Wait, what? Pasta? Frugal? You heard me. I dig carbs, preferably when coated in cheesy goodness. But, I also live on a budget, and want to be healthy. How do I combine those? Very simply! The recipe below is my adaptation of the original found on Budget Bytes (link at the end!). Basically, you take any awesome ingredients you have on hand, toss them into a pot, and cook together. The trick to keeping it healthy AND frugal is to use fresh, simple, high quality ingredients. There is no canned, pre-made sauce or white pasta, and yet I've tried this out on some very picky eaters with success. One of the beautiful things about this recipe is that I've outlined some basic ingredients below, but it is extremely flexible and you can really use whatever ingredients you have on hand. Some other nice additions if you have them on hand would be a splash of balsamic vinegar, crushed red pepper, or even a swirl of cream.
The Recipe:
4-6 large fresh tomatoes
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion, diced
2 medium carrots, grated
Broth (amount varies)
1 small jar of organic tomato paste
1 lb box whole wheat linguine
1 bay leaf
4-ish hearty dashes Italian seasoning blend (herbs only!)
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Shredded cheese (optional, but not if you want to stay friends - I recommend mozzarella or some Colby)
Brown ground beef in a large pot. Dice onions and brown with ground beef. Once beef is almost done, add grated carrot.
While all of that is cooking, roughly dice your tomatoes (this is a good time to get out any pent up aggression. Not that you have any ;)). The size of your tomato dice can vary, as you want some to cook down but some bigger pieces to give the sauce good body.
Toss your diced tomatoes into the same pot, and add in your seasonings. Use more salt than you think, because your pasta will absorb a lot and if you don't, you could end up with a bland dish. Let this cook for up to 5 minutes, and now it's time to add your pasta - drop the linguine in, breaking up if so desired. Add your seasonings to the pot, and then barely cover with broth. If it isn't enough, we can add more while it's cooking - it is harder to take it out than put more in!
Bring everything in the pot up to a nice boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Cook according to package directions for pasta doneness, stirring periodically. This is a good time to grate your cheese, toast up some garlic bread, etc.
Once the pasta is done, or nearly so, it's time to add some tomato paste. I prefer to use the kind that is packaged in a glass jar, to avoid BPA. You can stir it in gradually until the sauce reaches the thickness you desire; any that's left can be stored in the freezer!
Once it's done, most of the liquid should be absorbed and you should have a nice, made-in-the-pot sauce; if not, cool a little longer with the lid off.
Now, you're finally ready to dish it up, cover it in cheese, and enjoy with a massive slice of fresh sourdough or some garlic bread. Well, if you're me. Seriously people, try this recipe!
Link to the budget bytes recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/05/italian-wonderpot/
No comments:
Post a Comment