Frugal Food - Pasta

One of our favorite pasta dishes comes from - wait for it - www.kraftfoods.com. i know, these people should pay me. but i love their site.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/weeknight-lasagna-toss-95163.aspx


Lasagna Toss

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 cups chopped green peppers (about 2 peppers)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1-2/3 cups water
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
BROWN meat in large (4-qt.) saucepan on medium heat; drain.
ADD peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to boil. Stir in noodles; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover.
COOK, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 min. or until noodles are tender. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Another favorite (partly because its so easy!)

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/bacon-cheese-potato-chowder-107301.aspx

Bacon, Cheese, and Potato chowder

3 cups fat-free milk 1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup 2 cups frozen Southern-style hash browns 1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese 2 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, crisply cooked, drained and crumbled 2 green onions, thinly sliced MIX milk and soup in large saucepan. Stir in hash browns. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 min., stirring frequently.

SERVE topped with cheese, bacon and onions.


Of course I alter the recipe. I don't always use Kraft products, well I should say I rarely use Kraft producs (maybe that's why they haven't cut me a check) and of course I use the jar garlic rather than fresh garlic.

I also love making my own pasta salad for lunch. A box of rotini pasta, a cucumber, a green pepper, some italian seasoning and italian dressing. usually 1 lb of pasta does me for lunch for 3 days, unless i add something else with the pasta (like an apple), then i can get more lunches out of it.

For more ideas check out Jenn @ Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food series http://frugalupstate.blogspot.com/2008/07/frugal-food-series-part-six-breads.html