Family Movie Night is Back! Game Time: Tackling The Past

Family Movie Night is Back!

Millions of families are rediscovering their family rooms and actually watching TV… together. Thanks to Walmart and P&G, great family movies are now being broadcast FREE on network TV.

• Great quality movies
• Good for the whole family
• Teachable moments
• Even family friendly commercials!

P&G and Walmart have teamed up once again to bring Family Movie Night into our homes. I was excited for the opportunity to work with them on the latest movie- Game Time: Tackling The Past, which premieres Saturday, September 3 on NBC at 8pm ET/7pm CT. First, before I get into the specifics of the movie, let me tell you what a fan I am of this concept. Family friendly movies that we can sit down to together and mom and dad do not have to worry if something is going to be said or done that is inappropriate. Then they mix in teachable moments. Family Night at its finest!

The movie stars Ryan McPartlin, Catherine Hicks and Beau Bridges. I have been a fan of Beau Bridges for many years and of Catherine Hicks since her start of 7th Heaven.  This is not just another football movie and deals more with Jake, a pro football player, and his own issues and doing what is right.

I had the opportunity to view this movie prior to the official release and cannot wait to watch this on Saturday as a family! You do not have to love football in order to be interested in this wonderful movie. 

Cast

Jake WalkerRyan McPartlin

Frank WalkerBeau Bridges

Anna WalkerCatherine Hicks

Dean WalkerJosh Braaten

Karen WalkerLisa Varga

Sarah TateKatie Carr

MicahMaxwell Perry Cotton

Synopsis

Pro football star Jake Walker is living the dream… or so he thinks. The veteran tight end is a fan favorite and on pace to set the all-time receiving yards record that will guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame. While working out at training camp, Jake receives an unexpected call from his brother Dean – their father Frank has suffered a major heart attack. Jake immediately leaves practice and returns to Riverton, North Carolina, the small hometown he’s avoided for nearly 15 years. Memories of glory and regret flood his mind as he returns to the family and friends he abandoned in pursuit of his career. Jake dutifully visits with Frank and Dean, but hurt and misunderstanding from the past begins to resurface, leaving him counting the days until he can return to his team.

A second unexpected call, this time from his agent, delivers Jake another crushing blow. His contract is not being renewed amid concerns about his surgically repaired knee. Suddenly, the life Jake knows is over. To avoid the media circus around this news, Jake reluctantly decides to extend his stay in Riverton. Attempting to make the best of the situation, he begins reconnecting with the community that once revered him.    Jake is reintroduced to Sarah, his high school sweetheart, and helps Dean take over their father’s high school coaching job.

always believed in him.

Surprisingly impacted by the people around him, the real Jake begins to emerge from behind his armor to see that life is much more than the accumulation of personal stats. But when Jake’s offered a lucrative new contract to play for another team, he is forced to decide whether to go back to the career he thought he loved, or stay in Riverton and embrace the people who 

  

Remember to sit down as a family and tune in on Saturday September 3rd to watch Game Time: Tackling The Past. Be sure to follow the Family Movie Night Facebook page to learn more and know when a new Family Movie Night movie will air. 






“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Starbucks Bistro Boxes

Recently, Mom Central contacted me with an opportunity to sample Starbucks Bistro Boxes.  With a heavy work, commute, family, etc schedule, I can’t be bothered with running to get takeout while at work or running errands. Typically, at work I am doing personal stuff at lunch and running to get takeout would just eat away at my lunch hour. Running errands is pretty much the same. I just want to get it done and, as I am TRYING to watch my weight, this is going to happen getting takeout. Needless to say, the Bistro Boxes sound right up my alley and I jumped at the chance to give these a try.

Curious

Well, I didn’t exactly jump. Since I hadn’t heard of the boxes yet, I ran over to their site to check them out and see what they were all about. I was immediately enticed by the photographs of the meals, but typically the photos and real life don’t match right? Continuing my investigation, It seems there is just about something for everyone from vegan to those wanting high protein. Items in  the new Starbucks Bistro Box line include: Chicken and Hummus (the next one I would love to try) Chicken and Lettuce Wraps, Chipotle Chicken Wraps, Protein Bistro Box, Salumi & Cheese, Sesame Noodles, Cheese and Fruit, Chicken and Hummus, and Tuna Salad. According to the website, there are 8 to choose from. More on that later. They reminded me of Panera, which we often stop at for healthy selections, so I then signed up.

1. 

   Cheese & Fruit Bistro Box

2. 

   Chicken & Hummus Bistro Box

3. 

   Chicken Lettuce Wraps Bistro Box

4. 

   Chipotle Chicken Wraps Bistro Box

5. 

   Protein Bistro Box

6. 

   Salumi & Cheese Bistro Box

7. 

   Sesame Noodles Bistro Box

8. 

