Host a Free House Party

I am so excited. My husband and I are leaving the kids with grandparents, and taking off to Mexico in the morning. If I were only done cleaning the house, packing, and preparing for the trip! I just needed a quick break and I wanted to tell you about the party I  had recently.

I stumbled upon an amazing website 3 months ago called Houseparty.com. I registered on the site and they soon began to send me upcoming party events. Some examples of past events are Budweiser beer, Wii games, Johnoinville Sausage, and Shutterfly. All I had to do was fill out a 2 minute online questionnaire and wait to be picked. I finally got my first party last month. It was for Chef Boyardee. I emailed out the invites and waited for my lucky guests to respond.

Two weeks before the party my "party pack" arrived on my front porch. I still could not believe someone was willing to send me free supplies to throw a house party. The box was full of goodies including a chef's hat, coupons for free cans of Chef Boyardee, recipe cards, a Chef Boyardee cooler bag, notepads, and coupons for my guests. I was so excited!! (Oh...and I am not being paid to write this post. I just wanted to share my discovery)

Last weekend was the party and we had a great time. I chose 3 out of the 5 recipes they sent me to make. The best part is they were fast, easy, and delicious. My favorite was the Ravioli Lasagna.

Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients:

Pam no-stick cooking spray

1 cup frozen loose cut leaf spinach

2 cans Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli

1 can diced tomatoes, drained well

1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. Place spinach in microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 2 min. Squeeze spinach dry.

2. Combine ravioli, drained tomatoes and Italian seasoning in medium microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 3-4 minutes or until mixture is hot. Combine cottage cheese, spinach and black pepper in small bowl.

3. Place half or ravioli mixture in bottom of baking dish. Top with half cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

The funny thing was everyone had a different favorite recipe. The second one I made was a Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake.

Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake

Ingredients:

Pam original no-stick cooking spray

1 1/4 cups original baking mix

1/2 cup reduced fat milk

2 cans Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/3 cup sliced turkey pepperoni

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Combine baking mix and milk in medium bowl; stir until soft dough forms.

2. Drop dough by spoonfuls on bottom of baking dish. Spoon 1 can spaghetti and meatballs over dough and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining can spaghetti and meatballs, remaining 1/4 cup cheese and pepperoni.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until dough is done in centers and browned.

The third recipe I chose was titled Taco-roni. I forgot to take a picture once I added broken tortilla chips and cheese on top.

Taco-roni

Ingredients:

2 cans Chef Boyardee Beefaroni

1 can diced tomatoes drained

1 can Premium whole black beans, drained, rinsed

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup shredded mexican cheese blend

1/2 cup broken yellow tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Place beefaroni, drained tomatoes, beans, corn and cumin in large saucepan; stir to combine.

2. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and broken chips just before serving.

Which recipe will you try?????