(Not
A Cup of) Noodles
So
you're probably saying “everyone knows how to boil noodles” and
scrolling past this to the recipes, but take the 2 minutes to hear
the basics first. Pasta is very affordable, can be stored uncooked
at room temperature indefinitely, and is an easy thing to eat with
your more expensive ingredients to fill you up. That said, the pasta
can, and should, have some nutritional merits of its own. Whole
wheat pasta is one option for this, but the taste and texture are
different from traditional pasta, and do not work as well in many
dishes, it also is a negligible source of protein. I'd recommend
Barilla Plus pasta.
It is an enriched white pasta, with a fiber content comparable to
whole wheat, and respectable amount of protein (for a carb) too. For
all its nutritional benefits, though, few people can discern any
difference between that and normal pasta, and I've yet to meet anyone
who minds the substitution (not so with whole wheat.) What's the
drawback to this magic stuff? It costs more. Usually 150% to 200%
the cost of normal pasta. That said, its a price difference of about
$1/pound (told you pasta is cheap) and since protein and fiber are
the two keys to getting and staying full, you'll have to eat less to
fill up, so you're getting more bang for the additional buck.
Now that you have
this yellow box of magically enhanced pasta, how do you cook it. The
standard for cooking pasta is 1 lb of pasta, 1 gallon of water, and 1
oz of salt. Anyone who just pulled out a measuring cup needs to
relax a bit. Pasta is pretty tough to mess up; put some water in a
pot, enough that it will more than cover all your pasta (some will
evaporate) and add some salt. The best description I've ever heard
for how much is “a little less than ocean,” then bring it to a
rolling boil (lots of bubbles.) Now might be a good time to put the
strainer in the sink. Throw the pasta in, and at 2 minutes less than
the cooking time specified on the box, pull a bit out with your
slotted spoon, run it under cold water, and taste it. You'll get the
hang of if you like your pasta 'al dente' (firm, ever so slightly
undercooked in the middle) or softer as you go. When it's just a bit
firmer than you'd like (its hot and will keep cooking for a moment
after you take it out) pour it into the strainer you already put in
the sink, being careful not to put your face directly over it,
because the steam will rise and could burn you if you do. I'll skip
the explanation of why, but trust me, you should rinse the pasta,
it's already in the sink anyway, not like it's hard. Cold water will
stop cooking and cool the pasta, perfect if you're going to use it
for something else, or already overcooked it a bit and don't want it
too smushy. Warm water will keep it warm, and is good if you're
about to eat it.
A few other things
I've been asked about. Yes, you can definitely add more than salt to
the water, and it will have a small effect on the flavor. That's the
only chance you'll get to flavor the actual pasta, everything else
will be a flavor on top of it. So if you are using herbs or spice in
your sauce (thyme, bay leaves, etc.) you can throw a bit in the
water. But it's not at all mandatory, just a matter of preference.
If you aren't adding any sauce to your pasta, and want to keep it
from sticking without the calories or flavor of adding oil or butter,
pull some of the water its cooking in out right before you strain it.
This water will be full of the starch molecules that the pasta
released, and re-tossing the rinsed pasta in that water will keep it
moist and help prevent sticking. Now, onto some recipies:
Ragu ain't got nothing on you
I taught my sister
about this when she got her first apartment and was worried that she
wouldn't be able to make anything but the pasta with jarred sauce my
dad always served, and that that wasn't enough nutrition. I think
she ate this at least 3 times a week, but she has neither gone broke
nor starved, so that is the best endorsement I can give you.
The
idea of this dish is to fill up on cheap pasta, let the good people
at Ragu do most of the heavy lifting, but still get fresh vegetables
and protein. How do you do this? By adding your own stuff to a
99-cent jar or can of pasta sauce. You can add pretty much any meat
or vegetable that strikes your fancy, but this is a good, simple,
easy starting place, and a meal that should make you 2-5 servings,
and cost $10-15 depending on where you get your groceries. It will
take about 15 minutes of work, and about 25 minutes to make. I'm
going to tell you how to make the sauce, you can then mix that on
pasta whenever you want.
What You'll
Need:
1 yellow onion
minced garlic
oil
Green pepper
Other veggies
as desired
Meat of your
choice
Jar of tomato
sauce
Pasta
Cut a yellow onion
into smallish pieces. Sidenote on cutting an onion easily (if anyone
has a sidenote on putting pictures or videos online easily I'll
upload some.) Cut the ends off the onion first. It will now stand
straight up and down on your cutting board, and you'll be able to
slice it in half easily. From there, lay the large flat side on the
cutting board, the peel will come off easily, and you will have a
clean onion flat on the board to cut from there. As Donkey taught
us, onions have layers: the idea is to use those to your advantage.
