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“The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become a fearless mother is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly—indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection.” – Arianna Huffington.

We put so much pressure on ourselves as moms, don’t we? And it’s no wonder, since society puts so much pressure on us, right? To work hard – either at a career outside of the home, as a work from home boss babe, or as a perfect stay at home mom. Plus of course: go to the gym and dress stylin’ and do your nails and learn to contour your cheekbones all while picking up groceries and kids and hey o – it’s also a freaking PANDEMIC OUT THERE. Sigh.

Anyway. All of that to say – we are always in need of easy peasy dinner ideas around here. I rely heavily on things like prepping ahead, freezer meals, and my Crockpot and Instapot. But something else I rely on at least a couple of nights a week are snack boards. Kind of like… a fancier version of the lunch snack trays you buy at the supermarket, but a less fancy version of a complicated charcuterie board. Depending on the size of your family, your needs, your mood – you can put out one big tray and let everyone make their own plate, or make mini plates for each person. It’s healthy, it’s easy, it’s fun, it’s fast, and it can be YUM, too. Especially with my new obsession – Barilla Creamy Genovese Pasta Sauce. Seriously. OMG. So good.

I’m really questioning myself… as a life-long pasta-a-holic, carb-loving girl, how on earth have I never actually tried pesto? I’ve heard of it. I’ve seen it. But honestly, I guess I just didn’t really know what it was, or how to use it. You GUYS?! It is GENIUS. Lemme tell ya a little bit of basic info first:

• Pesto is the past tense of the Genoese verb “pestare,” which means “to crush.” Which makes sense – Pesto originated in Genoa, Italy, and was traditionally made by crushing ingredients with a mortar and pestle ;) The usual combo of ingredients includes basil, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts – but a lot of pesto swaps out the pine nuts. {I’m a nerd, and a writer, and I love cool facts like this!}
• When you crush these up and mix together, you get a beautiful, creamy, green sauce. Imagine the pretty combos for holiday dishes, mixed and matched with crisp red veggies?
• It’s most commonly used on pasta noodles, and often on sandwiches. But it is SO versatile! You can use this as a sauce for so many things, a dip, seafood, burgers, drizzle it onto pizza, use it to marinate meats, on and on.
• CLICK HERE –> Barilla Creamy Genovese Pesto Recipe Ideas if you’re just too tired to get creative and need even more inspiration. There’s nothing wrong with that, momma. I’ll share more ideas later too, keep reading. You aren’t alone here. I got you. :)

And now, with Barilla Creamy Genovese Pesto Sauce, you get to skip all of the work of a mortar and pestle, but still have the freshest pesto available, imported from Italy, but available right in your own cupboard, any time you want. You can pick these up at most grocery stores, or even add them to your next Amazon order.

We used this Creamy Genovese Pesto over the past week for our dinner plates. I mentioned over on Instagram the other day – I started a round of high-dose prednisone for my spine/disc issues, and it’s a rough one. {If you’ve ever taken prednisone, you know. It is THE strongest love/hate relationship story of all time, lol.} Plus, Daylight Savings time and now it gets dark in the middle of the dark day. The holidays are approaching rapidly, with all the weirdness and unpredictability that those bring this year. So: I’m a tired momma, my friends. A quick and easy meal that I can put together without using the stove? That’s a winner. 

We’ve used this creamy pesto as a dip, with cheese and crackers. When added to pinwheel roll-ups it legit takes things up a notch! You can get creative and use this in SO many of your regular recipes, and it gives them a fresh twist, feels like something new. And if all you can manage is boiling a pot of noodles – just stir in a jar of Barilla Pesto sauce, for a quick alternative to spaghetti night that the kids will still totally love. Trust me. 

This works for lunches – add to sandwiches, as a dip for veggies or crackers, etc. It’s amazing in all of your favorite dinner dishes, or use the Barilla US site to find some new faves to put into rotation. It can add some flair to holiday meals this season. It’s a great addition to gift baskets – one compact jar is enough for a whole 16-oz box of pasta! Make party trays for your next get together, using the same idea we use for our dinner trays, just on a larger, fancier scale. The options are endless!

There are just so many ways to use this – I honestly feel kinda silly for not ever trying pesto before? You can see the dozens of other creative ways that other busy moms from #MomsMeet used this #BarillaPesto #CreamyGenovese over on Instagram by following the hashtags, or checking out the accounts – @BarillaUS and @MomsMeet. If you use #BarillaUS in your home too, be sure to share a pic and tag them too!

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Be sure to come join the conversation over on my Instagram page!! Let me know in the comments here, or over there – do you use pesto? What are your favorite ways to use it? Have you tried Barilla Pesto? If not – definitely look for it the next time you’re grocery shopping in the pasta aisle, you won’t be sorry. And – are you a snack plate/dinner plate type of mom too? Chat with me, my friends. :)