One of the great benefits of being a Pillsbury Bake-Off Finalist is they send you shwag for years. In the middle of the summer, I arrived home to find a huge box on my doorstep. Pillsbury was stamped all over the box, and when I opened it I found dozens upon dozens of little sample bags of Baguette Chips. As a past Finalist, I was in a select group to try out their new line of food. There was much rejoicing among the family.




I definitely love starch and salt, but these little chips made out of bread instead of potatoes are a flavorful snack with a great snap. They make a good addition to the lunch box because they have 50% less fat than potato chips and my fingers are not greasy after indulging.

Several recipe ideas with the chips have crossed my mind, but this pasta bake is the first to come to fruition. Of course, you can use ricotta cheese instead of cottage, but I find ricotta really dries out when it's baked. Also, ground turkey or ground beef would be a healthier option than the pepperoni I used. I hope you enjoy the recipe below as much as my kids (all of them asked for seconds), and please post if you try it.


Pillsbury Baguette Chip Pasta Bake

16 oz. package rotini
2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (divided)
2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)
16 oz. jar spaghetti sauce (divided)
48 pepperoni slices
2 cups Pillsbury Baguette Chips Italian Cheese & Herb
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 F. Prepare rotini according to package directions. Stir together cottage cheese, egg, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. In 13x9 inch baking dish spread ½ cup spaghetti sauce on the bottom. Top with 24 slices pepperoni. Pour in half the pasta and spread evenly over pepperoni. Spread cottage cheese mixture evenly over pasta. Spread one cup spaghetti sauce evenly over cottage cheese. Top with 24 slices pepperoni. Pour remaining pasta evenly over pepperoni. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over pasta. Spread remaining spaghetti sauce over everything. Cover with foil and bake for thirty minutes. In the meantime, place chips in a food processor and blend until crumbs form. In small bowl mix chip crumbs, Parmesan cheese and remaining Italian seasoning. After thirty minutes, uncover pasta dish. Use a spoon to push down any pasta on the sides that might dry out. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top and bake for another 15 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for ten minutes before serving. Serves 12.