dinner on the cheap- volume four

only one day left to go on my $25 food budget for the week! :)

thursday night- pasta night!

i think it's pretty widely known that spaghetti is one of the all time cheapest meals you can make.  it costs almost nothing!  i always have at least one box of pasta on hand and one jar of sauce, because it is the easiest and tastiest go-to dinner!

i'm no italian pasta pro, but there are a couple of tricks up my sleeve that i pull out for spaghetti night that i think sets it apart.  as soon as i drain the cooked pasta, i ALWAYS toss the noodles in olive oil and garlic powder.  it keeps the pasta from sticking and gives it extra flavor.  my second trick is to add a little spoonful of sugar to my jar of pasta sauce while it's heating on the stove.  i think it cuts the acidity a bit and balances the flavor.  :) now you know!

so tonight i used the rest of my bag of salad and the cucumber from my grocery trip, plus a spare tomato i found lurking in the fridge to make a delicious salad to pair with the pasta.  i also threw some regular old wheat bread in the broiler with butter, garlic, and italian seasoning to make delicious garlic toast points.  that plus my trusty pantry staples of pasta and sauce allowed for a great dinner!

(we ate in the family room tonight so we could watch charlie brown's the great pumpkin on tv! :))

tonight's dinner was super tasty, and i promise i DO have a plan for tomorrow night!  i knew it was possible!  stay tuned!