   Tuna Salad

Disappointment

Once my gift card came to sample the meals, I immediately  set out after work to one of the Starbucks nearest my home. Remember when I mentioned there are supposed to be 8 meals and more on that later… Luckily, on this day I was just searching for a lunch and snack for the next day at work because the first Starbucks had one and only one of the meals available. I even asked the girl to check in the back but there were none. I did grab the one they had, which was the Sesame Noodle Bistro Meal. Still wanting the Chicken and Hummus Bistro selection, I tried another Starbucks near my home. Again, no go. I tried two more times to locate meals. The second time, neither store had any meals, and the third time, the case was stocked with the Cheese and Fruit, Chipotle Chicken Wraps, and Protein Bistro Boxes. While I still did not find the elusive Chicken and Hummus Bistro Box, I was happy they had the Chipotle Chicken Wraps. They looked like they would be quite tasty.

Impressive

When I took my Sesame Noodle Bistro Box to work the day after my purchase, I was quite excited to experience this at lunch. Upon retrieving it and beginning to eat, I was met with extensive curiosity by my coworkers. Everyone wanted to know where I got my ‘cute’ little lunch and commented on all of the fresh looking vegetables. I have to say, not only did the vegetables look fresh, they tasted extremely fresh! In the Sesame noodles were broccoli, carrots, red pepper and snap peas. My only issue with the Sesame Noodles is that it was surprisingly bland. Some sort of seasoning needed to be incorporated into this dish. Having only salt at hand, I found this to be my only available option to jazz this up a bit. In addition to the main portion, included was Seasoned Tofu, Pickled Cucumbers, Sesame Peanuts and 1 nice size piece of dark chocolate. I chopped my seasoned tofu and added this to my noodle mixture to further season as it was quite tasty. Having never had tofu, I was quite surprised by its deliciousness. The pickled cucumbers were also a disappointment as they were not seasoned or marinated enough. The highlight of the meal was my treat of sesame peanuts and dark chocolate. I had never had sesame peanuts and am now on a mission to find this tasty treat! A lover of dark chocolate, I ended my meal with this smooth morsel of heaven. This meal was only 350 calories and 6.95. Excellent healthy alternative to fast food and wallet friendly price.

Today I had the Chipotle Chicken wrap. Again, I was met with curiosity and a multitude of questions: Where did this come from, Where do I get one, and Does it taste as good as it looks? The Chipotle Chicken Wrap Bistro Meal contained several seasoned slices of all white meat chicken strips, 3 whole wheat tortillas, 4 slices of pepper jack cheese, a lime-cilantro slaw, tomato avocado salsa and a piece of dark chocolate. I divided my cheese and seasoned chicken between the three tortillas and evenly divided my salsa within the three tortillas as well. Al I can say is Yummmm! This was nicely seasoned and left me with a little ‘bite’ but not so much as I couldn’t taste my food (I do not like hot foods). The slaw was under seasoned or marinated and was quite bland yet fresh.  And finally, I topped of my meal with yet another piece of that delightful dark chocolate! Can you believe all of this was only 380 calories and only 6.95? While some of you may think this is expensive, you would pay at least this for fast food and it be a non healthy meal. This is diet friendly and perfectly proportioned.

In Conclusion

I loved them and would definitely buy again. In my opinion, Starbucks needs to do some tasting or ask its customers as I believe some of their options need to step up the seasoning. Additionally, the meals need to be more readily available. I would love to have these to take to work and to stop in on the weekend with my kids. However, I do not want to run all over town as I did with these. Also, one of the employees said the Chicken and Hummus was discontinued and she gets a lot of complaints because of that. It was also one I wanted to try. My questions to Starbucks:

Are these discontinued? The site shows them available.

Are you going to listen to your customers that want them?

Having said all of that, I will be back for more Bistro Meals. Not only to try new ones, but I will definitely get a Chipotle Chicken Wrap meal again!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Starbucks Bistro Boxes and received a gift card to facilitate my review and thank me for taking the time to participate.

King Ranch Chicken

I was very bad this weekend! I needed comfort food. Why is it comfort food always equals excess calories? But, it was oh so yummy and easy peasy! Can you believe I have never had King Ranch Casserole? I'd say it's a casserole staple. 

King Ranch Chicken

 

Ingredients

• 1 packet Ranch Dry Dip Mix
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 12 6-inch yellow corn tortillas
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 10 ounce can green chilies, undrained
• 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Mix the dip mix and sour cream in medium bowl. Whisk in the chicken stock. Pour 1/2 cup of the sour cream mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. Layer 4 tortillas over the sauce in the dish, overlapping. Top the tortillas with 1/2 of the chicken. Spoon 1/3 of the tomatoes with the green chilies over the chicken. Sprinkle the tomatoes with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat the layers and top with the remaining tortillas, tomatoes and green chilies. Pour the remaining sour cream mixture over the top of the casserole. Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted and browned. Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes before serving to make slicing easier.

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