Veronika's Blushing

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A Delicious & Quick Dinner Idea

When my husband and I first moved in together before we got married, we were both pretty lacking in our cooking skills. We often ordered-in food and we ate the same things all the time, which included a lot of turkey tacos because they were easy to make.
As we got older, we both got better at cooking and currently my husband does 90% of the cooking in our house. (Score!)  But now that we have a baby, our dinner routine has become a little more challenging because we both want to maximize the time we spend with Harper after work instead of being stuck in the kitchen.  We like to cook things that are quick or than can be thrown into a pan and oven-baked so we can play with the baby and have our dinner practically make itself, save some prep time.
We’ve been buying Bertolli authentic Italian frozen meals for about five years now. We kind of discovered them randomly in the freezer section of our grocery store. It was one of those “these look good” moments and we picked up a few different meals.

Recently, Bertolli came out with new, restaurant-inspired, multi-serve Rustico Bakes, which promise to deliver oven-baked taste from the microwave in minutes. Already a fan of the stove-top frozen meals, I was excited to try something that would take even less effort (and no clean-up either!).

Nowadays, we cook a Bertolli dinner anytime we don’t feel like really cooking or don’t have the time to but we still want a tasty dinner that’s a real meal (ie: not mac n’ cheese or cereal). The new Bertolli multi-serve Rustico Bakes are available in 4 recipes-  Stuffed Shells Bolognese, Ricotta & Mozzarella Ravioli, Ziti Alforno and Manicotti Alla Vodka. You guys, they are SO good. I was amazed at how delicious they were and, confession time—when we made the Ziti Alforno, I took it out of the microwave and divided equal servings into bowls…and then, when my husband wasn’t looking, added a little more to my bowl. (Sorry, honey.)
Sometimes we don’t have the time or energy to cook or we just want to spend our evening taking a long walk with the baby and reading extra books. Having something quick and easy that we can eat and enjoy as a family is awesome (and lately, Harper likes to watch us eat too!).

All you have to do to make the Rustico Bakes is to pop it into the microwave for about 10 minutes. When it’s all done I promise you will love the taste- just like what you’d order dining out, but you can wear sweatpants and don’t have to leave your house.
 
Harper hanging out while dinner cooks…
 Here’s what it looks like after we’ve served it up:

so much delicious melted cheesy goodness…mmm…
Bertolli also has a new line of Italian-inspired desserts and as someone who doesn’t feel dinner is complete without a sweet treat at the end of a meal, I’m loving the Lemoncello dessert.  
Have you tried Bertolli dinners? What do you cook when you want a great meal that’s quick? Leave me a comment below for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. A Texas Gal says

    Monday mornings I start the crock pot and that is usually enough for 2 dinners and a lunch for my husband and I (I don't use any of those recipes that use cream of chicken or some other canned thing – usually chicken breasts, lots of veggies and something to make the sauce) – usually Monday dinner, Tuesday lunch and Wednesday dinner – I do this about twice each month and it really helps to not have to "make" dinner each night. I will have to pick up these Bertolli dinners as they look delish!

    Reply

  3. Tara Smith says

    I love to do a Stouffer's frozen lasagna when I need an easy meal! It doesn't cook too fast, but there's no preparation or clean up because you just pop it in the oven!

    Reply

  6. Amber B. says

    I love Bertolli's marinara sauces! We cook a lot of pasta in our house since it's easy and I add to it whatever we have on hand, pan sauteed sausage and kale or chicken and marinara. Easy and the kids eat it too!

    Reply

  7. Kylie says

    Our standard "quick" dinner is super easy/lazy. We just brown low fat ground beef and add water & taco seasoning. Sometimes we just eat it with a fork and sometimes we'll scoop up with the meat with tortilla chips. It's protein rich and simple!

    Reply

  8. kellyr78 says

    I have not tried these Bertolli meals, but I will check them out. When I need a quick meal for my kids, I usually make a pasta with a olive oil/butter sauce and toss in some veggies like broccoli.

    kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom

    Reply

  26. Kim says

    We love the Bertolli stove-top meals. Those are our go-to when we feel like having a dinner but not full on cooking. If the oven meals are as good as the stove-top ones, they're definitely something I want to try!

    Reply

  27. Kim says

    We love the Bertolli stove-stop meals. Those are our go-to when we don't feel like actually cooking but want something filling. If the oven meals are just as good that is definitely something I want to try.

    Reply

  48. Dee says

    A quick dinner meal at our house is either breakfast for dinner (pancakes, eggs and bacon) or tortellini with pesto (we always keep both on hand because it goes from pot to plate in less than 10 minutes).

    Dbyrne1[at]gmail[dot]com

    Reply

  58. BeatriX says

    Our fast dinner: quesadillas :p
    I buy whole wheat tortillas (at target) + Panela cheese + ham. Make a taco and put it on the grill for a few min until the cheese is completely melted + jalapeño peppers or chipotle peppers 😉
    Sometimes homemade salsa is good, but many times it just goes better w/canned peppers.

    Reply

  79. Amy says

    I think the last time I tried them was about 5 years ago, and it tasted awesome! I usually go for a quick meat sauce/spaghetti for an easy weeknight dinner. 🙂

    Reply

  99. The McCaffreys says

    My husband and I *just* got married earlier this month so we don't really have an official 'easy meal' yet but when I was still a bachelorette I loved making shrimp quesadillas! 🙂

    Reply

  111. Amy says

    I love Bertolli! It's the answer to a great meal that's quick. My family always think I made it from scratch whenever I served Bertolli! shh…. 😀
    amy [at] utry [dot] it

    Reply

  114. Kerry says

    I haven't tried them, but I really want to try the Tortellini Margherita! If I'm in a hurry, I usually make tacos or burritos.
    nuthouse(at)centurytel(dot)net

    Reply

  116. Betty C says

    These meals look great. I'm not usually thinking about dinner early in the day so we do a lot of pasta or stir fry meals. I'd really like to try these Bertolli meals.

    willitara [at] gmail [dot] com

    Reply

  124. angie lilly says

    I have not tried these meals but would love to. When I am looking for a quick meal, nothing is faster than heating up a frozen pizza.

    Angie
    14earth at gmail dot com

    Reply

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