Pantry Pasta

Summertime is full of long days. Swimming, playing outdoors, camping and get-togethers with family and friends.

This year, summertime has meant unexpected spending on vehicles and home repairs. While we were set for a "rainy day", when multiple things come up in a very short time, the rainy day fund dwindles quickly.

Which brings us to this post: Pantry Pasta.

My husband and I just returned yesterday from an annual weekend trip with friends. We were frugal on the get-away this year because of the afore-mentioned summer expenditures. Upon returning home, it was later in the evening and I didn't think to do my check-list for grocery shopping the next morning (today). We always have meat in the freezer and at least some canned or frozen veg we can use in a pinch when we don't have fresh.

So, we woke this morning, not thinking of meals for the day. My husband got ready and I took him to the train station for his trip downtown Chicago to speak at a local convention. Now, when he's not home, I often just eat cereal for breakfast, PB&J for lunch and heat up a quick soup or something for supper. Today was no exception for breakfast. We're out of Peanut Butter, so I ate cereal for lunch too! However, my husband would be home for supper and I realized (too late) that I hadn't planned for it. So, after picking him up from the evening return train, he asked me, "what are you thinking for supper?" He was probably anticipating that I would want to just go out or pick up something on the way home. But, we're trying to be frugal right now, so I said, "I'm not sure, hadn't given it much thought today."

At home, I took a quick look through the fridge and pantry. We do have some meat (ribs, chicken thighs and fish) in the freezer, but none had been set over to thaw. No fresh veg. In the pantry we have pasta and store bought spaghetti sauce, pesto and some shredded cheese in the fridge. So, pasta for dinner it is!

Once the water came to a boil, I added salt, a touch of butter (not oil, though oil is fine if you like to use a fat when boiling pasta) and some garlic powder. Dropped the pasta and cooked it almost to done (al dente). Removed the pasta from the water, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce. Poured the sauce into the same pot, added the reserved pasta water and a heaping tablespoon of pesto to the sauce and stirred it all together then added in the cooked pasta.

After 3-4 minutes of allowing everything to heat up together, I added a little pepper, salt and ground chipotle. Gave it all a good stir and served it up with a little shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese on top for garnish.

When my husband took his first bite, he exclaimed, "This pasta is cooked perfectly! And the flavor of everything is great!" I'll admit, it was really yummy. There weren't enough chipotles to burn your tongue, just enough to brighten the flavors in the sauce.

Moral of this story? When finances are tight, spend $1.29 for marinara, $1.29 for pesto, $1.00 for pasta, add a little cheese and butter if you have it one hand (they are optional) and you can have a terrific meal for 3 or 4 people for less than $5! Even if finances aren't tight, it's a great meal! Make the most of what you have on hand and you just might surprise yourself with how good it can be!