Tracy
What's your favorite cheap go-to meal?With all the grim reports coming from the TV news lately: "Doom! Despair! Run! Hide!"---- plunking down $25+ on take-out for my little family of four just doesn't seem right.
But since the kiddos and I don't hit the front door until around 5:45 p.m. each night, whatever dinner costs, it's gotta be fast.
One of the ways foodie internet sites and magazines tell us we can cut our meal budget is to have at least two or more meatless nights per week. Moving "brunch time" to 6:15 p.m. or so is one way to fit the bill.
One of my favorite ways to stretch our food buck and to appease my breakfast-loving son is to have pancakes and the like for dinner once in awhile. A luscious omlette with cheese and veggies is also comforting, quick and inexpensive.
But I've been doing the breakfast-for-dinner thing at least two or three times a month for awhile, so I've been looking for other ways to serve something meatless (or at least something with meat not as the main feature) and fast.
Various noodle dishes are usually a hit around here,too, and certainly cheap enough to make, but I get tired of the same ol' marinara and spaghetti.
I saw this lightened-up version of Alfredo sauce on Cooking Light's website. It's great on its own over whole grain fettucine or penne, but I also like to add mushrooms sauteed with a handful of baby spinach leaves, and even a bit of crispy bacon. And it comes together almost as quickly as nuking a jar of Newman's Sockarooni sauce (although that's what H and I lived on early in the marriage and still dearly love).
You'll need:
About 2-3 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese
1 tbsp butter
1tbsp all-purpose flour
1 and 1/3 cups lowfat milk
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus a little extra for the table)
2 minced garlic cloves (I use a couple teaspoons of the bottled, pre-minced stuff)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
About 8 oz hot cooked pasta (linguine, fettucine or penne work best)
Melt butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook about one minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in flour until blended, then gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Keep stirring and cooking for about 5-6 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Add cream cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and whisk until cheese melts. Toss with the cooked pasta and serve w/extra parmesan.
*Yummy variation: At my house I typically cook a few slices of chopped bacon in a separate skillet , then remove it from pan, and drain all the drippings except about one tbsp. Then I cook about 1/2 chopped onion until soft, then throw in a couple handfuls (about a cup) baby spinach leaves and 8 oz sliced mushrooms, then stir until the mushrooms are cooked and the spinach is wilted. Then I toss the veggies and bacon in with the Alfredo sauce.
So, Dawn! What's your go-to meal when your wallet is screaming for mercy and time is tight?
what i did this week
dawn
well tracy, let's just say my wallet is always screaming for mercy! actually, i think it needs an absolution at this point . but for us, one of our favorites is butternut squash chili which i happened to cook this weekend. it's cheap, it's super yummy and it stretches to several meals. three things that are good. very, very good.
i also baked these cheese wafers to have with the chili. in fact tracy, you gave this to me. do you remember where you got it?
Hey Dawn---I picked these up in the freezer section of our beloved Fresh Market (the one off Providence). What a great idea to have them with your chili!
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