For men, the phrase that sends their stress level rising is – “Honey, we need to talk…” – For many women, it’s, “Mom, what’s for dinner? I’m staaaaaarving!” Followed by whines of, “But I don’t like that!” in response to any dinnertime suggestion you come up with. Ah, motherhood. One food that will put a smile on just about any kids face is Chef Boyardee. So, Chef Boyardee came up with some fun new recipes to help you put a great meal on the table that will please everyone by featuring some of their products that are already family favorites. Save time, money, and stress – Make it Chef Boyardeelicious!

Family Dinnertime Favorites

You know I’m a big fan of sorta-homemade cooking. I love to cook and bake and create in the kitchen – But I have way more enthusiasm than I do cooking skills, lol. So recipes that feature simple ingredients, that are easy to prepare – but still let me look and feel like I made a home-cooked meal are totally my style! That’s why I love the new recipes from Chef Boyardee – they totally fit my style of cooking, and so far, my family has loved them all. And don’t think that because these recipes start with a canned pasta that they can’t be healthy – With the addition of some veggies, and using the whole grain versions of these great pastas, they make a great balanced meal. Our very favorite is the Taco-Roni!

Chef Boyardee Taco-Roni – Love it!

We made a few changes to the original recipe – used Doritos instead of tortilla chips, since that’s what I had on hand, used diced tomatos with green chilies instead of regular, and added a few more veggies {chopped onions, peppers, and olives}. The kids asked for seconds – which is pretty rare around here!

“Chef Boyardee Beefaroni combined with tomatoes, black beans and corn, topped with cheese and crunchy tortilla chips for a taco-inspired dish, try Chef Boyardee Taco-Roni tonight!”

You can find the rest of the great recipe ideas on their site too – Cheeseburger-Roni, Chili-Roni, Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake {another kid favorite!}, and Ravioli Lasagna {a sneaky way to get the kids to eat spinach!}.

Chef Boyardeelicious Party Time!

We received a super fun package of supplies, so that we could try out a bunch of the new Chef Boyardee recipes at a rockin’ in-home party. I love any excuse for a party, and love to share great new products with my friends – so this was very cool. We got some awesome baking dishes that I used to make a couple of the recipes I found on the Chef Boyardee site, and coupons so we could stock up on a TON of different varieties. {I have a super adorable photo of Abby and I in our Chef Boyardee aprons too, that I’ll post this weekend, along with a couple more recipes we came up with! Stay tuned…} I already have a house full, with me, my Mister, and Abby – Plus my brother and my nephews, and Grandma! But we invited over one of my best girlfriends and her family too – to see what recipes were favorites. I tried to get creative with the products, and come up with recipes not on the site. We made deep fried raviolis as appetizers, Beef-a-Roni on a Bun {think sloppy joe}, and mac ‘n cheese biscuit cups. I’ll get the recipes written up to show you soon!

Enter to WIN!!!!

Ready to put your kitchen creativity to the test, and see what Chef Boyardee recipes you can come up with? They’re running a super cool contest on Facebook – and you can win big!

1. Enter the Make it Boyardeelicious Recipe Contest on the Chef Boyardee Facebook page for a chance to win a grand prize of free groceries for a year!
2. 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.
3. 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. {One of the earlier week winners is a new favorite of mine too – Braided Spaghetti Loaf!}
4. The weekly winner receives a $500 prize as well as $75 in Chef coupons. If you don’t win in one week, you can re-enter again the next week!
5. 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.
6. 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.

So even if your not a creative cooking genius – you still have some awesome chances to win! Make sure to check out the other winning recipes {mmmm, they look goooood!}, enter your own, and then come back and vote to be entered for more prizes. Love it, right?

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a In Home Party campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Chef Boyardee and received product samples to facilitate my party and review, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.}