The best meal I ever had was after coming home from working at a tradeshow. I didn’t want to buy anything because I had plenty of food at home. The show took longer than I expected so I waited too long to grab something on the way home. I fed the baby before I fed myself. I was ravished by the time I opened the refrigerator. Leftover lasagna was all I could find that wouldn’t take less than 10 minutes to put together, but it tasted better than the freshly cooked stuff. Any other day, I would have hated leftover lasagna.

Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce

1 in 5 children in America live in households without consistent access to adequate food. You can help simply by feeding your family with foods from stores like Safeway and Albertsons who are participating in the Hunger Is Campaign. I’m sure you can relate to the amazing feeling of a good meal after having to go without. Why not offer children in need the opportunity to enjoy the best tasting meal they’ve ever had?

Just like my go to pasta recipe! I went to my local Albertson’s store in Meridian and found that when I purchase everything I need for this recipe, a portion of the proceeds go to help feed children in need – Look for tags on participating items in store.

Purchase of these items in September 2016 will trigger at least $0.10 donation up to $1 million! Then you can whip up a simple and delicious meal for your family!

I love making this easy pasta with garlic cream sauce because it is really quick and tastes like you went out to eat. You can use chicken sausage to make a more substantial meal, or just do kid-friendly sauce and noodles.

I make this pasta for lunch without the sausage sometimes because it is so easy!

If you have a budding little chef, your young children can help you put the finishing touches on the sauce with the parmesan, salt and pepper at the end.

Easy Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Easy Creamy Garlic Sauce with Penne

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• Chicken Sausage (optional)
• 8oz Penne Pasta
• 3 tbs Butter
• 3-4 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 3 tbs Flour
• 1½ Cups Chicken Broth
• 1¼ Cups Cream
• ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Meanwhile, brown your meat in a large pan that has a lid. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add butter and garlic to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and whisk. Bring to a boil.
3. Add cream and whisk constantly until the sauce starts to thicken.
4. Turn off the heat and add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Put the sausage back in the pan if you are using.
5. Add the cooked pasta to the pan and stir to combine. Garnish with italian parsley or basil if you like.

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I made sure to point out to my children how this meal meant more than just something to fill our bellies. Because we bought certain items, we were also helping other children who do not have as much.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Albertsons Companies & Hunger Is. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Easy Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce – Hunger Is first appeared on True Aim.

My kids love chicken, fruit, and pasta. Veggies are another story. They are getting pickier when it comes to what kind of veggies they eat. I found that if I add fruit to veggies, they’ll eat a lot more of them just to get to the fruit.

What makes this recipe even better is the veggies I can hide in their pasta thanks to Ronzoni’s new Garden Delight. There is 1 whole serving of vegetables for each 4 oz. portion and they add lots of pretty colors too.

Raspberry Chicken Pasta Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

Another reason I love this recipe; the only cooking involved is the pasta for just 9 short minutes. My eldest daughter knows what to do, and gets the pasta cooking for me.

After the timer goes off, I run the pasta under cool water to stop the cooking and cool off the noodles so I can add my veggies.

I like to put very thing in this salad, but for my kids I keep it to lettuce, cucumbers, raspberries and chicken. Sometimes we add some cubes of mozzarella or goat cheese when we have it. If I’m making this just for myself, I’ll add spinach and avocado too.

You can use whatever kind of cooked chicken you like. It tastes great with this salad when seasoned with garlic salt or you could even get a rotisserie chicken from the store.

Raspberry Chicken Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Cool, fresh, sweet, sour and salty.

Author: True Aim

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 12 oz Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta
• 2 cups cooked chicken chopped
• ½ cucumber
• 1 cup Raspberries
• ½ head of Ice Berg Lettuce
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 3 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• ¼ cup sugar
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain under cold running water to stop the cooking and set aside.
2. Make the poppy seed dressing by whisking the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, poppy seeds, and sugar together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Combine Pasta, chicken, cucumber, lettuce and raspberries in a large bowl and serve with dressing and any salad toppings like nuts, croutons, bacon or shredded cheese.

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You can find Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta at your local Walmart. There you can find an in store coupon for $0.55 off starting 6/22/15; offer expires 8/2/15.  Find a $1.00 off coupon on any two Garden Delight items in most newspapers on 6/28/15 (while supplies last).

Serve this amazing salad as a side or a complete meal, either way, your children will be happy and you’ll be happy to know that they got a good dose of veggies in their diets.

The post Raspberry Chicken Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing first appeared on True Aim.

I’ve done it before. I’ve reasoned with myself as to why I don’t need to help anyone else. “I have a priority to take care of my own family first and there isn’t enough time in the day to do that.” or “I already help people through donations, that’s enough.”

While those excuses make me feel better at the time, I’m actually taking away a genuine need that my family and I have; the need to serve.

