Perfecting the Mom’s Night In with Panera Bread

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This post is part of a sponsored relationship with Panera Bread, however, we would not partner with a business we did not feel brought value to our readers. We love what Panera is doing to make the lives of moms more convenient (and delicious too.)

When you become a mom, everything changes. Including your definition of “New Year.” I don’t know about you, but it’s been almost a decade since I stayed up until midnight celebrating just to watch the ball drop on January 1st.  For moms, the New Year is no longer in January. It’s in August. The Mom’s New Year is Back-to-School.

To celebrate this Mom’s New Year, our families settling into new rhythms and routines, new resolutions and goals, I invited a few of my closest mom friends out for a little get-together! We rented a cabin close to home for some R&R away from the kids and ordered Panera Bread to cater a super easy, but incredibly classy and delicious, celebration meal.

Panera Makes It Simple

As a mom, simple is always better. For this little party, I didn’t want to be spending a ton of time shopping and then prepping food. I wanted to spend time with my girlfriends! So I used Panera’s super simple online order option to create a menu for our evening, and then placed a Rapid Pick-Up Order. The whole thing took me about 20 minutes to set up.

On our way out to our cabin, we were able to stop, run in, and grab our Panera order, hot and ready to go! While I was there, I also learned that Dayton and a few other select cities now offer Panera Delivery. Simple just got even more simple for this mama. With the kids back home with their dad, this option made it easy to order a few kids meals using the Panera app while on the road to arrive hot-and-ready back home! (You’re welcome husband!)

Try delivery for FREE! Use code DAYTONMOMD to receive one Free You Pick Two with your online Delivery order.**

Delivery Details: Panera Bread promises delivery within a designated 8-minute delivery radius from the café and requires a minimum order of only $5.00 (with the addition of a $3.00 delivery charge). All delivery orders are currently placed online (credit card only) using the Panera Bread app or at panerabread.com. Hours of delivery service are set for 11:00 am – 8:00 pm., meaning the first delivery order can be placed at 10:30 am and the last at 7:30 pm.

An Effortless Custom Touch

I used Panera’s options to create my own custom menu. Once at the cabin, we spent about 10 minutes prepping and created a mouth-watering spread. Here is what we put together:

  • Assorted Panini bites: This was as simple as ordering a few of Panera’s incredible paninis, cut them into bite sized pieces, and secure with toothpicks.
  • Watermelon Feta Salad: This was perfect as it came, we just added the champagne Dijon vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil dressing that came in a separate container!
  • Bread Dip: We mixed together some Vegetarian Corn Chowder with the Chive & Onion Cream Cheese in a bread bowl, and ripped up our baguettes for a to-die-for dip (I seriously could not stop eating it). The Panera cream cheese is soft, and it was super easy to mix with the warm soup, even straight out of the fridge! We laid it all on a bed of fresh basil from the home garden.
  • Fruit Dip: We took a Yogurt Parfait, and mixed it with the Honey Walnut Cream Cheese, then set it out with the fruit from the convenient Fruit Cups.
  • Spiked Lemonade: I had a hard time deciding which craft beverage to choose, but we settled on the Agave Lemonade. Mixed with some Blueberry Vodka and fresh mint sprigs from home, and we had the perfect end-of-summer cocktail.

The Results Are In

My friends and I were all super impressed by how easy it was to use Panera to create a custom and put-together meal for our little dinner party! 10 minutes after walking in the door, we had an incredible spread to sit down and enjoy together as the sun set.

While we enjoyed our meal, we, of course, raised our glasses to another wonderful summer on the books and shared the plans we have for our families in this new year. We were able to totally relax and enjoy what matters most: connecting together as friends over the perfect meal! I am already dreaming about next year, and Panera will definitely be on the menu again.

For now though, cheers to the New Year, moms!

Don’t forget to order a FREE You Pick Two to be delivered! Use code DAYTONMOMD to receive one Free You Pick Two with your online Delivery order.**

**Must be logged into an active MyPanera® account to receive discount. No MyPanera account? No problem. Simply register online when placing your order at www. panerabread.com Limit one redemption per active MyPanera account. Order must be placed online with credit card. Discount will be applied at time of checkout. Other limits and restrictions may apply. Available only at the participating Panera Bread locations in the Dayton, Ohio area. Delivery is only available within the designated delivery zone. Offer not valid in store. Offer may expire without notice due to unforeseen circumstances.
Offer expires 10/30/2017. Offer Code: DAYTONMOMD