There are some days it almost feels like I don’t have time to eat, let alone cook a meal for the family. But in this household, people need to eat (I know, weird right? J/K) so even if things are busy, I need to find something that will fill up tummies and make them say “yum!” This weekend we had a dinner challenge – to prepare a special dinner in under one hour.
I almost felt like it was cheating by being able to pick-up Bertolli Meal Soup. I almost spent more time in the freezer aisle figuring out the type of Bertolli Meal Soup I wanted to have for dinner than I did actually preparing it. There are four varieties of Bertolli Meal Soups, which includes Chicken Minestrone, Roasted Chicken & Rotini Pasta, Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken, and Tuscan-style Beef & Vegetables. After much pondering, I grabbed the Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken.
Once I got home, the one hour challenge started. First up – preheating the oven for some fresh dinner rolls. Once the oven was heated, I threw the rolls in and let them bake-up. Next, it was time for the soup. I was a little astonished at how easy it was to prep the soup. Basically throw everything into a saucepan, add water, let boil, reduce to simmer and stir. The soup was done before the rolls were out of the oven. It cooked up that quickly. From start to finish, it took about 20 minutes to have everything on the plate, ready to enjoy.
The next big question is – how does it taste? It tastes like something you would get at a restaurant – a really good restaurant. I’m not even the hugest tomato fan and I found it utterly delicious. The chicken and the tortellini cooked up perfectly and the tomato soup base was thick and hearty. Even people who claimed they weren’t hungry decided they wanted a bowl after a few tastes.
Each Bertolli Premium Meal Soups package is mean for two people, however we found the soup hearty enough for it to be more like 3 servings (or 2.5 servings if you have a “healthy” eater.) You can find Bertolli Meal Soups in the freezer aisle of your local grocery store (they’re a frozen soup). They were on sale at my local Giant for just $5.99 each.
Being able to provide such a gourmet soup for everyone really made dinner feel special – almost like we were eating out (except I still had to do the dishes.) Plus, since dinner was cooked so quickly, that meant we could enjoy a movie and spend some extra quality time together.
Disclaimer: This post consists of my (and/or fellow tester) opinions only. Your experiences may be different. I was compensated by Bertolli to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge.
April H says
January 31, 2012 at 10:38 amWe tried the same soup – my husband loved it! I thought the soup was amazing quality as well!
denise says
January 31, 2012 at 11:10 amsounds yummy, but I’d have to buy too many packages to feed the teenagers
Betty Baez says
January 31, 2012 at 8:40 pmWow I didn’t know about these ill have to give it a try!