Making cuts parallel to the un-cut side will give you a sliced onion.
If you want it diced (in this case, you probably do) hold it
together as best you can, then turn the strips 90% (or rotate the
cutting board) and cut in that direction.
Heat some (1-2
teaspoons, again, no need to measure) oil in a frying pan over
medium-low heat. Add about half a teaspoon of minced garlic and the
onion. Stir it around, lay it out flat, and leave it. While it's
cooking, cut up a green pepper, then throw that in, and add a bit of
ground black pepper. You can add other veggies here if you'd like as
well. Suggestions: mushrooms, fresh or canned diced tomatoes,
spinach (you don't have to cut it, it will wilt in the frying pan and
shrink to a nice, bite sized pieces). Like it spicy? Cut some hot
peppers very small and add them. Let it all cook on a low heat until
it's soft. (too high a heat will make the outside dark before the
inside cooks).
After this you can
add your choice of protein. Any store bought sausage, pepperoni,
tofu product (I know, most of my friends are yelling blasphemy, but
it's very cheap, and the point of this is to grab the cheapest thing
you like and exert very little effort), or cooked chicken will be
easiest, just cut it into bite sized pieces and throw it in. If
you're getting sausage look for ones that say nitrate-free if
possible (no added nitrates is NOT the same thing) though that
usually means some kind of fake turkey sausage. Nitrates are not
healthy, but again, that's a matter of preference. You could also
add ground beef at this stage, if you want fresh meat, add salt and
pepper, and just stir it in the pan with the vegetables until its
turned from pink to gray. Then pour a jar of tomato sauce over the
whole mess, and you'll have your very own “home made” meat and
vegetable sauce. Divide it into bowls, Tupperware, or Ziploc bags so
that each one is what you'd consider a single serving. You can also
put most of it right back into the jar the pasta sauce came in, to
save on containers. You can either refrigerate or freeze it as is,
or add pasta first. It will last 4-6 days in the fridge, and for
months in the freezer. You can reheat it in the microwave.
Mix this sauce
with whatever shape of pasta strikes your fancy (or is on sale) add
some grated Parmesan cheese (optional) and enjoy. ***If you want to
eat this right away, put water on to boil first, add the pasta when
its ready, and make your sauce/veggies while the pasta cooks.
Basic Pasta Casserole
This dish is
basically an easy variation on baked ziti. You can do a lot with it
once you get used to what you're doing, just start simple and as you
feel more comfortable you can play around with it. The idea is to
use sauce to keep the dish moist, cheese to keep it all together, and
then add whatever else you want/have lying around.
Effort time: 15
minutes, total time, 1 hr 30 mins.
What You'll
Need
Pasta
Tomato Sauce
Ricotta Cheese
Shredded Cheese
Other meat/veggies as desired
Start with a pound of whatever shape of pasta strikes your fancy
other than the long ones (spaghetti, linguine, etc.) Cook it, rinse
it with cold water until you can comfortably touch it and there's no
more steam, shake it dry and put it in your mixing bowl. Add tomato
sauce, starting with about half a jar, and mix until all the pasta is
lightly coated. Mix in at least 8 oz ricotta cheese (low fat or fat
free is totally acceptable) and at least 6 oz shredded cheese
(mozzerella, swiss, jarlsberg, or any other italian flavor or blend).
At this point you can throw it into a lightly greased baking pan,
and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until firm, but there are
lots of other things you can do as well.
You
can add any cooked or raw veggies you'd like. Cooking them first
will make them soft and subtle in the dish, sneaking nutrition where
you wouldn't otherwise get it. Adding big pieces of tomato will make
it moist and have a stronger tomato flavor, but I would advise adding
them before the sauce, and using less sauce so it isn't
super-liquidy. You can also add way more cheese if you'd like,
including putting a cheese layer on top like a pizza. Breadcrumbs
can be sprinkled on top for crunch. Parmesan cheese can be added at
any point in the process Any cooked meat can be mixed in as well,
just cut it into bite sized pieces and stir it in. Make any
additions (other than a top layer) while its in the bowl. Once its
in the pan you can leave it for up to a day before baking it the
first time, if you want to prep in advance.
Once it's done the dish will keep refrigerated for 4-6 days, or you
can freeze single serving amounts to be microwaved later, or eaten
cold. (They will reheat fine in the oven, I'm just assuming you want
quick and easy.)
If you want to have friends over for dinner this is a great thing to
make that will feed everyone. I'd pair it with rolls or garlic
bread, and a salad or other vegetable dish. The pasta will keep
everyone full, the bread dresses the meal up nicely, and vegetables
are a nice and nutritious accompaniment that you won't need to spend
too much on, because people will tend to eat much more of the pasta
than they do the healthy stuff.
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