I’m a pasta loving girl.  Spaghetti, Macaroni, Linguine, Lasagna, Ziti, Fettuccine, you name it!  There is definitely a difference in the quality of pastas out there.  One brand that stands out is Barilla!

One of my favorite products from Barilla is the Tortellini & Tortelloni.  The Ricotta & Spinach Tortelloni is my favorite, but they are all very yummy!  Talk about easy too!  A simple thing to please the whole family!  When I was invited by Mom Central to participate in the Barilla “Share the Table” blog tour I jumped right on board.

I love sharing why I like something and also getting to try something new in the process.  The new part was a recipe.  We get stuck in ruts where it seems we are eating the same things over and over and everyone gets bored.  I need to mix it up and this was a nice things to mix things up with.  One thing our family always does is sit at the table together for a meal.  I think it’s very important!  Turn the TV off and hang out with your family enjoying a meal and talking!  Barilla thinks it is important too and they want to help families get back to that simple way of life.

On the Barilla “Share the Table” site you can download recipes and enter contests and sweepstakes!  Two awesome contests going on are:

• Choose to have a meaningful meal and get a chance to win one of 500 pasta meals from Barilla’s weekly “Pasta Fridays” Giveaway.
• Share your story of how you are making mealtime more meaningful for a chance to win a month’s worth of groceries.

The recipes all look awesome and I plan on trying them all.  Morgan loves to cook and this will give her some new things to pick from as well.

Also on the Share the Table site you can help Meals on Wheels Association of America! Barilla will donate $1 to MOWAA, helping seniors at risk of hunger get the nutritious food they need.  All you have to do is click!  Seriously click and Barilla will do the rest!

I chose to make the Ziti all Pastora from the collection of recipes by Mario Batali (there are currently 12 recipes that you can download by Mario Batali).  I picked it because I had never made anything like this and I really wanted to try something very new.

Check out how simple this is!

Prep time: 10 minutes – Cook time: 35 minutes – Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 1 box BARILLA Ziti
• ½ pound fresh pork sausage, crumbled
• ¼ cup water
• ½ pound fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
• salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 bunch Italian parsley, finely
• chopped to yield ¼ cup
• ½ cup Pecorino Romano,freshly grated

Preparation:

• PLACE the crumbled sausage in a skillet, add the water, cover and cook over medium-high heat for 6 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for an additional 15 minutes, until the water evaporates and the sausage is browned.
• BRING 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
• COOK the Ziti according to the package directions until tender yet al dente.
• Meanwhile, PLACE the ricotta in a large warmed bowl and mix in the chili flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
• DRAIN the pasta, reserving the 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
• ADD the pasta to the skillet with the cooked sausage mixture and place over medium heat. Toss to mix well and then transfer the whole mixture into the bowl with the ricotta. Add some of the pasta cooking water if necessary to thin the mixture.
• ADD the parsley and season again with salt and pepper if necessary.
• TOP with grated Pecorino cheese and divide evenly among 6 pasta bowls.

Recipe courtesy of Mario Batali.

What I changed…I added less red chili flakes and used cottage cheese instead of Ricotta.  I don’t care for Ricotta and always replace it with cottage cheese.

What we thought…It was a hit!  I will be making it again and I may even add some veggies to the mix next time.

Now head on over to the Barilla “Share the Table” site and download your free recipes and enter some contests!  Don’t forget to click to help out MOWAA!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Barilla and received products necessary to facilitate my candid review.