Four New Bertolli Entrees Give Away!

The frost was on the pumpkin here this weekend, or at least it was on the grass of the local park I walk in every morning, as you can see by the photo above.  When the temperature begins to dip towards freezing in autumn, I begin to crave comfort foods like stews and homemade soups.  I usually prepare my own, but lately, I have been busy getting my house in top notch condition to sell, and then doing house showings.  This is why I was very excited when Bertolli foods offered to send me four wonderful new frozen entree products to try and review!

The people at Bertolli sent two of their newest frozen Meal Soups for 2 -- Ricotta and Lobster Ravioli in a Seafood Bisque, and Italian-Style Wedding Soup.  If you remember I reviewed their Meal Soup for 2 lines at an exclusive New York City event on this post, and these two new soups are a wonderful addition.

The Ricotta and Lobster Ravioli in a Seafood Bisque Soup Meal Soup for 2 was heavenly! All I had to add is a cup of milk and heat the frozen soup in a saucepan until it was warm and bubbly.  The rich seafood bisque was full of diced celery and carrots and a multitude of bite-size ravioli.  It was gourmet quality, and as a lover of seafood, I know this was a soup I'd order if I saw it on a restaurant menu, so it was a wonderful treat to be able to have it at home.

The Italian-Style Wedding Meal Soup for 2 contains mini meatballs and spinach, carrots and ditalini pasta in a savory broth flavored with bacon pieces.  This is far superior to any canned Italian Wedding Soup I have tried in the past and had a wonderful homemade quality. I served it with a light sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top, which is the way my husband likes it. He actually told me it reminded him of the soup his mother used to make, which, in my opinion, is the highest compliment anyone could give to Bertolli!  Yes, it's that good!

The other two frozen entrees Bertolli sent for me to try was their brand new Classic Meal for 2 Risottos. If you have ever made risotto at home you know it takes a lot of attention as it has to be stirred frequently, and the recipe's liquid has to be added frequently as it cooks to keep it creamy. I wondered if a frozen product would taste as good as something that requires so much attention when it is homemade.

The Bertolli Classic Meal for 2 Garlic Shrimp Risotto is Italian style rice and shrimp with zucchini, yellow squash and red peppers in a white wine cream sauce flavored with a hint of garlic.  I was very impressed with the crispness of the vegetables.  They tasted as if they were chopped fresh, minutes before. Plus, the amount of succulent tender pink shrimp in the risotto was generous and they were of good size. The rice was tender and creamy and I was impressed with the quality. This was truly a risotto that would have taken me more than an hour to prepare, yet it cooked up in my skillet in about 12 minutes!

The Bertolli Classic Meal for 2 Roasted Chicken Risotto was outstanding! The generous chicken pieces in the risotto had a savory slow-roasted taste and the Parmesan cream sauce was filled with chunks of portobello mushrooms and slices of crisp asparagus. It truly was of fine gourmet quality, very rich and creamy and delicious! It was a hard choice, but I think this was our favorite of all four entrees!

Thank you, Bertolli, for saving me time at this very busy time of my life, and treating me to your delectable new frozen entrees.  I am going to fill my freezer full of them to make sure I have a quick and delicious meal in a flash whenever I need one!

Bertolli has been kind enough to offer to send four coupons to a lucky reader of my blog, that can be redeemed in your store for Classic Meals Entree for 2, or Meal Soups for 2, of your choice and combination. I will choose the winner by using the random number generator at Random.org from all the comments I receive below on Sunday, October 14, 2012, and I will announce the winner on this post.  Just tell me what Bertolli products you think you'd like to try first! Good Luck!

*10/15/12: The winner of the Four Free Bertolli Entree Coupons as picked by Random.org was # 34.  Counting down from all entries I saw there was one double entry, which I did not count, so the winner was Lisa of Grandma's Briefs. Congratulations, Lisa!  Please send your name and address to me by e-mail and I will send them to Bertolli, who will mail out the coupons to you! Thank you to all who entered.  I do hope you will try these new entrees very soon as I think you will enjoy them as much as I did.

I also wanted to thank everyone for your wonderful best wishes on my wedding anniversary post! We had a quiet, but happy celebration. We've also shown our house quite a few times, and have had positive feedback from all who have seen it, but no offers as yet.  I'm beginning to realize that selling may take longer than we anticipated in this market, but in the meantime, I am continuing to de-clutter and minimize my belongings so when we do sell it will be easier to pack.  Our realtor is also going to begin hosting "Open House" viewings on a few upcoming weekends, so hopefully, that will bring the right family who will fall in love with our house. This also means I'll have more fun places to show you in New York City, so stay tuned!