Easy & Nutritious No-Stick Baked Pasta Casserole Recipe a Dinner Hit With Kids, Moms + GIVEAWAY

Good Food

Plus Pam's Cooking Spray, Hunt's Giveaway, Ends 12/27/11

From Gingerbread Houses to Homemade Cheese Raviolis made with an old-fashioned hand crank pasta machine, readers know that food, fun and kids always go great together -- whether you are cooking or baking for or with your children. So, when I was invited as a mommy blogger to try out and document our family's experiences with the new and improved Pam Cooking Spray, a ConAgra Foods brand, I was excited to participate in the challenge. 

To put Pam's new formulation to the test, instead of choosing one of the great recipes in the booklet the brand sent me I decided to make my own original Easy Baked Rigatoni pictured below (note: You can make the recipe here with whatever pasta you like). This is definitely kid friendly and a family favorite at our house.

Mommy's Baked Rigatoni

iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

This dish is unbelievably easy and fast to assemble and bake because it requires just four ingredients: pasta, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, and cheese. It's also smart -- I learned from this experience  -- to add a fifth ingredient that will minimize clean-up later: Pam spray so it doesn't stick to the pan. Believe me, that last little step is going to make it a snap to clean up if your own experience is anything like mine was. Here's my recipe for you to make for your own family.

Baked Rigatoni Casserole

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 lb. box of pasta of your choice

Half jar of your favorite seasoned spaghetti sauce

One 14.5 oz can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes

1 c. shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

Pam Cooking Spray

Before you begin, set out all your ingredients. Prepare a 13 x 9 baking pan or similar size casserole dish by lightly spraying with Pam -- which has no cholesterol and only 1 calorie per 1-second spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

To make the pasta, boil according to directions on the package box, drain well.

Carefully transfer hot, cooked pasta to your baking dish. In a separate bowl mix the canned tomatoes with a half jar of sauce (approximately 1 cup), then spoon this mixture over the top of the pasta.

Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes. When time is up, take the casserole dish out of the oven and remove the foil. Scatter the shredded cheese evenly over the top and return to the oven to finish baking, uncovered, until the cheese melts (about 8-10 minutes).
L to R: Before, during, and after the MBE Pam Cooking Spray Test
iPhone by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Serve with a fresh green salad and enjoy. It's really that easy to make, eat and clean up!

Pam Cooking Spray and Hunt's Tomatoes are brands owned by ConAgra Foods.

Pam Cooking Spray & Hunt's Brands 

GIVEAWAY

Ends 12/27/11

iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

HOW TO ENTER

Enter for your chance to WIN your own Pam Cooking Spray package that includes coupons good for one free can of Hunt's Tomatoes and one can of Pam Cooking Spray plus a step-by-step guide for the Ultimate Pam Challenge featuring recipe cards.

Contest ends December 27, 2011 and is open to legal residents of the U.S. only. One winner will be selected at random from all entries received and will be notified via Direct Mail to your Twitter address.

Required (Mandatory) Entry

Simply Tweet a picture of your favorite recipe that you've made using Pam being sure to include the hash tag #PAMGIVEAWAY and @MommyBlogExpert in the actual Tweet so its searchable. Then, leave a comment below this post to confirm that you've tweeted.

Additional Extra Entries

Get extra entries to win for doing any combination of the easy options listed below.  Just be sure to return to MommyBlogExpert (MBE) to leave an additional comment after each individual extra action you do to confirm these so we can record all your extra chances to win.  Don't forget to include your email address, Facebook or Twitter contact info in the comment section so the winner can be contacted.

1. Follow MBE on Twitter

2. Like MBE on Facebook

3. Subscribe to MommyBlogExpert
4. Like Pam Cooking Spray on Facebook

LOTS More 

Family-Friendly Giveaways!

Currently Being Hosted by Mommy Blog Expert

ENTER Them All HERE

Tweet

FTC Disclosure: I received vouchers for products from the brands mentioned to facilitate this review as part of the Smiley360 network. Also, this post automatically enters me and other selected participants who post into a giveaway just for bloggers.  However, MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Kids GIVEAWAY Storm Wrangler Young Children's Hardcover Picture Book, Ends 12/14

GIVEAWAY
Ends 12/14

Representatives from virtually every major and independent publishing house constantly submit new fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults to this mommy blog for review. Since -- due to time limitations -- I simply can't do in-depth reviews on every title that crosses my desk, I must be selective. One such fine family friendly piece of literature just reviewed on Mommy Blog Expert is Storm Wrangler by Coert Vorhees (November 2011, $16.95, Bright Sky Press). This is a charming illustrated story that helps kids better understand their weather worries, helping to overcome irrational childhood fears. I'm excited to announce that the publisher is providing this wonderful hard cover book for a giveaway and you can win it. See details below to enter.

