A Twist on Date Night

I can’t remember the last time the hubs and I had dinner out. My birthday in August maybe? And now a nuts-o toddler and nursing baby sure remove romance from any date night. Desperate to keep the family alive – and Jack’s mind off my return to work – I was inspired to have a family “Date Night In” tonight.

First, create the ambiance. All of us are half Italian. So, little Italy it was. I collected all the candles from our house for the centerpiece. Pulled out Jack’s roll paper and covered the table. Added crayons for doodling. Perfetto! Just 15 minutes of prep and we were on a date.

 Second, the menu. I’d been wanting to try Bertolli’s Frozen Meal Soups, so what better than our family date night? I picked up a bag of Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken while at Target shopping with Ella today. That way I had time to enjoy a bit of coloring by candlelight with my boys while soup cooked on the stove.

It was delish. Tasted so fresh. And seriously filling.

Third, and finally, enjoy. Jack melted some crayon. Justin took his coloring a little too seriously. Ella smiled at the atmosphere. And I couldn’t stop snapping photos, anxious to catch the first of many “Family Date Night Ins.”

Next up, we visit Germany. The other half of our ancestry.

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This post was inspired by Bertolli, who compensated me to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge. Check out Bertolli on Facebook or Twitter.