Pasta Please!

Although it is only four days into the month, I am pleased to announce I have followed my menu every night!  Okay.  I know it is not that momentous, but hey I try.

I grew up in an Italian family, so pasta has always been a staple in our house.  Until we became gluten free that is.  We have tried several different pastas over the course of the last year.  Some are better than others.  I do have a favorite now though!!!

This pasta tastes like regular pasta!!!!!  It cooks like regular pasta!!!!!  It even looks...okay just kidding.  I cannot tell the difference between this pasta and regular pasta at all; and neither can my non gf eaters!!!!  You can get the Heartland Penne Pasta online for approximately $2.60 a bag.  Amazon also has this as a Subscribe and Save item.  Purchasing it this way would drop your cost to $2.21 a bag.  I am a little disappointed that they currently only have the penne pasta available.  You can sign up to be notified when the spaghetti or fusili varieties become available.  I purchase mine at Walmart where I have found the best deal at $2.18 and they have all three varieties.

Tonight, we had spaghetti served with salad and beans.  It is kind of funny how you don't really realize the cost of what you are making until you figure it all out.  My dinner came to approximately $11.22.  That did not include the meat cost since I already knocked that total out of my budget at the beginning of the month.  Besides, you could make the sauce meatless anyway.  It served five and we have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 

Here is my recipe for spaghetti sauce.

SPAGHETTI SAUCE:

1 can tomato paste
1 large can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
4-5 fresh mushrooms or 1 large can (this is what we used)
Onion--chopped
2 cloves of garlic--minced
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent.
Add mushrooms. Saute.
Here, I added cooked hamburger.  You could also use chicken which is Cinnamon's favorite.
Add tomato paste and mix together.
Add tomato sauce and about 1/3 of a can of water.  Mix well.
Add your diced tomatoes.
Season liberally with Italian Seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.

Let the sauce simmer.  Yum! 

The cost of the sauce itself is about $3.50 and the amount of sauce you make is at least double the amount of a store bought jar.  These ingredients were all purchased at regular cost.  You could save even more by purchasing the ingredient on sale or with coupons.

ENJOY!