Pasta sauces?

mookybargirl

I need to introduce more pasta in my meal planners to cut my budget, but I'm not sure about sauces. I'm sure I saw a thread about someone who was going to eat pasta for 365 days (have I gone mad?), but couldn't find it on the search.

OH not a big fan of pasta, but is with me on the budget cutting, so as long as I keep it interesting, he'll be fine. He prefers non tomato based, although will eat tomato based too so I'm looking for lots of different ideas. Looking at 2 pasta dishes a week.....

Any help please?

Penelope_Penguin

Not quite 365 days - was it this thread 84 days = 84 pasta recipes ?

There's also these threads:

Pasta sauce recipes

How to make pasta bake

Homemade pasta sauces

We're eating a courgette based sauce, atm. Finely chop some courgette, an onion and some garlic, and sweat in a little butter until all the moisture is gone. Add lots of fresh parmesan, a slug of cream, nutmeg and black pepper.

Enjoy your pasta!

Penny. x

Lucie_2

I'm currently favouring drier pasta sauces "without" sauce, as such:

Bacon, sundried tomato & mushroom

cherry tomato, spinach & pine nuts

baby corn, carrot, mangetout & mozzarella

There are a million combinations, mostly derived from whatever needs using up in the fridge.

newlywed

Campbell's low fat condensed soup!

Cream of mushroom is good with tuna and broccoli pasta.

redsquirrel80

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

We're eating a courgette based sauce, atm. Finely chop some courgette, an onion and some garlic, and sweat in a little butter until all the moisture is gone. Add lots of fresh parmesan, a slug of cream, nutmeg and black pepper.

Enjoy your pasta!

Penny. x

That sounds lovely!

I made a sort-of Thai curry a few weeks back with turkey, and basically all the Thai green curry ingredients minus the coconut milk, added some mayonnaise after it was all cooked for creaminess (I've also used a spoonful of cream cheese for this). Didn't feel like rice so had it with pasta and it was really nice. The sort-of recipe is here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=5377990&postcount=101

loopylou1982

when you make a pasta bake can you freeze it?

I made one yesterday me and bf had half I will have some more today but there will be around a quarter left - dont want to waste it

Pandora123_2

Here are two:

Marinara Sauce


Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

14-oz can chopped tomatoes in puree
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped olives (Kalamata are my favourite)
1 tablespoon drained capers, minced
Salt to taste
180g dried spaghetti

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add some salt.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until garlic is a light golden color (do not let it burn).
Add tomatoes, olives and capers. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

While the sauce is cooking, boil spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and toss with sauce.

Serves 2.

Penelope_Penguin

loopylou1982 wrote: »

when you make a pasta bake can you freeze it?

I made one yesterday me and bf had half I will have some more today but there will be around a quarter left - dont want to waste it

You can - see here - Can you freeze pasta bake?

HTH, Penny. x

KittyKate

I am a huge fan of pasta, I eat it at least three times a week!

Favourites:

Green pesto pasta

Method: Fry half an onion, finely chopped, until golden. Put to one side.
Boil pasta (I use twists) till cooked. Drain.
Mix 1 tsp green pesto in with the pasta, add the onions, a tsp of mayo, salt, black pepper.
Stick in an oven proof dish and sprinkle with cheese, or sliced tomatoes, or mozzarella, or thinly sliced mushrooms (whatever you have left really). Grill until topping is cooked. I serve with garlic bread but you can have it alone or with a salad.

Or...pink tuna pasta (mmm!)

Cook pasta, drain. Add 1 tablespoon of mayo and 1 tablespoon of ketchup. Mix until pink (add more of each for more sauce). Add salt & black pepper. Return to a very very low heat and mix in a drained tin of tuna and a drained can of sweetcorn.
Serve with cheese sprinkled on top, I like it with a side of beetroot and cucumber.

Asparagus Canneloni
(Asparagus can be bought cheaply on your local market or I get it frozen from Asda).
Cook asparagus and leave to drain.
Boil 5 strips of lasagne pasta in some oiled water. Remove and lay on a plate.
Roll 2 or 3 asparagus spears in each rectangle of pasta with a good dollop of passata and some strips of mozarella. Lay the rolls into an ovenproof dish.
Cover with a simple white sauce (thick) and any leftover mozarella/a bit of cheddar and some black pepper. Cook in a medium oven for 15-20 mins. Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread.

I saw a TV programme (might have been you are what you eat!!) where a large lady fed her kids pasta & gravy..yuck, I don't reccomend that one!

lynzpower

fry off some mushrooms thinly sliced with a chopped onion. Mince a large clove of garlic and lighly fry off with olive oil ( jsut a drop) swEAT them till theres extra fluid from the mushrooms

then add in a pot of creme fraiche ( or cream) then add a bit of torn basil & stir.

serve with pasta of choice & garlic bread. Remarkalby nice for such few ingredients.

Gingham_Ribbon

I've been experimenting with pasta sauces. Cheap passata tastes fine if you put plenty of garlic, dried herbs and a good slug of olive oil in and let it reduce down.

Most veg can be cooked, blitzed and turned into 'pesto' with some pine nuts, garlic and olive oil.

Or steam the veg, blitz it and add garlic, cream and parmesan.

Tomato sauce is also good with a little grated ginger and fresh coriander.

Or just add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and have with a large salad. Or roast some tomatoes and courgettes in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic and stir into pasta.