Storm Wrangler Book Giveaway

iPhone photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Storm Wrangler

Hardcover Kids Picture Book
GIVEAWAY

Ends December 14, 2011

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment(s) below this post.  Contest ends December 14, 2011 at 12 midnite PST and is open to legal residents of the U.S. only. One winner will be selected at random from all entries received and will be notified via email.

Required (Mandatory) Entry

Simply leave a comment below this blogpost saying why you'd like to win this prize.  Don't forget to include your email address, Facebook or Twitter contact info in the comment section so the winner can be contacted.

Additional Extra Entries

Get extra entries to win for doing any combination of the easy options listed below.  Just be sure to return to MommyBlogExpert (MBE) to leave an additional comment after each individual extra action you do to confirm so we can record all your extra chances to win.

1. Follow MBE on Twitter

2. Like MBE on Facebook

3. Subscribe to MommyBlogExpert

Super ***Bonus Entries***
You can earn even MORE chances to win each time you TWEET the message below, up to 3 times each day until the contest ends.  Don't forget to return to leave a comment on this post with the direct link right after every Tweet you do so you'll receive an entry for each of your RTs.

Tweet:
Storm Wrangler Kids Hardcover Book GIVEAWAY Helps children understand, fear severe weather less http://tinyurl.com/76dy3mc RT 2 #WIN

LOTS More 

Family-Friendly Giveaways!

Currently Being Hosted by Mommy Blog Expert

ENTER Them All HERE

Tweet

FTC Disclosure: The publisher provided Storm Wrangler to facilitate the book review mentioned and is providing a second copy of the title for this giveaway. However, MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Bing Travel How to Save on Family Airfare

Travel

Saving When Flying with Kids During Holidays

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Years holiday celebrations blowing right in behind, chances are good that your family or someone you know will be traveling this season. These days with the economy still stuck in first gear, saving money by making frugal decisions even on extras like trips and vacations are the norm, especially for moms and dads traveling with children. So it's refreshing to hear some upbeat news to maintain the holiday spirit that I'd like to share with you.

My Frequent Flier 10-month Toddler

Predicting a bit of holiday cheer for travelers -- particularly families with kids creating multiple expenses -- the Fareologists at Bing Travel have issued their preliminary forecast for the 2011 holiday travel season. Here's the good part: Bing expects domestic airfare and hotel room prices to drop slightly this winter translating into consumer savings.

According to Bing Travel

• Compared to 2010, domestic airfare is expected to be down 1.4% overall
• Plane tickets will average about $302 this season, as opposed to $306 last holiday
• Hotel seasonal costs appear to be staying virtually flat for three- and four-star hotels, but five-star hotels are down 8% from last year

“Given this summer’s sharp airfare and hotel increases, it’s a relief to see travel prices normalize, even going down in many cases this holiday,” says Kari Dilloo of Bing Travel who is also the mother of twin toddlers.

“Travelers looking to stay in the U.S. are likely to find some great trip deals this holiday especially if they plan ahead, Dilloo explains."When you are traveling with parents plus multiple kids smart travel buying can amount to spending hundreds of dollars less on your holiday or vacation expenses."

While the overall travel forecast is looking merrier and somewhat brighter this season, the biggest savings lie in the hands of those willing to let the destination and date dictate your holiday travel plans. In fact, Dilloo points out that a traditional white Christmas might not be available in Florida, but getaways to the Sunshine State and other warm-weather destinations are extra cheap this holiday season. Some examples: airfares to Fort Lauderdale, FL, are down 21% from last year and hotels in Las Vegas are down almost 16% this year.

How Bing Travel Can Help

The free tools and tips that  Microsoft Bing Travel offers are just what moms and dads traveling with children need to save time and money when shopping for and booking holiday trips. That's where Bing's Price Predictor comes in: it's an invaluable airfare prediction tool that shows whether the lowest fares appear to be rising or dropping and provides recommendations on whether to buy now or wait.

Tapping its proprietary technology, the Bing Travel site has the ability to analyze 225+ billion airfare observations. The result is that they can provide recommendations with a level of confidence and also give you a feel for expected price increases or decreases over the next seven days.

Similarly, their Hotel Rate Indicator helps traveling consumers find out at a glance if the offered room charge for a hotel is a good deal, based on historical rates. This price indicator is unique to Bing Travel and is available for more than 5,000 hotels in 30 major cities across the U.S. and applies to reservations up to 90 days in the future.

Bing, representing a new generation of search -- was developed to deliver results in a visually stunning way that makes it easy for users to find the information they need. Designed with today’s searchers in mind, Bing, a Microsoft company, provides intelligent tools to simplify tasks and help people make faster and better decisions.

Feel free to share your own experiences about shopping airfares and hotel rooms for your family.  Also, if you've tried Bing Travel, what do think of this relatively new service so far?


FTC Disclosure: See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.