Saturday, May 24, 2008

Quick and easy gormet pasta

Think about spending $12 for a plate of pasta at some Italian bistro. You can make it better, faster and cheaper at home with a few simple ingredients

1 can of Rotel (diced tomatoes with chiles) (or w/o chile)
1/2 Lb pasta noodles wheat or regular. You can use rigatoni, shells, farfalle angel hair or whatever.
6 gloves garlic
1 small onion
1 small 4oz can of chopped green or calmata olives
cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Put the noodles in a glass bowl and cover with 2 cups of water and microwave on high for 10 min
The noodles should be a little al-dente (not mushy)

Chop the garlic and onion finely and soften them in a large skillet with the olive oil salt and pepper.

Once the garlic and onions start to get soft add the olives and can of tomatoes.

Cook this on med high on the stovetop for about 3 min then lower the heat to medium.

Once the noodles are done, dump them water and all into the sauce pan.

Mix the noodles with the other ingredients for about 3 more min on med high heat.

Pour the pasta into a serving bowl and sprnkle the parmesan on top.

I just serve it with some garlic bread and a glass of wine.


The total cost of this meal will be under $10 and it will serve 3 really hungry adults.

11 comments:

Eyes said...

my mouth is watering....

The Merry Widow said...

So is mine! Inexpensive and easy, I like it, Hammer!

tmw

Z said...

Sounds great, thanks!
If you leave out the tomatoes and Kalamatas and fork a can or two of drained tuna into the oil, you'll have one of our frugal and delicious favorites! and fish DOES work with cheese in this one!
But, you sure could follow your recipe and just add the tuna if you felt like it! Thanks for the great idea..I LOVE Kalamatas.

Papa Frank said...

Here's another easy and inexpensive one for ya:

1 lb. Angel Hair pasta

1/2 pound bacon

2 cups of fresh baby spinach

Fresh grated parmesan to taste.

Chop up your bacon and fry in a skillet. Meanwhile, put on your water to boil for the angel hair pasta. Once the water is boiling add the angel hair and let it cook for 4 minutes. Remove and drain. When the bacon is cooked crisp throw the baby spinach on top of the bacon and grease and let it cook for about 1 minute (or until wilted) while stirring it. Pour it over top the angel hair in a large bowl and mix it up. Add fresh grated parmesan to taste.

Anonymous said...

You can never go wrong with bacon. :)

The Merry Widow said...

Bacon, Nanc's favorite vegetable! LOL!

tmw

nanc said...

tuna is my least favorite vegetable!

pasta is one of the main staples in our household.

Z said...

TMW, that line about nanc and bacon is hilarious

Frank Family...wow, how delicious. Lke a warm wilted spinach salad pasta! Thanks!

Papa Frank said...

Bacon should really be its own food group. Delicious!!! If you want to get fancy and add a little texture to the dish throw in a handful of pine nuts right at the end while you are mixing it together.

nanc said...

bacon should be included in all recipes...*8]

oh yeah - and/or cheese! lot's of cheese! any kind of cheese!

of course, a big old slab of ham never hurt anybody either...

The Merry Widow said...

I'm making this tonight, I increased it because I have a 19 yr. old male living at home.
So I added a can of fire roasted/diced tomatoes, and a thinly sliced green pepper.
Smells really good...

tmw