All humans have an inherent need to help others. When we only dwell on our own problems and selfish desires, it isolates us and destroys our enthusiasm for life. Giving to others helps heal our character and makes us sensitive to the human condition outside of ourselves. That’s why I’m so excited to participate in the #ShareaMeal Unilever Project Sunlight.

Unilever Project Sunlight is an initiative focused on encouraging people to create a brighter future for children – by taking small steps to live sustainably, use less and share even more.

While you may think that it couldn’t happen in America, 1 in 5 children are unaware where their next meal is coming from. Right here in America, there are 16 million children struggling with hunger.

The people who need help the most don’t want to share that they are struggling. That’s why it is so important to watch the video below and #ShareaMeal with friends and family that you think might need a little help. If we all share a little of what we have, the world is a better place for us all.

Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells

This meal is easy to make and great to freeze. Even if I don’t have a lot of time, I can make a double batch of these and I’ll have one meal for my family and one to share.

It doesn’t really take any extra time to make 2 dishes because everything cooks at the same time. I just need a bigger pot to boil the pasta shells in.

Stuffing the shells might take a little extra time, but my daughter helps me do it. It makes her feel needed and connected to the people we share with.

To make this into a freezer meal, I spray a disposable pan with baking spray, put the stuffed shells in, top with sauce and cheese, and wrap with foil. I write the directions right on the pan; preheat 375 degrees, cook for 30-45 minutes. Remove foil; cook for 5-10 minutes more.

Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

Easy and delicious stuffed pasta shells make a great freezer meal.

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 Box Large Pasta Shells
• 11/2 cup Pasta Sauce (about 1 can)
• 16 oz Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup Baby Spinach chopped
• ½ cup Fresh Basil
• ½ cup Grape Tomatoes chopped
• 1 cup Mozzarella
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• Salt and Pepper
• ½ cup Parmesan

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and prepare a baking dish with nonstick baking spray.
2. Boil a large pot of water for the pasta shells and cook them al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Drain them and lay them on wax or parchment paper to cool long enough so you can handle them.
3. Meanwhile, spread ¾ cup pasta sauce in the baking dish and set the other pasta sauce aside. Set the Parmesan cheese aside for the top of the pasta. Then, combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Fill the pasta shells with 11/2-2 tbls of the ricotta mixture and place them on top of the sauce in the baking pan.
5. Top with reserved sauce and Parmesan. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 5-10 minutes more to crisp up the edges of the pasta if desired.

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How do you make an effort to share a meal with your community? Want to help? Start by sharing this post, then #ShareaMeal!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Unilever. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Frozen Dinners to Share: Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells first appeared on True Aim.

It’s easy to get caught up in the summer hustle.  We HAVE to do this, go there, see that.  While we are checking off our summer bucket list, others are struggling to keep their heads above water.  To help those in need and end hunger, use these 15 minute chicken dinner ideas and put “bring someone a meal” on your bucket list.

Helping people in need is a big priority in our home because we want to teach our children that life isn’t fulfilling when we just live for ourselves.  When we serve others, it changes our attitude which affects our heart.  Selfless giving does more for a persons character than any amount of training can.

I recently had Audrey help me make a meal for another family.  Even though we are so busy, it was easy to make a double helping of this Tomato, Garlic and Basil Chicken Pasta.

With Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken, it only takes 15 minutes.  Plus, you’ll be helping feed even more people in need because Tyson has partnered with Champions for Kids for a program called #SummerofGiving.  For every bag of product purchased, 1 meal will be donated to a child in need by Tyson!

Ending hunger is a very important initiative to Tyson Foods.  The Tyson Family Foundation initiative, KNOW Hunger is a project designed to encourage people to KNOW the scope of hunger in their own communities and get involved in relief efforts, so someday there will be NO hunger in our country

Walmart has also joined in the initiative and has promised to feed 5 million kids this summer!

So we went there and looked for the Summer of Giving display where specially marked packages of Tyson products are sold.

Tomato, Basil and Garlic Chicken Pasta

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

This light and flavorful pasta will have you coming back for seconds.

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 lb Bow Tie Pasta (Or your other favorite pasta)
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic minced
• ½ Onion chopped
• 1 can Italian Diced Tomatoes
• 2 tbs White Cooking Wine
• ½ bag Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips
• 10 leaves Fresh Basil chopped
• Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat a large pan over medium high heat. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. As the pasta cooks, add the oil to the pan with the onions and garlic and cook until the onions start to get translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Next add the tomatoes and cook until they start to simmer. Add the white wine and bring back to a simmer.
4. Toss in the chicken and basil, bring back to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper. Serve over the pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

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For another easy Chicken Dinner idea, try my Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder. 

Are you helping to end hunger this summer?  Learn how you can get involved with Champions for Kids and help provide meals for children in your community.

The post Ad End Hunger with 15 Minute Chicken Dinner Ideas #Summer of Giving first appeared on True Aim.