Making this side dish is easy, especially when you’ve got a “helper.” And welcome help is what I received with a package that arrived recently from Barilla.
Barilla, a sponsor at the BlogHerFood conference in Atlanta in May, shipped out a box of their new sauces, bags to carry them in, a good looking Apron and a wooden spoon.
Leaving the house at 6am, returning at 5pm and putting dinner on the table sometimes calls for what I like to call “helpers” in the kitchen and Barilla was my helper of choice last night — along with a sleeve of polenta.
While I get great satisfaction in creating food from scratch, with a busy lifestyle that has me leaving the house at 6:00am and returning at 5:00pm, sometimes I need a bit of help. I keep at least one jar of marinara sauce in the pantry and it was great to receive this Barilla package to try out a wide variety of new sauces.
Before the recipe and giveaway details, a little information. Barilla has reformulated their sauces using all natural ingredients and there are eight to choose from. I tried the Napoletana. It is a Roasted Garlic Sauce. It has a rich flavor with a thick texture and chunks of tomatoes. The garlic flavor was strong enough to let you know garlic is in there, but is not overpowering, which I appreciate.
These are the sauces I received:
- Arrabbiata: Spicy Marinara
- Basilico: Tomato and Basil
- Calabrese: Sweet Peppers
- Formaggi: Three Cheese
- Marinara: Traditional
- Montanara: Mushroom and Garlic
- Toscana: Tuscan Herb
The best part is that it fits well in my weight loss program. I’ve got a number of recipes up my sleeve, but for this first outing with these sauces, I kept it simple. The sleeves of polenta shave a lot of time off what would be a somewhat laborious and time consuming project in the kitchen after work and not having to cook down tomatoes, herbs and seasonings on the stove gave me much more time to relax after dinner.
And now for the contest …
One winner will receive a Barilla Apron, Wooden Spoon and a Jar of Sauce — your choice of one of the sauces listed above.
I’ll choose a winner using a random number generator. Entering is simple All you need to do to receive this package is leave a comment below letting us know what you’d like to make with the sauce of your choice. One comment per person. Please include an email address so I can contact the winner. You’ll get another chance to enter by “liking” ThinRecipes on Facebook. The contest closes at midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday, August 27th. Good luck!!
There will six more sauces available to giveaway in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.
| Barilla Polenta Rounds |
- Olive Oil Spray
- 4 slices prepared Polenta
- 1 slice Provolone Cheese, cut in quarters
- 1/4 cup Barilla Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, grated
- Using Olive Oil spray, lightly coat a nonstick skillet.
- Add the polenta slices to the pan and cook over medium heat, browning evenly.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan or microwave bowl, heat the sauce.
- Turn and brown on the other side.
- Add a piece of cheese to each slice just before the polenta is done.
- Remove the polenta slices to a serving plate and spoon sauce on top.
- Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese and serve.
You’ll spend 5 Weight Watchers Points Plus or 160 calories for this delicious dish. Enjoy!
**Full Disclosure: Barilla provided the products for me to try and to tell you all about them. I have not received any compensation for writing this post and the opinions are my own.
I’d make some lasagna.
I like thin recipes on facebook.
This looks really yummy! I wished I was half as creative as you are when I come home, I am often the heat and eat kinda person.
It was really good and so quick and easy.
I’d make spaghetti using zucchini ribbons in place of pasta – yum!
Zucchini ribbons are fun and a great sub for pasta, aren’t they, Jan? I also like to make cucumber ribbons for salad.
I would use the spicy marinara (Arrabbiata – that’s fun to say!) sauce to make some Spinach and Cheese-Stuffed Portabella Caps. Since I am also on WW, I would be using fat-free ricotta for the filling and a little low-fat mozzarella on top. Yum, yum!
I’m going to have to make this dish. So easy and sounds so full of flavor and a great WW dish!
I don’t have to think too hard on what I’d do with a jar of Barilla–I’d make those polenta rounds!
Yum!
They’ve become a regular on my weeknight rotation. So fast and easy and I’m a sucker for anything corn. Well, except maybe creamed.