My Buitoni Birthday

A few weeks ago I was selected to host a Buitoni Dinner Party by my sponsor – Foodbuzz! I was so excited when I learned that I had been picked because I knew exactly when I would host my party – My birthday weekend at the beach!

I was sent a whole bunch of coupons to purchase Buitoni Frozen Meals and I was also given some separate funds to cover the costs for other foods for the party!

I was beyond excited to be able to spend my birthday with my friends, but also to treat them all to a special meal!

Luckily having a few of my female friends down the shore with me allowed me to spend quality  time with them, but it also allowed them to help me prepare the meal! I was lucky to have them there!

First we started with slicing and dicing some fresh fruit. I knew that summertime at the beach calls for a cool fruit salad.

This creation consisted of watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, grapes and a few rouge apples. It was delish!

While we were preparing the foods everyone was enjoying Solixir-tini’s! My boss at Solixir provided the mixers for our drinks for my birthday! Thanks Scott!

It was hard to choose which flavor I wanted, but eventually I chose my all time favorite – Blackberry Chamomile. Yum!

We enjoyed our drinks and continued preparing dinner.

 

It’s so much fun to chat and cook with friends!

  

I sliced up some bread and added some butter, because what’s a nice Italian meal without some bread?

Alongside with our fruit salad, we made some other salads to go with the different Buitoni meals we were serving.

 

Lots and LOTS of fresh veggies!

Jackson hung out under the table while the ladies cooked.

Fiancé helped out by pouring water at each of the table settings.

After most of the preparation was complete, it was time to focus on the 4 different Buitoni meals I had selected for the evening.

They were super easy to make. Most of them you just boil in water for 5 minutes or so and they are good to go!

Quick and easy = awesome! 

I could tell that my guests were getting hungry! The kitchen was smelling good, it was almost time to eat!

I began setting the table (and taking my pictures ) as things were ready to be served! 

We had some fresh asparagus seasoned with olive oil and lemon as one of the side dishes. It was simple and tasty!

 

Big bowls of salad in the background. 

All the pots and bowls lined up.    

The first pasta dish that was ready was the Braised Beer & Sausage Ravioli served with a creamy marinara sauce.

 

Next up was the Four Cheese & Spinach Ravioli with a Tomato Basil Sauce.

  

Then we had (my favorite) the Shrimp & Lobster Ravioli in a Garlic Butter Sauce.

  

I was super excited for this dish. The garlic butter sauce smelled amazing and I was really excited about the Lobster & Shrimp combination in the ravioli.

I also made grilled chicken and spinach cannelloni’s with Alfredo sauce which were prepared in my new Dutch oven.

 

Once all the sides were out and the four main dishes were set the table was prepared for the dinner party! 

Everyone immediately dug into all the fabulous food!

Everyone tried a little bit of everything out on the table. There was so much good food out, there was barely any room left on the table!

It was so much fun spending my birthday evening eating a massive meal with my friends.

   

So at the end of the meal I asked everyone for their thoughts on the Buitoni frozen meals that I had selected for us to try. The two favorites for our group were the Braised Beef and the Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli’s. They were so incredibly tasty, the pasta itself was awesome and the paired sauces were amazing. But everyone really enjoyed all 4 selections!

The tastiness of the meal was even more amazing just because of how simple the dishes were to prepare.

5 minutes people! That’s all these took!

I believe everyone left the table with full, happy bellies and a new appreciation for the Buitoni frozen meals!

 

After dinner it was time for the boys to clean up, since the ladies prepared the food, which called for pictures with the puppies.

 

We also enjoyed some more Solixir-tini’s too.

 

Then it was time for Birthday Cake!

Meredith brought over this adorable cake.

And Aileen made this cake for me too! I had 2 birthday cakes!

I was very excited to blow out the candles!

(a little too excited in this picture if you ask me!)

 

Make a wish!

   

Cheers to 26 years!

  

26 is going to be awesome! I can’ already tell!

Thanks again to Buitoni and Foodbuzz for sponsoring the dinner party for my birthday! Everyone had a great time trying out the different foods, it was a lot of fun!

Also thanks to my Future In-Law’s for letting us use their beach house in Avalon for the weekend!

After everyone enjoyed their cake, the festivities continued!