Tres Leches cake and I discovered two things. First, it’s not as hard as I thought it was going to be thanks to Nestle Tres Leches Cake Kit. And second, my family thought it was one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever made.

It does need a little time in the refrigerator for the cake to soak up the sweet milk, so I suggest making the cake the day before.

Nestle Tres Leches Cake

Nestle Tres Leches Cake Kit

 

 

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Back On Track for New Year with Lean Cuisine

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

Balanced Lifestyle

Maintaining a balanced lifestyle is something I struggle with constantly as with most busy moms I know. When work and deadlines collide with school projects and dance lessons, it’s not always easy to make the best choices when it comes to eating. And when the holidays arrive it creates the perform storm making it nearly impossible to keep up those healthy habits I worked so hard to maintain throughout the year.

This is why I decide to forgive myself each holiday season by allowing a few weeks of no exercise, Christmas cookies, eggnog and other indulges that we all don’t really need to know about. Now it’s time to say hello to 2014 and get back on track for the new year.

Back On Track

To get back on track, I begin with choices. When I’m working away at my desk on a project, I don’t have the time to stop and make myself lunch which leads to more hunger, which eventually leads to me grabbing something quick that isn’t the best choice for sustaining myself throughout the day. In fact, that bag of chips typically leads to more hunger about an hour later.

Therefor, making better food choices is at the top of my list to getting back on track. When you’re a busy working mom, it’s easier to make better food choices when they’re convenient. During a trip to Walmart today, I made a few purchases which allow me to have snacks and meals ready when hunger strikes.

I’m munching away as we speak on these LEAN CUISINE® Stuffed Pretzels which are stuffed with Three Cheese & Spinach.

 

Lean Cuisine Stuffed Pretzel

Lean Cuisine Stuffed Pretzel Three Cheese and Spinach

 

And lunch is just a few minutes away with today’s choice being LEAN CUISINE® Sesame Chicken:

LEAN CUISINE® Sesame Chicken

LEAN CUISINE® Sesame Chicken

 

LEAN CUISINE® Sesame Chicken

LEAN CUISINE® Sesame Chicken

 

And this will be ready and waiting for me in the freezer should hunger strike tomorrow morning while the kids are at school, LEAN CUISINE® Morning Collection™ Turkey Sausage English Muffin:

LEAN CUISINE® Morning Collection™ (Turkey Sausage English Muffin

LEAN CUISINE® Morning Collection™ (Turkey Sausage English Muffin

 

I also have the LEAN CUISINE® Wrap ADDITIONS™  Creamy Balsamic Chicken waiting for lunch tomorrow, which I just throw on top of my brown rice tortillas:

LEAN CUISINE® Wrap ADDITIONS™ (Creamy Balsamic Chicken

LEAN CUISINE® Wrap ADDITIONS™ (Creamy Balsamic Chicken

 

For all you late-night munchers, I strongly suggest Skinny Cow Devine Candy, which I keep readily at my desk:

Skinny Cow Devine Candy

Skinny Cow Devine Candy

 

Switching up my regular coffee sweetener with CoffeeMate Better For You Sugar-Free Vanilla is also another choice for getting my new year back on track.

Nestle Back on Track

 

 

 

 

 

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