When you reach into that pantry to plan out dinner, you might want to consider pasta. Pasta can be a great source of a filling meal. And with pasta, there are so many inexpensive options. Shopping carefully, you can get 16 ounces of pasta for less than $1. Add a few inexpensive ingredients, or even a small amount of expensive ingredients, and you still have a meal to feed the entire family for less than $5.
I enjoy trying new pasta dishes, especially when I can throw some things together using food that we already have around the house. Last night, for example, I put together a really yummy sauce using a few simple ingredients, such as honey, minced garlic (I buy it buy the jar to save money and time), thyme, oregano and butter. It was very different from the typical tomato- or cream-based sauce we normally have. I had a little bit of chicken available, so I sauteed that in olive oil in a skillet, cut it into bite-sized pieces and added that as well.
Pasta can also be used in baked dishes. Of course there is the typical lasagna, baked ziti, etc. But what if you don’t have the ingredients, such as ricotta or mozzarella cheese? You can pretty much throw a multitude of things in a pasta dish and cook it up. Some sort of cheese is usually good, but in it’s absence, try something else to bind the dish together, from cream soup to mayonnaise. One of my favorite frugal pasta bakes requires a can of tomato soup, cheddar cheese, butter and milk.
Use pasta for lunches, too. There are so many cold pasta salads that can be made when the cupboard is bare of typical cold cuts and other lunch items.
And here is one more way to use pasta–for arts and crafts!
What is your favorite frugal way to use pasta?
Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.
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Tips for Slicing Homemade Bread
Stock up on Flour, Bread and Cereal Now While You Can
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Pantry Challenge: Falling Off of the Wagon
Pantry Challenge: What You Can Do with A Box of Potatoes
Pantry Challenge: Campbell’s to The Rescue!
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