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It isn’t always easy to come up with delicious meals that are quick to prepare. I was given the challenge of making a dinner for two in under an hour and I gladly accepted. My dinner included Bertolli Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken, salad, French baguette and molten lava cakes.
Here are a few tips for a quick and easy dinner:
1) Prepare ahead of time. Figure out exactly what you want for your meal.
2) Purchase easy to prepare foods such as frozen soup, bagged lettuce and take-n-bake bread.
3) Make an action plan for preparing the meal. While one item is baking, you can work on the next.
To make our dinner, I started with dessert because it had to bake in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Place 1 stick of butter & (4) 1 ounce squares of bittersweet chocolate in a microwave for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Stir until the chocolate is dissolved.
- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix until blended.
- Mix in 3 eggs
- Add 1/3 cup flour
- Pour into greased muffin tin
- Bake at 425°F for 8-10 minutes.
My molten lava cakes turned out like delicious, dark chocolate cupcakes because I overcooked them. I had checked a few different recipes online and saw that they bake for 12-14 minutes but that I found out was the baking time for ramekins! Plus, I overfilled the muffin tins..so I cannot make any promises that these will turn out like molten lava cakes if you bake them but I can say that they will be delicious!
After popping the muffin tin into the oven, I poured the contents of of this Bertolli Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken soup into a sauce pan.
I added 1 cup of hot water to the soup and heated until boiling, stirring occasionally.
While waiting for the soup to boil, I pulled the molten lava cakes out of the oven and turned the oven to 375°F. I put a take-n-bake French baguette into the oven to heat for 5-7 minutes.
Once the soup was boiling, I turned the heat to low, put the cover on the pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes. While the soup was simmering, I put bagged salad in 2 bowls and cut up a mini cucumber to add to the salad. I pulled the bread out of the oven and removed the soup from the heat. The bread was cut into slices and put on a tray and the soup ladled into the bowls. Right before putting the meal on the table, I got the coffee pot going and sprinkled some shredded cheese on the hot soup.
Doesn’t that look wonderful? It was so delicious and the candles added a soft glow.
After the meal, came the dessert! I drizzled chocolate on the plate and topped it with a molten lava cake. I added a scoop of ice cream and drizzled more chocolate. This was enjoyed with a steaming cup of coffee!
Keep in touch with Bertolli by following along:
What are your quick and easy weeknight dinner tips?
I was compensated by Bertolli to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge but all ideas, pictures and opinions are my own.
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Hello, I'm Tonia. Welcome to The Gunny Sack, my online place to inspire others through recipes, crafts and tutorials.
So Tonia, when you say a meal for two, does that mean you and me. I’ll be around in a minute! LOL Looks delicious.
Anne xx
Funny you posted this, I just saw a commercial the other day & told my husband we should try this! Looks great!
I know it’s only breakfast but darn this whole meal looks so gooooodd!
Looks fantastic! Hope to see you over at my neck of the woods today for my “Get Ready For Romance” party. You have such fantastic ideas
It is 7am here and that meal looks so good!
Your dinner looks delicious! We tried the Tuscan Beef and it was awesome! Looks like you had a great night.
http://busymomonthego.com/2012/01/bertolli-weeknight-meal-challenge/
You tried the same one I did, and your beautiful table arrangement makes me want to start all over again and have some more. Delicious!!!!