Tomato & Basil Penne
 

Who doesn't like a good tasting Italian dinner, especially on a camping trip? For the average American, Italian is about as American as hot dogs and apple pies. If not there wouldn't find pizza shops just about everywhere and successful restaurant chains like Olive Garden and Carrabbas Italian Grill. For me it's a little more personal as I am 1/2 Italian and learned and cook many of the old family recipies.

I was excited to see these in my local grocery store and wondered if they could keep up with my expectations and would I be taking these with me again on future camping trips.

My biggest concern was the cooking instructions were for microwave only and those instructions said to peel back part of the film cover over the sauce cup. I don't know many people that own a 12v microwave they take camping with them so I would have to modify the cooking instructions to leave all the film cover intact so that the package could be boiled for cooking. One potential problem I encountered right away was that these packages floated in the water very well unlike other brand dinners that we've reviewed.

The solution was to place our two dinners in the pot of boiling water. They laid in the water at about a 30 degree angle overlapping each other. I boiled them for 7 minutes then reversed the packages in the water so the the part on each package that wasn't under water for the first 7 minutes now was. Another 7 minutes and the packages were taken out of the water and the entire film cover was peeled off.

The result was a very good looking meal in front of me. I fluffed up the pasta which felt "al dente." Taking out the removable sauce cup and pouring the sauce over the pasta and seeing the end product filled me with anticpation.

So how does Barilla hold up to my expectations? Very Well! The secret to great pasta is "al dente" and Barilla nailed it! The sauce was thick and rich. The basil and garlic gave it a great taste and I was ready for a 2nd "bowl" of it.

I think what makes this different than most other prepared pasta meals, canned or in a similar container is that the pasta and sauce are kept separate until you are ready to eat. Most other prepared pasta meals that are "heat and eat" have everything already mixed together. I think that just adds to the pasta being too soft and mushy. NOT with Barilla! I found the pasta delicious and delightful. Not as good as my mothers home made but a darn good substitute for a fast and easy camp meal.

You can bet that Barilla ITALIAN-STYLE ENTRÉES will be a part of my future camp dinner menus!               Just remember to follow MY cooking instructions above !

        As it looks just out of the water.                   Looks great when the cover comes off !

                                             It's ready to eat and looking great!

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*The opinions expressed in this review of a product are the opinions of the writer and are based on the writers tastes and preferences. Despite the review you are encouraged to try out any product that you might be interested in.

**Copyrighted images & trademarks for Barilla, Barilla Products and Barilla ITALIAN-STYLE ENTRÉES used throughout this web site are the property of Barilla American, Inc. and Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A. and are used for identification purposes only.