The thing about pasta is you can dress it up or down as much as you want. If you've got a few dollars to spare, great! Go out and buy a few extra ingredients. If not, oh well.
If I've got little to no money, the pasta usually takes the form of ramen noodles. (Just add water and you're good to go!) If I've got the time, money, and inclination, I can always make them a bit more exciting. Adding a few mushrooms, a boiled egg, and some imitation crab usually does the trick.
Italian-type pasta can also be good when cash is short. A pound of dry spaghetti is relatively cheap and will go quite a ways. I'm fine just eating that with a bit of garlic and a little butter once it's boiled. If I have spices on hand, a tin of tomato paste is only a few cents and I can make my own sauce. I'm also quite fond of pasta with fried eggs. (I know it sounds weird, but it's actually very nice. Think of it as a variation on pasta carbonara.) You caramelize a few slices of onion in the bottom of the pan first, then fry a couple of eggs, leaving the yolks runny, throw in a bit of garlic, (maybe some Italian seasoning,) a bit of pepper, whatever else takes your fancy, and toss that with the pasta. The yolks break and coat the pasta like a sauce. Just grate a little cheese over that and you're done! (Parmesean works best, but it's expensive. A little bit of cheddar or whatever you have on hand usually works just fine.)
The great thing about my egg and pasta dish is that it's easy to add more things to when you have them, but if you don't, it's just fine without them. Got a tin of sardines? Throw it in. Chicken? Sure! Frozen veg? Works just fine. You can modify this dish just about any way you want.
Disclaimer: Although I've made many modifications to the fried egg + pasta dish... the original idea was not my own. I got it from a wonderful cookbook that my mother gave me.
1 comment:
I love pasta and I make all different types. I'm so glad it's still cheap. ;)
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