Bertolli Frozen Meal Review

Most parents are really busy with their families and they don’t always have the time to make a home cooked meal from scratch. That doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice quality and taste in your dinner choice.  You can still have a quick and easy and delicious meal. Bertolli is a brand that I was already familiar with, from their other frozen meals and of courses their spaghetti sauces.  I had the opportunity to try out Bertolli’s new frozen meal soup. It is for two; of course you could eat it for two meals, if you wanted. I was really excited to try this new product.  It comes in 4 varieties: Chicken Minestrone, Tuscan Style Beef & Vegetables, Roasted Chicken & Rotini Pasta, and finally Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken. My son is a really picky eater so sometimes I don’t want to eat the same thing he is having for dinner or lunch.  My tastes are more refined so occasionally we have different foods for dinner.  Bertolli Frozen  Meal  Soup  is different than any soup you can find in the soup aisle of the grocery store. I think that is because all the flavor and ingredients wouldn’t fit in a can.  If Bertolli put this soup in a can, it would have to a really big can.  So, because not everyone wants to carry around a huge can, they decided to make it frozen. I personally think that can soups lose something in the canning process.  They wanted to keep it as fresh as possible, just like your mom would spend hours in the kitchen making. 

I tried the Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken. The Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with chicken is Cheese-filled tortellini, white meat chicken, spinach and tomatoes in a rich tomato bisque with a hint of basil.   This soup is full of gorgeous vegetables, big chunks of chicken and delicious flavor.  You can tell how fresh the ingredients are. It was really easy to make right on the stove top. It smelled so good when it was cooking that my mouth couldn’t wait to try it. The bisque is amazing and very creamy.   The vegetables retained their color and texture that really makes it special.  It would be great on a bed of rice, but I decided just to eat it with a couple pieces of good Italian bread with special garlic spread.  I was really looking forward to dinner that night, where I finished up the rest of my soup. I really enjoyed Bertolli Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken and I can’t wait to try the other flavors.

You can find all of the Bertolli  Frozen Meal Soups in the freezer section at your local grocery store.  For more information please visit the Bertolli Website.

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 I was compensated by Bertolli to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

L'Occitane Gifts for Valentine's Day

“Roses are red, violets are blue, Valentines day is fast approaching and I don’t know what to get for you.” This is a little poem that captures how I feel every Valentine’s day. Without getting into a debate about how Valentine’s day is a silly holiday that might only be around so that corporations can get one last squeeze out of our wallets after the holidays, I LOVE to get people gifts. I don’t think that Valentine’s day is only for couples to shower each other with gifts (although that is a nice perk). I believe that the main point of Valentine’s day is to acknowledge the people that you love, and to receive acknowledgement from them that YOU are special in their lives. It is so easy to get lost in the commercialism of the holiday, but if you boil it down and keep it basic it can really be an enjoyable day that does not leave you broke or cynical towards love. A company that I often use to find all of my great gifts is L’Occitane. They provide amazing french beauty products that are eco and animal friendly. There are so many quality products to choose from that it can be a one stop shop for your shopping. Now, you might think it is only for women, but L’Occitane has a great men’s line of various face care products. I know my male friends do not like to buy there own grooming products, so it actually makes a fabulous gift for men. Not only will they enjoy the exceptional quality, but you will also love the smell and effect of L’Occitane’s products.

My Grandparents Love

My grandparents had a very special love. They were married a really long time. The definitely upheld their vows of till death do us part.  They were married for 54 years, before my grandpa passed away. They were married in 1938. I still remember attending their 50^th wedding anniversary party. I was in the first grade. It was such a fun party with all my family and their friends. There were so many people that I remember there wasn’t room for everyone in the kitchen and family room. My cousins and I hung out in the den. I am so glad that I was able to help them celebrate their undying love for each other. I remember that I gave them a special gift. It wasn’t an expensive gift, but it was a handmade book I made in school about the letter A. My grandma held on to it for as long as I can remember. It is probably in one of our boxes still.  I proudly signed their guestbook Sheila followed by 1 and the class number I was in, which meant I was in the first grade.  My sister was in third grade and signed her name  the same way.

I still love looking through their 50^th anniversary guest book now. It reminds me of their love, the good times we had.  I don’t know if my grandparents had a wedding guest book. I never saw one, and my grandma saved everything. I even found my great grandparents birth and death certificates one day. I think it is important to have a guest book because someday your children or even your grandchildren will be curious about who attended. In some cases, your children were not born yet, and it is a great way to remember who celebrated your marriage with you.  

Did you have a guest book at your wedding?

My Accent

I wrote a post about Noah’s accent, but I have recently discovered that I too have an accent. It is not a certain regional accent; it’s my own weird accent. There is no dispute that I am a little weird, and definitely unique. I do occasionally do say fer instead of for or yer for your, which is a typical Indiana accent. I don’t say warsh, like my Grandma Rose did, who would jokingly correct herself in my presence.  My accent is something I only have.  Noah doesn’t do it, and I am not sure where it came from but it is pretty funny.  When I say certain words like anything with a short o sound it comes out like eu. So, movie is phonetically spelled meuvie, move is phonetically spelled meuve for example.  I also do the same thing with the double oo sound.  Not everyone notices it, because I asked them if I talk funny. They said they never noticed it. Now I am being lovingly teased about it.  Now I am constantly listening to the way I talk, before I didn’t even notice I did it.

