what to add....

boredjellybean

Hiya

I am after some ideas of what I can add to a pasta bake to make it more interesting for my hubby - he prefers it if there is some meat on the side or in the bake like ham or salami etc but I am trying to save a bit of money by doing a couple of veggie meals a week

Also I read in the news about cutting back on processed meats & with a young family I am trying to do the best for them

So any ideas on what I can do to jazz up the old pasta bake ??? so far all I have thought of is to give him some tuna (which one of my lo's will eat & the other & I won't )

ta in advance

BB

ifonlyitwaseasier

how about chorizo? chop it up into really small pieces and fry off first to get the oil out, then add chopped onions, peppers, courgettes (whatever you fancy)etc, i then add either tinned toms or water from the pasta and some tomato puree and mix it all together, adding to the drained pasta and putting grated cheese over the top.

10 mins in the oven and you have a scrummy meal

hth

ioiwe

edit : also do a spanish style one with chopped tinneds toms and paprika, same cooking as above

sunshinejoclaire

cor that sounds beautiful ifonlyitwaseasier. I love chorizo

boredjellybean

thanks ioiwe we do use chorizo in that way it is a firm fav in our house, wasn't sure how that was on the processed meat front though?

BB

FairyElephant_2

Hiya,

I do one with tuna & sweetcorn (& sometimes mushrooms too) for the stepkids (DH doesn't eat Tuna) - use a tin of condensed chicken or mushroom soup as the 'sauce' if in a hurry!

I also do one with chopped tomatoes, onion, bacon, mushrooms and olives (you can leave out the bacon for a veggie version) - add a dash of red wine if there's any available, and sometimes some crushed chillis to give it a bit of heat! (had this last nite actually - it was yum!).

livalot

You may do this already, but what I do is make a bolognaise sauce and boil some eggs. I then boil the pasta, add the bolognaise sauce, chop the boiled eggs and add them, then bake the whole lot. If I have cheese I add chopped cheese too (mozzarella is a fav) or cubes of cheese rather than the grated stuff.

helyg

I make pasta bakes using either tuna, cooked chicken or bacon. I do them all in the same way: fry some onion, add in a tin of toms and some herbs, cook down a bit, stir in the tuna/chicken/bacon and take off the heat. Stir into cooked pasta, pile into an oven dish, top with white sauce and grated cheese, then put in the oven until cheese has melted.

I have deliberately avoided the latest scare stories re ham (if we listened to everything in the media we wouldn't eat anything!) so I'm not sure whether bacon would be classed in the same way, but chicken leftover from your roast shouldn't be. I know you said you were trying to cut costs by cutting out meat, but this dish makes a small amount of chicken go a long way.

For a veggie pasta bake I would use peppers, courgettes, aubergine etc, but this probably isn't any cheaper than using leftover chicken.

newlywed

I get away with cauldron sausages as they stay quite firm in a casserole etc and OH doesn't mind them at all (even after I told him they were veggie) I try and get them on offer though.


I also use chicken and use a cream of chicken soup as a quick sauce too.

dixie_dean_2

If you're looking to avoid processed meats it rules out bacon, ham, sausages and chorizo. Tuna is a great option - well-priced and healthy or turkey has the same advantages. Without meat try adding nice fresh herbs, basil, oregano or parsley would be obvious ones or chillies or balsamic vinegar. These flavours should help wioth the no meat issue, as would a bit of extra cheese, although this is high in fat. You could try quorn as well. This is pretty cheap compared to meat but adds a similar texture.

ifonlyitwaseasier

boredjellybean wrote: »

thanks ioiwe we do use chorizo in that way it is a firm fav in our house, wasn't sure how that was on the processed meat front though?

BB

tbh i chop it up so small that i use very little in my meals (i get the big one in lidl and it does about 5-6 meals for me and a very hungry OH) but the flavour comes through, and even tho it is technically processed it's bound to taste better than say frankfurters, and i'd have to add a lot more of them to balance the flavours out.

other wise same sort of thing but add paprika to a little oil and add the veggies, similar taste no meat

helyg

Have given in and been having a look at the reports on the processed meats cancer scare... It seems that eating some is OK, they are suggesting limiting intake to the equivalent of 3 rashers of bacon a week.

They are also suggesting that if you do eat processed meats then you should buy better quality ones, which would be common sense really!

One thing which interested me was the fact that they were suggesting cheese as a healthier option, now I have nothing against cheese and consume plenty of the stuff myself, but it is full of fat and salt!

I think the key is variety, if a child is eating a lunchbox which consists of a cheap ham sandwich, a bag of crisps and a chocolate biscuit every day then obviously that child is going to have an increased risk of health problems, but I don't think a couple of slices of good quality ham a week will do that much harm. Just my own personal opinion...