Frugal Food: Macaroni and Tomatoes

The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.

It is the start of a new week and I am busy planning my to-do list and meals for the week. I admit that I’m not a cooking expert; I grew up not knowing really how to cook. After getting married, I had to learn the hard way. The hard way was to teach myself the lovely art of cooking. There were many disasters in the kitchen, but I learned from them. No one said learning to cook was going to easy. I have come along way though and I’m continuing to learn.

Cooking for two was easy, but it has been harder to come up with meals since my daughter started eating table food. I have spent endless hours online and even more searching through pages and pages of cookbooks. The recipes I choose have to be kid-friendly (not spicy, but simple) and easy on the bank account. Being the frugal mom, I try to use items that we already have or items that I can get at a low price.

The simple meals that are good so far are spaghetti, quesadillas, and macaroni and tomatoes. Macaroni and tomatoes is a relatively easy recipe and the whole family loves it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Here is the recipe:

Macaroni & Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of elbow macaroni (1 cup)
• 1 – 8 ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (drain, if canned)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• Dash pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese (1 ounce)

Directions:

1. In large saucepan cook macaroni in boiling water 6 to 8 minutes or until nearly tender. Drain well and return macaroni to saucepan.
2. Add undrained tomatoes, mushrooms, oregano, and pepper.
3. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until macaroni is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
4. Pour into a serving bowl and sprinkle with cheese.

Makes 6 side-dish servings.

I found this recipe on bhg.com. The ingredients are inexpensive and can be found at your local grocery store.

Cost of Ingredients:

For an extra addition to this recipe, I add a can of chicken breast. I pour the chicken breast into a separate bowl, add some lemon pepper seasoning to it, and then break it into shreds. Then I just add it to the saucepan close to the end and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. I usually double this recipe which makes great leftovers.

I am sure there are other recipes out there that I haven’t seen yet. I am open to trying new recipes, so if you have a good one that you would like to share, send them my way. I would love to try them. For now, I will plan my meals for the week and search for more freezable meals for my deep freezer.

Happy Cooking!