Tag Archives: pasta

Barilla Whole Grain Fusilli with Vegetable Marinara Sauce Meal

Posted on by
Reply

At the market a few days ago we picked up a few things we knew we absolutely needed and thanks to visiting family and their efforts to feed us while we were guests my food budget was flush and we had some rare wriggle room to try some new things. One of the new things that I picked up was a shelf-stable meal tray from Barilla.

This product is about $2.50 a unit and comes in recycled cardboard wrapper, the meal itself is stored in a two-section plastic tray. You take the tray out of the cardboard, easily done, peel the cover to the clearly marked dotted line and microwave for a minute. Then you peel the cover off the rest of the way and discard. The sauce is on the left in a removable sub-tray and it’s very easy to manipulate and pour the sauce onto the pasta. Mix with a fork and enjoy. Everything is recyclable, the cardboard and the tray plastic itself, I appreciate that.

As for the quality of the meal, it’s a good lunch and only has 320 calories. This particular variety featured 51% whole wheat pasta. Whole wheat pasta is different than the plain type, as the fiber makes the pasta more al-dente than you’d originally expect. The taste was right along with what I expected, it was quite good. You have to understand that the taste of whole wheat pasta is more woody than it’s plain alternative however for what it lacks in the texture department with standard pasta it makes up for by featuring 11g of fiber and 10g of protein.

The product is shelf-stable for about three months, so buying a few of them and using them for lunches at work shouldn’t make you end up throwing them away because they expired. There is a clear claim on the label that this product has “No Preservatives” which I like. This particular variety has an ingredient list that I can clearly understand with items that you can find in a market without having to resort to a chemical supply house. This variety also does not have monosodium glutamate, which for me is very important.

Overall I quite enjoyed it and I can recommend it to anyone else looking for a cheap lunch alternative. It certainly beats the mystery chemicals that the popular open-for-lunch restaurants use, plus you can’t beat the price and the speed at which it is ready. Because it only cooks for one minute, there is no need to fiddle with covers or wrappers or have to worry about the product bursting over the edge like some soups do when microwaved.

One thing to note, this product has 710mg of sodium, so its less than some soups have, which can blow your mind with the amount of sodium, so if you are trying to be careful with sodium, this might be an option if you can afford this much sodium.

I definitely will be buying more of these trays next time I go to the market.

Creamy Penne Primavera with Chicken

Posted on by
Reply

Just made this up on the spot. What an awesome meal.

Here goes:

Ingredients –

  1. 1 head of Broccoli, crowns and stem
  2. Handful of Green Beans (fresh)
  3. 2 carrots
  4. 1 red pepper
  5. 1 small white onion
  6. 2 small breasts of Chicken
  7. 1 pound of Penne Rigate Pasta
  8. 1 Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream
  9. 2 Shallots
  10. 1 1/2 sticks of Salted Butter
  11. 2 Cups Parmesan Cheese, ground
  12. Salt
  13. Pepper
  14. Olive Oil

Procedure –

Cut all veg into bite size pieces. Cube chicken. Boil Water. Put 2 tbsp of Olive Oil into large enough pot and sweat the veg. Put the Penne Rigate into the boiling water and cook until Al Dente, drain and put aside. Saute Chicken in 1 tbsp of Olive Oil with a little salt and pepper, when done, put aside. When the veg is sweated well, put aside. In saucepan melt butter for a few minutes (golden brown), mince the shallots, saute shallots in the butter for a few minutes, until they are lightly caramelized. Pour the heavy whipping cream in, simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until it is reduced by a third. Add Parmesan Cheese and continue to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, gently reduce heat while it simmers. In a larger pot, add pasta, veg, chicken, and sauce. Stir. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.