Garden Pasta

This is one of the easiest dishes in the entire history of Casual Kitchen. It takes just 15 minutes to prepare, and with its simple and suprisingly powerful fresh garden flavors, this recipe is one the best I've featured so far this year.

Not only that, but you can make this dish for a total cost of about $1.50. A buck fifty!

I know I keep harping on this, but the idea that "healthy food has to be expensive" is nothing more than a ludicrous fiction. Yes, you can eat healthy, delicious meals at home with simple, easy to obtain ingredients--and you do not have to spend a lot of time or money.

Make this incredible recipe and you'll see exactly what I mean.
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Garden Pasta

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
About 1 cup grated carrot (one medium to large carrot)
About 1 cup grated zucchini (a smallish zucchini will suffice)
About 1/2 pound linguine, fettucine or spaghetti
Black pepper to taste
Optional: parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:
1) Cook pasta according to directions. While pasta is cooking, mince/press the garlic and grate the carrot and zucchini (use the coarsest holes in a simple hand grater).

2) Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, non stick pan. Add the garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add the grated carrot and zucchini and saute for 3-4 minutes.

3) Drain pasta, and while still hot, combine with the sauteed carrot, zucchini and garlic. Add a few shakes of black pepper and serve with optional parmesan cheese.

Serves 3. Can be easily doubled.
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Finally, a quick itemization of the key cost components of this dish:

1/2 pound pasta: 50-75c
1 carrot: 20c
small zucchini: 50c
garlic cloves: 10c
Total cost: $1.30-1.55, or around 50c a serving.


Related Posts:
The 25 Best Laughably Cheap Recipes at Casual Kitchen
Five Laughably Easy Timesaving Tips in the Kitchen
Eight Tips to Make Cooking At Home Laughably Cheap
Glossary of Casual Kitchen Memes

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8 comments:

BG said...

Nice one! Seems easy and yummy :) Thanks!

btw: There is one minor mistake in the recipe: In step two you add garlic twice... I guess the second time it's supposed to be carrots and zucchini.

Daniel said...

Thanks BG! Fixed it. Yes, you're correct, I mean to write "carrot" there rather than garlic. Great catch.

DK

Colleen said...

Daniel,
I agree completely! So many people think that to eat healthy they do have to spend a lot of money. I find we eat healthier the less we spend and the food is delicious! The processed foods are gone as is as much of the HFC as I have caught. I cook dinner almost every night and my grocery bills have never been lower.

I love the fact that this recipe is so simple and fast! Would you mind if I link it with my blog?

Daniel said...

I don't mind at all Colleen! Go for it. Links are the currency of the internet. Glad you liked it!

DK

Marcia said...

You forgot your olive oil in the calculations! But still, a great cheap dish.

Daniel said...

Hi Marcia! Yes, you're right! I left out olive oil. Nice catch.

To be honest, I struggle with how to measure and calculate pantry items like that. If you buy your olive oil in scale (we buy by the three-liter jug), 1/4 cup (call it 60ml) would work out to something like 20-25c if my math is right.

With other pantry items (e.g., black pepper in this recipe) the cost of the amount used is immaterial. But with olive oil, you have a point.

DK

eyehalley said...

Yum.
I re-posted you here:
http://eyehalley.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/zucchini-and-carrot-pasta/
with my very minor variations.
Another great recipe. Thank you.

Daniel said...

I like your variations. Glad you enjoyed it!

DK