Newman's Own Pizza Baked Pasta

The holidays are coming upon us quickly. This usually means despair, gloom, a loss of money, and nothing to eat because you're too tired to cook. Despair not, my friends! Today's recipe, brought to you by Newman's Own and Foodbuzz Tastemaker, is a simple dish to prepare that tastes like you've been slaving away all day.

Newman's Own Pizza Baked Pasta combines the goodness of pizza, like tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni with the ingredients of lasagna, like that creamy, cheesy layer made with pureed cottage cheese, eggs, and Italian cheese. You don't have to worry about any layering since it's all stirred together. It's also quick to assemble. Just stop at the grocery store, pick up a jar of Newman's Own pasta sauce, pepperoni, and fresh mozzarella balls and you're halfway there.

For this recipe, I used Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara sauce. The flavor of the wine heightens the taste, and lends complexity to an otherwise standard dish. The fresh mozzarella perline, tiny balls of fresh mozzarella, boost the cheesiness of the sauce. Pepperoni is everyone's favorite, and it's a standard ingredient when I make pizza baked pasta. You can really add anything you want to the mix, like spinach, mushrooms, Italian sausage, olives, etc.

Another helpful tip is that it can be prepped ahead of time, stored in the fridge directly in the baking dish. Make sure your baking dish can be transferred straight from cold to hot, otherwise place the baking dish in the oven as it comes up to the correct temperature.

Foodbuzz supplied me with Newman's Own products and a FlipCam to create a recipe video. In the video, I summarize the recipe directions. Take a look at the kitchen of the Running Foodie, then go out and make some pasta!

Recipe after jump.

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Newman's Own Pizza Baked Pasta
Recipe by Christina Provo

A delicious baked pasta recipe using Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara Sauce.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Serves: 6-10

Ingredients -

16 ounces dry rigatoni
1 jar Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara Sauce
1 cup cottage cheese, pureed
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Italian blend cheese
pinch of pepper
8 ounces fresh perline mozzarella balls
5 ounces mini pepperoni, or chopped regular pepperoni
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 °. Spray a 12x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes; drain.


2. While the pasta cooks, whisk the cottage cheese, eggs, Italian blend cheese, and pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara Sauce.


3. Add the drained pasta to the bowl and stir to combine with sauce. Gently mix in the fresh mozzarella balls and mini pepperoni. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.


4. After 20 minutes, remove foil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Replace foil and continue cooking for another 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Newman's Own Alfredo Pizza Pockets

Newman's Own Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce doesn't have to only be eaten with pasta. In this recipe, which I created to feature Newman's Own products as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers, I use the Alfredo sauce as part of a delicious filling for homemade pizza pockets.

I wanted to create a hearty, meaty pizza pocket, so I made my own Italian sausage-esque filling with ground turkey, garlic, and Italian blend herbs. Ground turkey appears in many of my recipes not just because it's healthier than ground beef, but also because it has a lighter taste that I feel pairs better with other flavors in recipes. With ground beef, I've found that it is often rather prominent and doesn't blend well.

After the turkey has cooked, tomatoes, pepperoni, and the Alfredo sauce are added. It's then simmered until the mixture cooks down, and removed from heat to cool.

In the recipe, I said to use a prepared pizza dough to speed the recipe along, though in reality I prepared a Quick and Easy Pizza Crust recipe I found from AllRecipes.com. It's not a recipe I normally use for pizzas. However, it's quick, taking just 30 minutes to rise, and a good recipe to have on hand when you don't want to wait more than an hour, or overnight for pizza dough.

Once the pizza pockets have all been shaped (or the sheet is filled), they are brushed with an egg glaze and immediately baked. I didn't let it rise again because it's not necessary.

The pizza pockets bake up until they're nice and golden, and the undersides have browned. They're very tasty and easy to eat. They're great to pack for lunches since all the sauce is contained on the inside, which means less mess! Who wouldn't want that?

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Newman's Own Alfredo Pizza Pockets
Recipe by Christina Provo

Individual pizza pockets make it easy to take a slice of pizza to go.

Top Five: Pizza dough, ground turkey, pepperoni, Newman's Own Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce, tomatoes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

26 ounces prepared pizza dough, or your favorite recipe
1 pound raw ground turkey
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt free Italian herb seasoning
½ teaspoon coarse salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, reserving 1/4 cup liquid
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
4 ounces pepperoni slices, quartered
¾ cup Newman's Own Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons shredded Italian blend cheese
1 large egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Divide pizza dough into 13 pieces. Roll into balls onto a floured surface and cover until ready to use.


2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook turkey with garlic, Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper flakes until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and reserved liquid. Turn up heat and cook until liquid is just about completely reduced. Stir in sugar and pepperoni slices, then Newman's Own Garlic Alfredo Sauce. Remove to a bowl and let cool.


3. Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare two baking sheets by greasing lightly and sprinkling with cornmeal. Working on a lightly floured surface, take a round of dough and pat it into a 3 – ½ to 4-inch circle. Place ¼ cup turkey filling onto the dough circle, about half an inch from the bottom and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Italian blend cheese. Fold top half up and over and press together. Fold up the bottom of the dough circle over the top, crimping to adhere the dough together. Carefully place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.


4. When one sheet is full, brush tops of pockets with beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; transfer to wire rack. Let cool slightly; serve.

Newman's Own Thin & Crispy Pizza Coupon Giveaway

Happy Monday! I'm kicking off the week with a giveaway. The prize is a Newman's Own Thin & Crispy Pizza giveaway. Two lucky readers will win one coupon. I received these through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, but I haven't been able to locate the products in stores around town. Each coupon is good for one pizza valued up to $8.00. Since I'm unsure of the availability of Newman's Own products, the giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Coupons are also available on the Newman's Own website, along with a list of retailers. (The Kroger I checked did not have them.)

