5 Tips for a Great Date Night In

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Do you ever feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to get things done?   My husband and I both feel this way.   I work full time as a teacher as well as part time writing this blog.  My husband runs his own business from home as well as doing some side jobs.   I’m out of the house Monday-Friday from 7 until 4 and he’s out of the house most of the day on Friday-Sunday.   Often times when we are both home we are just tired and want to chill.

However, it’s easy to have a Great Date Night In without all of the trouble.   There’s no need to prepare a big elaborate meal and plan on fun activities that take a lot of time to prepare.   The best part of having a Date Night In is that it can be for just the two of us and it doesn’t have to take a lot of work.

Wondering what you need to do take make a date night in special?   Here are my 5 Tips for a Great Date Night In:

1. Break Out the Candles:   Nothing says romance like candles.  By simply placing 2 or 3 candles on the dinner you can create a romantic ambience for your date night dinner.
2. Make Dinner Easy:   There’s no need to make a huge dinner that takes hours in the kitchen to make.  I like preparing something simple like these MorningStar Farms® Veggie Bowls.  My husband and I enjoy eating vegetarian and there are many different varieties of Veggie Bowls to choose from.  We like that they make it easy to substitute a vegetable for a meat  to make an enjoyable meatless meal.  Each one takes under 5 minutes to make so I can have our date night dinner on the table in under 10 minutes.
3. Serve Wine with your Meal:   Like the candles, having wine with your dinner can make all the difference between an everyday meal and a romantic night in.  See my tips below for choosing the best wine pairing with your meal.
4. Use Real Napkins and Silverware:  Make this meal special by pulling out the cloth napkins.   Find ones that match the season and help to set the mood.  We often use paper napkins for our everyday meals so when I set out the cloth napkins we both know it’s an occasion.  The same goes for silverware.   Don’t use disposable, use the good stuff.
5. Choose a Movie You Both Will Enjoy:   Finish off your date night in with a great movie.   I often like to choose one that we both have seen and really enjoy.  That way we can enjoy each other as much as we enjoy the movie.  Plus, if we miss a part of the movie we’ve already seen it.   The other thing you can do is choose a new movie that looks intriguing and is something you would both like.  It’s fun dimming the lights and sipping on the wine while watching a new flick.

Are you ready for Date Night now?    It really doesn’t take much effort to have a great night at home with your spouse or significant other.   It took me 10 minutes to set up, 10 minutes to make our meal, and I grabbed the movie on my way home from work.  Thirty minutes worth of work made an incredible night for my husband and I.

Now about the wine pairing.   Pairing wine with dinner can be tricky and it really goes more to what you like then what you should be pairing your meal with.   Here are some tips for pairing wine with your food:

• In general chicken and poultry pairs well with white wine while red meat pairs well with red wine.
• When having seafood shellfish and white fish work well with white wine while heartier fish like tuna, salmon, and swordfish pair well with red wine.
• Earthy vegetables like mushrooms, onions, leeks, and carrots pair well with richer white wines or a rose wine.
• Light, vibrant vegetables such as peas, celery, and green beans pair well with a crisp, un-oaked white wine.
• For vegetables or pasta in a cream sauce consider rich Chardonnay or a contrasting crisp Pinot Gris.
• Vegetables or pasta in a red sauce do well with a medium bodied red wine.

Are you wondering what I paired with our MorningStar Farms® Veggie Bowls?   We both had the Chik’n Pot Pie Veggie Bowl which has a medley of vegetables including carrots, onions, peas, potatoes, and corn.  They also include vegan Chik’n Strips that are lightly seasoned and pack 23 grams of protein.   Even though this is a vegan chick’n I knew I wanted to pair the Veggie Bowls with a white wine.  Knowing that the onions and carrots like a richer white wine and the peas pair with an un-oaked white wine I decided to go with a crisp Pinot Grigio.   I knew it’s flavor would pair beautifully with all of the flavors in the Chik’n Pot Pie Veggie Bowl, including the creamy sauce.

Would you like to try MorningStar Farms® Veggie Bowls for a date night in?   If so, visit the MorningStar Farms® website and tell me which flavor Veggie Bowl you’d most like to try!