Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad Pasta Salad Review and Giveaway

I received these products for free to facilitate this review. I also have the opportunity to also give away another gift pack just like the one above to a lucky reader for free.

Want to make you summer BBQ easy and yummy too? Try Suddenly Pasta Salad from Betty Crocker and General Mills. These are quick and simple mixes that come in a box. They come complete with dry pasta and veggies with a packet of seasoning mix all in one handy box. You can also use stir-ins to create a main course or just have it as a tasty side. They come in seven different flavors: Classic, Ranch & Bacon, Caesar, Creamy Italian, Creamy Parmesan, Chipotle Ranch, Basil Pesto, Tuscan Style Tomato. You can just follow the simple instructions on the box or get some delicious recipe ideas off the Suddenly Salad website.

I received both the Ranch & Bacon and the Classic flavors along with a Picnic Cooler and blanket for free to facilitate this review. The cooler is a Leed's Arctic Zone 36-Can Cooler with Blanket. The liner is an Ultra Safe™ leak proof lining which means it is PVC free and is lead and phthalate safe under FDA and CPSC safety standards. This cooler has a main zippered top that holds a large amount of food and drink. It has a front zippered pocket to hold things and a larger zippered pocket in the back that holds the 4' x 5' fleece blanket. It also includes an adjustable shoulder strap with shoulder pad. It collapses when not in use for easy storage and has a carry handle to use when closed. This cooler is best used when items are pre-chilled and packed with ice/freezer packs not ice. It is also easily wiped clean with a damp cloth, lightweight and portable. The blanket it comes with is a thinner fleece, but provides warmth on cooler summer nights and is a good size to throw down on the ground for a nice picnic ground cover.

The Suddenly Salad Pasta Ranch & Bacon flavor was really yummy. You will need just 1/2 cup mayonnaise to add with this if you are just making it regular. It turned out very creamy and has a smokey flavor to it. On the box it has Box Tops, a delicious looking recipe called lemon-chicken pasta salad and other stir-in ideas. The instructions are simple to follow and the pasta salad is easy to make. After I made it and tasted it I was having trouble sharing because it was so good.

When you open the box you will find two things: the bag of dried pasta & veggies and the packet of seasonings. This particular one has dried shell pasta with dried peas and shredded carrots in the bag. The packet of seasoning consists of a number of ingredients and I will not list them all here, but it has good ingredients of buttermilk, onion, garlic, parsley flakes and dried cheddar cheese. Along with those contents it has imitation bacon chips consisting of many ingredients including these I did not really care for in my food: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, artificial flavor, caramel color, red 40, and tocopherol. This also has Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) that I usually try to avoid as well.

The Suddenly Salad Pasta Classic flavor was also really yummy. You will just need 3 tablespoons cold water and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. I used Filippo Berio^® Extra Virgin Olive Oil of which I also received for free to try for being a BzzAgent. This turned out with a citrus zing and was very zesty in flavor. On the box it has Box Tops, a delicious looking recipe called ranch spinach pasta salad, and other stir-in ideas. The instructions are simple to follow and the pasta salad is easy to make. I loved the herbal zing it had.

When you open the box you will find two things: the bag of dried pasta & veggies and the packet of seasonings. This particular one has dried spiral rotini pasta in plain, spinach and tomato in the bag. The packet of seasoning consists of a number of ingredients and I will not list them all here, but it has good ingredients of red pepper, parsley, onion, garlic, basil. It also has modified and hydrogenated ingredients and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) that I usually try to avoid as well.

If you want a complete list of the ingredients you will have to go straight to the box and look at it. Betty Crocker doesn't have them listed on their website.

I myself believe that even though these boxed sides or meals are convenient the filler ingredients are not really desired. I would rather make something from scratch. These do however make it very simple to whip something up in a jiffy if you have major time constraints.

WIN IT
Prize: 1 winner will win a Gift Pack (Retail Value: $56) containing:

• One package of Suddenly Salad Classic
• One package of Suddenly Salad Bacon & Ranch
• Picnic Cooler with Blanket.

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: By participating in this Spark, I received product for free to facilitate my review and another gift pack to give away for free to a reader. The information and prize packs have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review and giveaway.