Date Night with Bertolli® {+ Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread Recipe}

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Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching. I feel like once Thanksgiving hit, time went into fast forward and winter is flying by. Valentine’s Day reservations have not been made nor have we set up a babysitter. Time to get creative! This year, we are having date night in with Bertolli® Frozen Meals set up by the fireplace with a cozy blanket, flowers, wine and a freshly baked cheesy garlic pull apart bread. Life is all about the little moments like this. The simple, spontaneous, unexpected, small moments that mean the most.

First,  drop by Kroger and grab everything you need to create your own date night at home. Bertolli® Frozen Meals are found in the freezer section under family meals. There are many different options to choose from but I went with the Chicken Florentine & Farfalle because it is a creamy pasta with loads of spinach packed with flavor and big chunks of lean chicken. There are bags for 2 servings which is what I bought for today for our romantic dinner for two by the fire. Family size bags are also available so grab the one that is appropriate for your needs.

Bonus! For the month of February at Kroger banner stores, Bertolli Meals for Two will be the lowest price of the year.

You can’t have an Italian pasta dinner without a garlic bread. I didn’t want to do any kind of garlic bread though for our special night. I am making a gooey, cheesy garlic pull apart bread. You will find fresh Kroger bread in the bread and pastry section. I went with the Italian round bread. The sourdough round loafs would also be a great choice.  Mozzarella, garlic cloves and butter will also be needed.

You have the perfect pasta dish, a crazy good cheesy garlic bread planned, so now for the drinks and flowers.  It’s date night! Grab some pretty flowers that smell wonderful. There is just something about fresh flowers that just automatically make a person happy. What is it? The color? The smell? Flowers just top off everything and romanticize the night.

Now for the drinks. We are wine drinkers so we grabbed a simple, light wine. For the Chicken Florentine and Farfelle, I recommend a white wine. A light dish pairs with white wines beautifully. Think of a chardonnay, white zinfandel or a reisling. Even a champagne would be fantastic and appropriate for a romantic Valentine’s date night.

As part of date night, we both participate in the cooking. It can be a fun experience just being in the kitchen together watching my husband cook, chatting, laughing and having a glass of wine. Separate the tasks and have on person make the cheesy garlic pull apart bread while the heats up the pasta. Start with the bread since it takes longer to cook. You want to remove the bread from the packaging and make slices one inch apart both diagonal and horizontal. When making your slices, do not cut all the way through the bread. Check out the photo below as a guideline on your slices. Just make the slices go down towards bottom and stop. Melt the butter in a small bowl, add the cheese, fresh chopped parsley and minced garlic to mix together. Now, add your mixture into the slices of the bread spreading it equally throughout. Cover in foil and place in oven for 35 minutes.

As the bread finishes cooking in the oven, begin the pasta. In a large sauce pan on a medium to high heat, add the package of Bertolli. Cook for 11 minutes covered while stirring often to avoid sticking and for thorough cooking. That is it! How easy is this?

Now time for the fun part! Setting up your night date at home. One of our favorite date night tricks is an indoor picnic. This is where we grab a comfy blanket and lay it out by the fireplace to eat. Set up your blanket like a picnic with your Bertolli Chicken Florentine and Farfalle in a big shareable bowl, lay out the cheesy garlic pull apart bread, a bucket of ice with the wine bottle, wine glasses and vas with fresh flowers.

Enjoy date night with Bertolli. Take a few minutes to yourselves and catch up on life. Have a nice discussion, watch a movie, play a board game, enjoy the fireplace and in our case…. try your best to ignore the children running around in circles by us.  Better yet, let the kids set up their own picnic area to eat and watch a movie or color in the some new Valentine’s Day coloring books.

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

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• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
• 1 loaf fresh italian round bread (or something similar)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups mozzarella shredded cheese

1. Gather ingredients, aluminum foil, measuring cup, whisk, small bowl, cutting board, knife, bread knife, and garlic press.
2. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Use the bread knife to cut your bread. Cut slices down to the bottom of the bread but not all the way through about one inch apart. Do the cross cut slices the same way making sure to not cut all through the bread.
4. In the small bowl, melt one stick of butter in microwave for 30 seconds- 1 minute.
5. Chop the fresh parsley and add to bowl.
6. Mince 4 garlic cloves with the garlic press and put into bowl.
7. Measure out 1.5 cups cheese and add to bowl. Whisk the ingredients together well.
8. Spread open the bread to put the mixture on the bread making sure to evenly distribute throughout. Helps to do this by sections or quadrants and spread with a knife.
9. Completely wrap in foil.
10. Place in oven for 35 minutes.
11. Sprinkle the other .5 cups mozzarella cheese on top of bread right when it comes out of oven allowing it to melt.
12. Serve.

Cheers to Bertolli for bringing date night into our home and helping us create wonderful memories together!

How are you spending Valentine’s Day this year? Can you see yourself having a romantic date night at home by the fire and a glass of wine, a delicious bowl of pasta and some fresh cheesy garlic pull apart bread?

Get some more date night inspiration from Bertolli® Frozen Meals by clicking HERE.

Bertolli® is a registered trademark of R&B Foods, Inc., used under license.

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