I love pasta.  It’s one of my downfalls.  I’ve always been anti-whole grain pasta.  Sure, it’s supposed to be better for you, but do I really have to sacrifice good taste for healthy?  I’ve tried various different whole grain pastas and hated them.  Until now.

I discovered Barilla pastas within the last year or so, and immediately became a convert – the taste and texture beat out all my previous choices hands-down.  When I discovered they have whole grain pastas, I was willing to give it another shot.  In spite of my trepidation of the whole taste and texture disappointment of whole grain pastas past.

I was not disappointed.  Thanks to Barilla, I’m now a whole grain pasta convert.

As a change of pace from an all-turkey weekend, I thought I’d dig into the yummy Barilla pasta ingredients I received, and made a simple pasta dish the whole family loved.  We gobbled it down so fast, I forgot to take pictures, but I borrowed a picture from Barilla’s site to show you what it looked like:

Doesn’t that look yummy?   Instead of angel hair pasta, I used Barilla Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti.  Here’s the recipe in case you’re wondering how quick and easy it really is:

Ingredients

1 Box

Barilla Thin Spaghetti

1/4 Cup

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Cloves

Garlic, Peeled

1 teaspoon

Red Chili Pepper Flakes

2 Pints

Cherry Tomatoes, Halved

5 Leaves

Fresh Basil

To Taste

Salt

1/2 Cup

Romano Cheese, Grated

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I always add a little bit of olive oil to the water – it helps make the noodles not stick together after they’ve been boiled).
  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Peel and gently press garlic. Add garlic and red pepper flakes.
  3. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and tear the basil into small pieces.
  4. Add cherry tomatoes and basil to the skillet. Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt. Discard garlic cloves.
  5. Cook Angel Hair pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with sauce.
  6. Garnish with freshly grated Romano cheese.

Think that sounds good?  check out  Barilla® Whole Grain Spaghetti with Fresh Vegetables (Spaghetti Integrali con Verdure Fresche)

Barilla® Whole Grain Medium Shells with Roasted Cauliflower and Cherry Tomatoes (Conchiglie Integrali con Cavolfiore Arrosto e Pomodorini)

The Academia Barilla line of products are made with the best ingredients and support local artisans, regional differences and innovation, while maintaining the most genuine traditions. I’m looking forward to trying them all out.

Want to try Barilla’s new Whole Grain Pasta for yourself?

Win It:

Three lucky Stacy Uncorked Readers will win a Barilla Whole Grain Pasta Gift Pack which includes:

  • One box Whole Grain Spaghetti
  • Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti
  • Whole Grain Linguini
  • Whole Grain Penne
  • Whole Grain Rotini
  • Whole Grain Medium Medium Shells
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Aged Balsamic Vinegar
  • Peeled Red Cherry Tomatoes
  • Sicilian Sea Salt with Black Olives
  • Pesto
  • One cool Barilla apron (not pictured). 

Now that’s a prize pack!  Here, this is what Three of you will get (plus the apron mentioned, not pictured):

Required Entry:

(must be completed before any extra entries are valid) Leave a comment telling me what your favorite kind of pasta is.

If your email address is not visible in your profile, you must include it in your comments (or send it to me in an email if you don’t want to publicly display it).

Extra entry options: (these are optional – increase your chance to win!)

  • Follow me on Google+ – 1 entry
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  • “Like” Stacy’s Random Thoughts (yeah, I can’t seem to change it to Stacy Uncorked) on Facebook – 1 entry (leave username)
  • Follow me on twitter – @RandomCoolChick and tweet the giveaway – 1 entry (may be done once daily-leave direct url to tweet)
    Enter to win a Whole Grain Barilla Prize Pack at Stacy Uncorked #giveaway @RandomCoolChick http://stacysrandomthoughts.com/?p=14983
  • Add my blog url to your text blog roll – 2 entries (leave link and 2 comments for each one that you did)
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  • Blog about the giveaway – 3 entries (leave link and 3 comments)
  • Follow me in Pinterest  – 1 entry
  • Join my Blog Frog Community – 3 entries (leave link and 3 comments)

You have until Midnight EST on December 4, 2011 to enter. 3 lucky winners will be randomly selected. I will email the winners who will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email or new winners will be chosen. Open to U.S. residents.  Good luck!

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Printable version of the recipe is here:

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Note: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Barilla, and was the lucky recipient of the awesome and yummy Barilla Taste & Share Challenge Kit to facilitate my review (the same one three of you will be winning…I’m in love – you will be, too), kits to giveaway, and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.  

All opinions are mine, all mine – not influenced by any outside sources.  At all.  Except for input from my family members, who willingly devoured the dinner I made with the above mentioned dinner kit.  And I didn’t even have to pay them to sing their praises.  See my Disclosure Policy here.

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