Do you have a weird unique accent? I look forward to hearing about it.

I Have Never Had a Real Credit Card

I have a rule where I don’t really like talking about finances with friends because it seems to cause problems sometimes. I have on occasion talked about it with a few close friends; they talk about their money problems and their debts. I am going to tell you something that will shock you; I am thirty years old and never have had an actual credit card. I wasn’t someone who when they turned 18 they mailed in every credit card offer they were mailed.  I am not going to say I am debt free because I am not. I have some unpaid medical bills from the time I had to take Noah to the ER because he stuck pieces of the inside of a diaper up his nose and didn’t have insurance. It was one of those situations where the hospital and poison control were telling me to rush him to the emergency room, and I didn’t want to chance something happening to my little boy, so we went.  I have other things that put me in debt, but it could be a lot worse.  I know that a lot of people are in debt, especially with the horrible economy.  Sometimes people have to rely on their credit cards to make ends meet.  Sometimes others use their credit cards on big ticket items like TV’s and tablets and they have to look in to contacting a debt management company, to help them get back on track.

I can’t say that I am the best when it comes to money though. I did a long time ago have some trouble with bounced checks… I was young and stupid. I thought the money would hit the bank before the check cleared and my calculations were wrong a couple times. I promptly paid the checks and the fees, but it was a hard lesson to learn. It’s really easy when you are 18 to end up having money problems because you are young. It’s not surprise why people use debt relief programs to help get out of debt.  I know that they do help people reduce the money they owe considerably.  I think that besides the checks and the little debt I am in, that I am in good shape, especially compared to other people my own age.

Let's Talk about Peer Pressure

I have been thinking a lot about peer pressure lately. It something we deal with from when we are little all through school.  We feel peer pressure when we are younger, to try drinking, smoke cigarettes, do drugs and even have sex. We also even felt pressure about the friends we had, and who we wanted to be in a relationship with.  People have missed out on great friends because of peer pressure. I am sure we all have been under that type of peer pressure and cracked and gave in. I know I have. It is normal to experience peer pressure and have the urge to fit in. I think that it is important to remember that the peer pressure you feel cannot be a good thing. You don’t gain anything valuable from it. It can ruin your life or hurt someone very deeply. You should make your own choices and go with what you believe is right.

I believe that there are still peer pressures as an adult. I used to think that when I was no longer in school that it would go away. I haven’t personally really felt too much peer pressure from my friends. Maybe on occasion when it comes to who I am friends with, I strongly believe that everyone has a choice who to be friends with, unless they are just a horrible person.  Even then you make the choice to not be around your friend’s friend. You should still be friends with your friend because of your own reasons. I wouldn’t suggest if the person is a criminal or does other questionable things that you should engage in that behavior. I will be writing a post about a girl I once considered a friend and possible warning signs of what is not OK in my opinion. I am no longer friends with the so-called friends that pressured me about who I was friends with.  I no longer feel peer pressure to do drugs or drink, I am not a drug addict so it is not a desire of mine at all. When I go out with friends, I don’t feel like I have to keep up with them buy drinking an insane amount of alcohol, because it is not my style.

I think that it is important to talk to your children about peer pressure and the dangers of those things. I was watching Boy Meets World and they were talking about peer pressure in an episode. I am sure your kids will say that they will never drink or do drugs, but when you are faced with it, and wanting to fit in, saying no might not be that easy.  Honesty is important when you are talking to your children about those serious topics. I am not saying they need to know about everything but if you open up to them, they will open up to you.  Spend some time explaining why you think that it is a bad idea. Open communication is extremely important.  I know I have said this before and I am sure I will say it again at least five more times, but I highly recommend you watch the movie Requiem for a Dream with your teenage child. It shows the real life consequences of drugs, sex, and addiction. It is not a movie that makes drugs look like fun or look cool. I know that everyone parents differently, but that is just what I think would work best in my family.

Do you still feel peer pressure as an adult?

I Used to Work in Child Care.

Before I was a mom, I worked in day cares and preschools.  I remember when there was a holiday or it was Teacher Appreciation week, I would get gifts. Now call me old fashioned but the smile of a young child was enough of a gift to me.  I received all kinds of gifts from homemade cookie jars full of cookies to flowers and an occasional gift card or two. Sometimes, the gift card is for a place I don’t shop at.  I remember receiving a Starbucks gift card at one point and call me crazy but I am not a Starbucks fan.  I just have never been big on Starbucks so really it isn’t my thing. Another time I received a Talbot’s gift card, I have never found anything I was interested in there, their clothes are not my style, I am more of a t-shirt and jeans girl.  I really am grateful for the gifts I receive but sometimes I don’t know what to do with the gift cards. My mom loves Starbucks so I usually hook her up with those we will sometimes do a gift card exchange where she will give me one of her unwanted gift cards, or if a friend has one I can use we trade.

When you can’t find a friend or family member to trade with there are sites online that are happy to help you sell your gift cards. I have seen them on eBay before but I am very leery when it comes to buying things of value on eBay because they could go and spend the balance between your purchase and send you an empty card. Those sites come in handy if you don’t have a bank account and you can’t use PayPal. I remember a time that I wanted to order some clothes from Victoria’s Secret and I had to go to the store and buy a gift card, it was a pain to make an extra trip. I know with a gift card exchange site they work hard to verify the amounts, so you can not only sell your gift card but you can also buy them. 

What is the craziest gift card you have ever received?