Olivieri Basil Pesto Chicken Legs & Pasta w/ a GIVEAWAY!

Olivieri Basil Pesto Chicken Leg w/ Spinach & Cheese Ravioli 

Olivieri Basil Pesto pasta sauce can be used for more than just on pasta. I spread some of the pesto on chicken legs and then baked them in the oven. I paired it up with some Olivieri Spinach and Cheese Ravioli  and some more of the Basil Pesto pasta sauce. It was a great meal with lots of flavour. Thanks Olivieri!

I thoroughly enjoyed creating these wonderful meals using Olivieri products over the past week. They are quick and easy to prepare. You can also pair these meals up with one of their garlic breads too! Here is a giveaway for 2 free product coupons for you to try some of Olivieri's gourmet pastas and sauces. They have an amazing selection to choose from in the deli section of your grocery store. As a bonus, I am also including an Olivieri BOGO coupon too!

Please be sure to check out my lastest blog posts using Olivieri products in some fun and invented ways your whole family will enjoy.

Lasagna Enchiladas - http://mwmichelle.blogspot.ca/2012/05/lasagna-enchiladas.html
Fried 3 Cheese Tortellini - http://mwmichelle.blogspot.ca/2012/05/fried-3-cheese-herb-tortellini-by.html

(Disclosure: "I am a member of the Maple Leaf Foods Connects Program. As a part of my participation, I have been compensated both monetarily and with free product, however, all opinions and ideas shared on this blog remain my own.")

To enter this contest, all you need to do is:

 1) Leave a comment on this blog post about which Olivieri recipe you would be interested in trying out from Meals with Michelle, the Lasagna Enchiliadas, Fried 3 Cheese Tortellini, or Basil Pesto Chicken Legs. 

2) For an extra entry, follow Meals with Michelle on Facebook 

3) For another extra entry, follow Olivieri on Facebook

The deadline for the contest will be May 16th, 2012 at 10pm (Atlantic time). This is for CANADA residents only. Winner will be announced on the Meals with Michelle website and on the fan Facebook page (so make sure you are following!). Thank you and good luck! ~Michelle

Lasagna Enchiladas by Olivieri

Lasagna Enchiladas 

 Instead of creating just a good ole regular lasagna out of the Olivieri lasagna sheets, I thought of another way to use them. It's a play on enchiladas by using the noodles instead of tortilla wraps. There are six noodle sheets in a 360 gram package so enough for six servings. As far as what to put inside of the lasagna is really up to you. I used extra lean ground beef with some added chili seasonings and pasta sauce and also 1% Cottage Cheese mixed with some grated Parmesan cheese and chopped up fresh parsley. I topped it off with some pasta sauce, grated cheese, chopped fresh parsley, and I sprinkled some Reggiano Parmesan cheese too. A very inventive way to use lasagna sheets if you ask me! Here is the recipe:

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 tbsp. chili seasoning
2-3 cups pasta sauce
1 cup Cottage Cheese (I used 1%)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (some for the cottage cheese mixture and some for the topping)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 package Olivieri Oven Ready Lasagna Sheets

Turn oven to 350 degrees. Cook beef until done then add chili seasoning and about 2 cups of pasta sauce. In another small bowl, combine Cottage cheese, Parmesan, and parsley. Take an 8" x 11" baking dish and line it with some of the pasta sauce. Take a lasagna sheet and add some of the beef mixture and cheese mixture then roll it up and place it in the baking dish. When finished with all the sheets, top with pasta sauce (cover all over the top), shredded cheese, and parsley. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. 

(Disclosure: "I am a member of the Maple Leaf Foods Connects Program. As a part of my participation, I have been compensated both monetarily and with free product, however, all opinions and ideas shared on this blog remain my own.")

Fried 3 Cheese Herb Tortellini by Olivieri

Fried 3 Cheese Herb Tortellini

Being creative is one thing, but being creative with a product that is already on its own fantastic is another. Olivieri has given me the opportunity to try out some of their amazing pastas and sauces in order to create something new. As part of their Connects Program, "I am a member of the Maple Leaf Foods Connects Program. As a part of my participation, I have been compensated both monetarily and with free product, however, all opinions and ideas shared on this blog remain my own."

The first product I am blogging is for their 3 Cheese Herb Tortellini. I decided to bread them and fry to get crispy morsels of cheesy goodness. Then I added them on a skewer stick with some sauteed mushroom halves and some cubed up pieces of cooked dill salmon. You could also use pieces of chicken, pork, beef or just make it all veggies! The fried Tortellini is great on it's own as an appetizer and dipped in Olivieri's Alfredo sauce too. Here is the recipe for the Fried 3 Cheese Herb Tortellini by Olivieri and Meals with Michelle!


For the breading:
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (or plain bread crumbs)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs lightly beaten
350 grams package of 3 Cheese Herb Tortellini by Olivieri
Vegetable oil for frying

Cook the Tortellini as directed on the package. Rinse in cold water. Add some oil to a frying pan and turn on low heat until the oil is ready to use (Stick a wooden spoon into the oil and hold it straight up while resting on the bottom of the frying pan and when it starts to bubble it's ready). You will need 3 bowls, 1 for the flour, 1 for the eggs, and 1 for the Italian bread crumbs combined with the Parmesan cheese. Dip the Tortellini into the flour (shake off excess flour), then into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs. Put them in another bowl until you are ready to fry up a bunch. Put them into the oil for about 1 minute or until crispy golden brown. Remove from oil and place on some papertowel.

Saute some mushroom halves with some butter in a small frying pan until tender. I used salmon trimmings cubed up then sprinkled with some dill, salt, and pepper then cooked in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. The completed skewer was then placed on top of a Caesar salad with real bacon and shaved Reggiano Parmesan cheese.