How to enter -

There are three ways to enter, increasing your chances to win.

• Comment on this entry (required)


• Blog about this giveaway, linking to your post in a separate comment


• Tweet this giveaway, commenting again to let me know

Contest begins now and ends Friday, the 25th, at 12:00 p.m. EST. Giveaway open to U.S. Residents. Two winners will be chosen and I'll be contacting you after the giveaway closes for shipping info.

Good luck!

Newman's Own Lighten Up Caesar Orzo Pilaf

If you remember my Newman's Own video post, I received a package of Newman's Own products thanks to a Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. Well, my recipes didn't end with the recipe I created to feature in the video. I also made a tasty side dish to accompany the chicken cutlets I cooked.

It's pretty cool to have received all these items, and to show my appreciation I want to utilize them by making a few more recipes with the products. Also, stay tuned for a giveaway. I haven't been able to locate Newman's Own pizzas in the grocery stores around here so my plan is to give away the two coupons I received, each good for one pizza. Hopefully you guys will have better luck! It'll begin Monday.

This is a very quick recipe that cooks in under twenty minutes. Orzo is a unique pasta because it's small and can be used in ways similar to rice. Using Newman's Own Lighten Up Caesar dressing, the flavor is infused into the orzo as it cooks. I opted to do this instead of stir it in after it had cooked because I felt the flavors of the dressing would stand out more.

What is a pilaf? Shortly, it's a rice dish with vegetables, but cooked with chicken (or vegetable broth) and wine. The rice is also browned a bit with the vegetables, afterward it's cooked like you would plain rice. It's a great dish for special occasions and doesn't take much more effort to make.

How can you make it with orzo? Pretty much the same way. After sauteing the vegetables, mushrooms, onions, and garlic here, you add the orzo and saute for a few minutes until it begins to look somewhat brown and toasted.

The broth and Caesar dressing are added. The mixture is then returned to a boil and cooked until the orzo is al dente. Unlike with rice, you don't have to cover it with a lid. A few minutes near the end, I added frozen peas (which were somewhat thawed). I didn't add them earlier because I wanted to reserve their bright green color.

My pilaf came out with a bit extra liquid, though most of it had soaked into the orzo. I liked it a little saucy because it reminded me of risotto. The dressing really stood out and flavored the dish nicely, and the romano cheese from the dressing lends a complexity of tastes. It's light enough to serve alongside a heavier main dish. Perfect for spring, perfect if you have a bottle of Newman's Own Lighten Up Caesar Dressing waiting to be used!

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Newman's Own Lighten Up Caesar Orzo Pilaf
Recipe by Christina Provo, adapted from quick orzo pilaf.

ingredients -

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups finely chopped button mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces dry orzo pasta
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup Newman's Own Lighten Up Caesar Dressing
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

directions -

1. In a medium pot heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. And onions and salt; saute for 3-5 minutes or until it begins to turn translucent. Stir in garlic and mushrooms; cook for one minute. Stir in orzo and saute for 4-5 minutes, or until orzo begins to brown.


2. Meanwhile, heat the broth and the Caesar dressing until warmed. Add to orzo and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer; cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep orzo from sticking to bottom of pot. Mix in peas and continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes, checking to see if orzo is al dente.


3. When pasta is cooked, remove orzo pilaf to a serving bowl; stir in parsley. Serve immediately.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker & Newman's Own: Video Recipe

I'm back again with Newman's Own! As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, they sent me a goody box filled with Newman's Own products and coupons, plus a flip video camera to record a video recipe!

I had thought about what I would make, something that can be prepared in about 30 minutes. The final decision was a breaded chicken cutlet with a quick pan sauce using Newman's Own vinaigrette. I tested the sauce out with the Caesar vinaigrette first and that's pretty tasty, though I featured a pan sauce with the Light Raspberry & Walnut vinaigrette for the video. It's versatile, so feel free to use the flavor that you enjoy the most.

This is also the first official video recipe ever shown on She Runs, She Eats. Enjoy!

You might think that it's difficult to make breaded chicken cutlets, but it's not as time consuming as you might think. Pounding the chicken speeds the cooking time so you'll spend about 12 minutes cooking the chicken. You can even pound the chicken ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you need it.

I will be incorporating the remaining Newman's Own products I received in different recipes. The side dish in the video is a tasty and quick orzo pilaf using the Light Caesar vinaigrette. That recipe will be posted later this week.

Recipe after jump.

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Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Vinaigrette Pan Sauce
Recipe by Christina Provo

ingredients -

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
shake of black pepper
1 1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup vinaigrette of choice
1 ounce mild goat cheese or cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

directions -

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a bowl, mix yogurt, milk, flour, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Place bread crumbs and flour in a shallow dish, such as a pie plate, and stir to combine. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dip into milk mixture, letting excess liquid drip off. Dredge both sides in bread crumb-flour mixture and place on a platter. Repeat with remaining chicken.


2. As you bread the chicken, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place two chicken cutlets in the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until the underside is golden brown. Flip and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Remove to an ovenproof platter and place in oven to keep warm. Add remaining olive oil and butter to skillet and cook remaining chicken pieces.


3. Reduce heat to medium. Add vinaigrette to skillet and let cook until reduced to a glaze, about 30-45 seconds. Remove from heat and add goat cheese, stirring with a whisk to blend into sauce. Stir in parsley. To serve, divide sauce between four servings, pouring over the chicken cutlets.