I love being part of a mommy group because it really gives a sense of community when you transition from working mom to stay at home mom. Don’t get me wrong – I love that I have the opportunity to stay home with my little girl and watch her grow. I am truly enjoying this time with her. I just didn’t realize that being a stay at home mom, especially during the winter months, can leave a feeling of isolation.
Some of the things I do with my mommy group is plan play dates that center around reading, arts and crafts, holiday themes, and outings. Of course, you can’t have a play date without food! Our latest play date was centered around creative lunch and dinner ideas that incorporated Chef Boyardee products. Some moms in the group have picky eaters, while others have no problems when it comes to food. When I set up the play date, I asked a few moms to volunteer to make a dish to bring to the potluck play date. Our recipe ideas came from the recipe cards that were included in my Chef Boyardee in home party kit. On the menu was Ravioli Lasagna, Chili-roni, Taco-roni, and Cheeseburger-roni. Not one of the recipes took more than 30 minutes to cook! The real test was having the little ones taste the food!
Check out the awesome things we got to use during our in-home taste test!
The moms all agreed that they loved the idea of cutting prep time in half by using a pre-made food item, such as Chef-Boyardee Beefaroni or Beef Ravioli. All the recipes were very easy and quick to pull together. A few of the moms are working moms and they loved that they can create one-pot meals in a cinch after a long day of work. I couldn’t agree with them more. Whether you are a stay at home mom or a working mom, there never seems to be enough time to get everything done in one day. Dinner time shouldn’t be stressful!
My personal favorite was the Taco-roni. The children all had different opinions about the food. Some loved it, some didn’t, but what was most important was that the moms at the party found something quick, easy, and delicious to pull together for dinner! Check out to view recipes!
Right now Chef Boyardee is running the Chef Boyardeelicious contest on the Chef Boyardee Facebook page for a chance to win a grand prize of free groceries for a year! Now through March 11, 2012, you can submit an original recipe that uses Chef Boyardee as an ingredient. Simply upload a photo of the recipe, and share why your family loves it. Each week, a winner will be chosen based on creativity, all-family appeal, ease of preparation, and palatable appeal by an expert panel of judges. The weekly winner receives a $500 prize as well as $75 inChef coupons. If you don’t win in one week, you can re-enter again the next week! Each of the top ten finalists from all the accumulated weeks will have the chance to win the grand prize of free groceries for a year. The winner will be chosen based on a combined score of taste points and voting. The voting period lasts March 26-April 8, 2012. Voters get entered into a daily sweepstakes for the chance to win $100. Share it on Facebook and get an extra sweepstakes entry.
Be sure to enter to win! If you submit a recipe, come back to this post and let me know! I would love to check it out!
I wrote this review while participating in a In Home Party campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ChefBoyardee and received product samples to facilitate my party and review, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.