Frugal Food: Pasta Bolognese
Filed under: Cavewife's Perspective, Frugal Food
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.
One of the things I like to do in my spare time is to read parenting magazines. I love the different articles in the magazine, but the one thing that I love the most is checking out the family-friendly recipes. I’m always up for trying new recipes, especially for a picky toddler and husband who has a hard time eating vegetables. [Ed. note: It's not that I have a hard time, I just don't like them. :) ]
The latest recipe that I came across was for “Pasta bolognese,” which I found in the March 2008 issue of Parenting magazine. It is a simple family-friendly dish that even your older kids can help with. This recipe makes 4 servings and takes about 30 minutes to prepare.
Pasta Bolognese
Ingredients:
- 1 TBS Olive Oil
- 2 Carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 LB Lean Ground Turkey or Beef
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 12-oz bag wide noodles, such as pappardelle, or fettuccine
Directions:
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add ground meat to skillet.
- Cook (stirring and breaking up meat) until the meat is brown and cooked through, about 7 or 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- While the sauce simmers, prepare the pasta as directed on the package. Serve it topped with sauce.
Cost of Ingredients:
| 1 lb Ground Chuck | $ 1.98 |
| 28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes | 0.88 |
| 2 Carrots | 0.10 |
| 12 oz pkg of Fettucine | 0.80 |
| Total Cost | $ 3.76 |
This recipe is easy to make and the great thing is you can sneak in vegetables and your kids won’t even notice the difference. It is similar to spaghetti. I have made this recipe twice and my daughter loved it, the first time I made it. The second time I made this recipe, I added chopped mushrooms (leftover in the fridge), diced fresh tomatoes (from my garden), basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. After spooning out the servings for my family, my husband and I added some Parmesan cheese, garlic, and crushed red pepper to our servings for a little kick.
As always I’m interested in hearing from you about what recipes that you have tried for your family. Feel free to leave me a comment sharing a recipe that you think my family would like.
Happy Cooking!










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