It’s summer and we’ve been loving every minute of it so far. There’s fresh produce from the garden, swimming, vacations, the county fair, picnics and barbecues, and a feeling that there is just a little more time to relax and enjoy life. Yes, we are truly having a great summer and I hope you are as well.
Speaking of picnics and barbecues, have you ever had to fix a dish to take to one and felt totally uninspired? Worse yet, have you waited until the last minute and ended up having to purchase something at the store instead of making a dish yourself? Enter Philadelphia Cooking Creme to the rescue.
What is Philadelphia Cooking Creme? Well, it’s an easy-to-blend, spoonable creme that comes in nine unique flavors. While I generally try to make most things from scratch, I love how easy this product is to use and how it can take my recipes up a notch.
I recently had a chance to try a few flavors and was asked to create a recipe to take to a virtual barbecue. Always up for a challenge, I decided I wanted to incorporate a vegetable from my garden into the recipe. Our tomatoes have started ripening and I knew they would be a perfect addition to my recipe. Of course, the recipe also had to pass my husband’s taste test. 🙂
The recipe I came up with incorporates tomatoes from my garden, pasta, bacon, parmesan cheese, and Tomato & Basil Philadelphia Cooking Creme. There are only five ingredients which means this recipe is easy to make. Not only that, it also passed my husband’s taste test which is no easy task. Did I mention there is bacon in the recipe? I did? Well, it’s worth mentioning twice.
Now, before I share my recipe with you I wanted to let you know that the virtual barbecue I told you about is also a contest. Each blogger who was asked to create a new recipe is hoping to win the contest by getting the most comments on their blog post. That is where you come in.
After reading this post all you have to do is leave me a comment. If you do, that would be totally awesome! The contest only runs for 24 hours so by this time tomorrow (9:00 a.m. CST on July 20th) it will be all over. I would feel totally honored to have your “vote”. (You can only leave one comment.)
- 2 Cups Uncooked Small Shells Pasta
- 3 Quarts Water
- 1 (10 oz.) Container PHILADELPHIA Tomato & Basil Cooking Creme
- 1 Large Tomato
- ½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 5 Slices Cooked, Crisp Bacon
- In a large pot, bring the water to a boil.
- Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, to desired consistency. Approx. 10-12 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water.
- Place the pasta in a large bowl.
- Dice the tomato. Approx. 1+ Cup
- Crumble the bacon.
- To the bowl of pasta, add the diced tomato, crumbled bacon, and parmesan cheese.
- Stir in the PHILADELPHIA Tomato & Basil Cooking Creme.
- Mix well.
- Cover the bowl and chill until ready to serve.
This Virtual Barbecue is being hosted by The Happy Housewife and sponsored by Philadelphia Cooking Creme.
Here are the other recipes in the contest:
Garlic Pretzel Dip
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Chocolate Creme Cheese Raspberry Brownies
Fiesta Chicken Pasta Salad
Chocolate Creme Trifle Jars
Summer Pasta Salad
Southwest Potato Salad
Creamy BLT Cups
Disclosure: I received the Philadelphia Cooking Creme that I used in this recipe as compensation for being part of the virtual barbecue. No money was exchanged. The recipe and my opinions about the product are completely my own.