Seriously, this Hot Fudge is crazy good!
We know your schedule is busy because ours is too. That’s why I’m sharing this Romantic Date Night Menu for an easy and affordable date night at home!
We love those Bertolli Frozen Meals in a bag from the freezer section of the grocery store. You just dump it in a skillet and it’s ready in under 15 minutes! There is your No Fuss Romantic Dinner when served along with a salad, sliced french bread and Italian Butter.
Sometimes we just need a nice quiet dinner at home to enjoy the company of our someone special. Don’t you agree? You never know what might happen when the mood is just right!
My husband and I decided we needed to create that moment for ourselves recently after our schedules had kept us a little too busy.
How To Set The Mood
Set a pretty table by creating layers. Begin with a tablecloth or large piece of fabric or a blanket suitable for acting as a tablecloth. Remember you are having dinner at home so just use what you have.
Create a Layered Place Setting by stacking larger dishes on the bottom followed by a salad plate, dessert plate and soup bowl or any combination you intend to use for your meal.
Bring out your best dishes and silverware.
Dine on your porch or deck if weather permits.
Dine at the smallest table you have or slide the chairs closer together at your dining table.
Use low lighting such as candles or oil lanterns.
Italian food is always good for date night. Lasagna is easy and affordable to make at home and a delicious one dish dinner. Use our Easy Classic Lasagna recipe!
I recommend making a dish of Lasagna the day before your planned romantic date night. Lasagna is always better the next day and there will be less work for you on your date night.
Don’t try to make time for fancy desserts. Those are nice but let’s keep this date night fuss free. Vanilla ice cream with Homemade Hot Fudge topping is always a nice end to a delicious dinner. Chocolate and romance are first cousins anyway! My Homemade Hot Chocolate recipe is ready in a few minutes with only four ingredients!
The idea is to enjoy a romantic and relaxing evening so we are not preparing anything fancy or time consuming. However if you purchased this meal at a fancy Italian restaurant, it would be expensive.
Romantic Date Night Menu
- Lasagna or any Bertolli Frozen Shrimp Scampi Meal
- Sliced French Bread from the deli
- Tossed Green Salad
- Italian Butter
- Vanilla Ice Cream with Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
Outdoor Dining Tip
Dining al fresco on a breezy calls night calls for an oil lamp or battery operated candles. If you have neither use some white Christmas tree lights.
Don’t skip the Italian Butter! See our easy recipe. It’s a Carrabba’s copycat Olive Oil Bread Dip!
Follow our Meal Plan Board on Pinterest!
More Date Night at Home Ideas
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~~~Share this idea to Pinterest~~~
Shirley Wood
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Dee | Grammy's Grid says
Thanks so much for partying with us at the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty 30! Shared ♥
joylovefood says
What a delicious and easy romantic meal idea, especially when enjoyed out on the deck, al fresco dining is the best! Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend?!
JESS44903 says
I LOVE Italian Butter. 🙂
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai says
Ooh, that Bertoli Lasagna looks fantastic! What a lovely idea for a romantic dinner. I have some oil lamps and lanterns around…might be kind of fun. 🙂 Italian Butter, just one great reason to scootch chairs closer together. LOL
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Shirley Wood says
😉 Oil lamps are awesome for mood lighting. We had such a nice time, we are planning on another al fresco date on the deck when the weather warms up a bit. Bertolli frozen dinners are always in our freezer. My personal favorite is the Shrimp Scampi.
Tina says
What a great dinner for two. Using the Bertolli Frozen Dinner make clean up a breeze too! There would not be as many dishes to clean up afterwards.
Shirley Wood says
You are a woman after my own heart. From the container the lasagna baked in straight to the dishes, serving plate not needed! Easy clean-up 🙂
Erin @ Stay At Home Yogi says
YUM! That Italian butter looks amazing and it’s there’s much more time for romance if you use a frozen meal 😉
Cristine says
I like your suggestion of Italian butter – flavored butters are super easy yet really amp up the flavor. To add to the romance, I would add a bottle of wine to pair with dinner
Jennifer B says
This lovely and romantic dinner looks SO good and easy to pull together too. I think I will try this for a special dinner with my husband.
zan says
Wow, sounds like such a lovely evening. I used to do stuff like this when my husband was not working so late and when we had no kids. I am pinning this recipe – we love bread and this Italian butter with the spices and olive oil- yum! I think I have everything on hand. I might just make this today because I was thinking of making my husband some Italian sausage with some bread. He loves that!
Rebecca Bryant says
Yep it’s official I am hungry now. That italian butter looks so good with the bread, I must admit I’m a sucker for anything italian.
Maggie says
I love that you guys planned a semi homemade dinner that had products that were readily available at the store! All of us have busy schedules and homemade food is definitely the way to go. However, with limited time, meals like this are both homemade and quick to prepare! I’m definitely going to try the Italian butter!
Alli says
Semi-homemade meals are right up my alley! I’m always on the lookout for products that will help me make a delicious meal in a short amount of time. And I love a good Italian dipping sauce for bread! Yum – I’ll be making this soon.
Ashley @irishred02 says
I make a similar Italian butter as well. Everything looks tasty you can’t beat a good Italian dinner!