This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, Barilla®, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #GlutenFreeBarilla http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas and New Year’s are right around the corner! This season is a great time to spend with family and friends, reminiscing about old memories and making new ones. The holidays also mean tons of tasty, but not always healthy food. Em and I I are always looking for easy-to-make healthy food options. And this year we also committed to make as many red and green meals as we can during the Christmas season! :)
One amazing, healthy, easy-to-make meal that we discovered this year was Barilla® Gluten Free Penne Pasta, which we picked up a four-pack of at BJ’S Wholesale Club. The best part about Barilla’s Pasta is that you can make as simple or elaborate meal as you want and it still tastes great. My style of cooking would be to throw the pasta in the pot, watch a little ESPN, come back and add some sauce and start eating. However, Em likes to stick with our red and green themed recipes for the Christmas season, so we got a little fancier and made tomato sauce and added some broccoli and green peppers to the pasta for a festive flair.
I really do have to give Em credit though. After 3.5 years of marriage, she really knows what I like and don’t like. Anything that says “diet,” “sugar free,” or any other type of withheld or substituted ingredients, I have been known to automatically dismiss as tasteless and something I’m not a fan of. So she conveniently hid the box so that I didn’t realize the pasta was gluten free – and I actually never noticed a difference at all! She finally told me after I finished my second bowl. :) Barilla does a great job of making a delicious taste and texture that really tasted just like regular pasta. Their gluten free pasta is made with corn and rice and no GMO ingredients. Gluten-free products can help improve cholesterol, increase energy levels, and boost overall health – all things that I could certainly use!
Barilla Gluten Free Pasta was a great date night meal that was easy to cook together and has an endless number of recipe options. Here is the recipe for the meal we made!
Christmas Penne Pasta
Ingredients:
1 box Barilla Gluten Free Pasta
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 roma tomatoes, diced
1 large head of broccoli, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Cook penne according to package directions.
2. While the penne is cooking, heat the olive oil and stir in the onion. Add the chopped garlic; stir and cook for a minute. Then add in the diced tomatoes with some salt and pepper.
3. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then lower the heat and simmer.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate pot and pan, cook the broccoli and roast the pepper.
5. When the penne is ready, drain it and pour it into the serving dish.
6. Pour the sauce over the penne, and top with the broccoli and pepper.
7. Serve and enjoy! :)
So if you are looking for a healthy, easy-to-make recipe this Christmas season, visit BJ’s Wholesale Clubs on December 22nd and 23rd to see an in store Barilla Gluten Free pasta demo at select clubs. And for more Barilla Gluten Free recipes, visit their Pinterest!
