Family Meal Time Pasta-billities

Disclosure: The following post is sponsored by The Pasta Shoppe in conjunction with one of our advertising networks Business 2 Blogger.

There are many convicting statistics about the importance of eating dinner together as a family.  As you put away the days materials, grade the papers you have collected, clean up the class, prep the white board with the next morning's agenda, and cram your take home bag with lesson planning to work on after your own children are in bed it can be difficult to come up with a dinner plan other than take out. One of our go-to meals on the nights I can't carve out time to make the dish planned in our weekly menu, or when I have forgotten to turn on the crock pot before heading out in the morning, is pasta!

The Pasta Shoppe adds pastabilities to family dinner plans.  Their product line includes meal mixes, pasta nests, shaped pasta to use in your favorite recipes, and delicious low fat Meringues.

On a chilly night last week, it was a treat to be able to quickly put together Pasta Shoppe's Chicken Noodle Soup in just about 15 minutes.  We added sliver cut carrots and strips of cooked chicken to the noodles and broth spices provided in the package.  It was hearty & delicious and the kids enjoyed spooning the chicken shaped noodles out of their bowls.  When it gets even cooler yet we are looking forward to trying the Wintertime Chili with snowflaks pasta.

One of our favorite summer picnic recipes is Crab Pasta Salad.  It will be much more fun to assemble and serve with thematic crab noodles.

When one of our family friends has a new addition, our favorite meal to deliver is a pasta dish called Bowtie Bambino.  I am looking forward to the next due date so we can prepare it with "bambino" themed noodles instead of bowties.  

Bowtie Bambino

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 small bunch of sliced scallions

26 oz. 4 Cheese Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 cup fresh, chopped parsley

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 cup heavy cream (I always substitute with skim milk)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 lb. My First Pasta

Stir fry chicken in oil.  Add cream, tomato sauce, parsley, scallions, and cheese.  Reduce heat and toss with cooked pasta.

Any of the seasonal noodles from The Pasta Shoppe would make for a rockin' thematic sensory and sorting play station. There are 13 Halloween Sensory play ideas shared on Creative Playhouse, which one of these ideas would be more fun with shaped noodles?

We are especially excited to fill our sensory play bin with Halloween pasta, plastic spiders, dry corn kernels, mini pumpkins, and googly eyes.

In addition to adding something special to our nightly dinner inspiration, Pasta Shoppe offers a solution for the "been there, done that" school fundraisers.  Request detailed information regarding the Fun Pasta Fundraiser here.

After sampling many of the pastas included in the Fun Pasta brochure, and reflecting on our recent experience with our school's fundraising choice, I am convinced this would be a great option. Fun Pasta Fundraiser allows for simple, online ordering.  The food does not require refrigeration in the time before it is delivered.  There are reasonable price points for all budgets.  Pasta is more practical than $12 rolls of wrapping paper and more healthy than cookie dough.  The profits and rewards programs are definitely worth looking in to.

Giveaway
The Pasta Shoppe will be gifting one of our readers with a box of seasonal shapes and your favorite team pasta.  Enter to win using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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