simple portabella pasta

My favorite recipes are those that feature just a few ingredients so that the subtle and intricate flavors are not lost. ...not to mention, they're just easier to make! ;)

Nearly every time I go to the grocery store I look at the portabella mushrooms longingly. They're so good, but so expensive. This time I decided to take the plunge. I figured I could just employ the basic budget bytes principle of combining expensive ingredients with bulkier inexpensive ingredients to keep the cost down. Well, it worked marvelously!

If you have the option to buy the portabella caps loose (by the pound) rather than packaged, you're likely to get a better deal. My grocery store sells them both ways, $5.99 for a package of three small-ish caps, or $5.99/lb. Portabella mushrooms are very light and spongy, so they don't weigh a lot. I got two large caps for just $2.70. Of course, weigh them out first and compare.

This pasta is super simple, but packed with flavor. Rich portabella mushrooms give a deep earthy flavor, while garlic, thyme, parmesan, and a splash of red wine vinegar add zing. All that marvelous flavor grabs a hold of the pasta and rides right into your happy mouth. Your very, very happy mouth.

Want to take it a step further? Try adding either spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, or goat cheese. They all go marvelously with portabella mushrooms.

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zesty tomato & artichoke pasta

THANK YOU, dear Anonymous, who left a comment on the (not) Sun Dried Tomato Sauce recipe last night about adding artichoke hearts and making a "pantry meal" out of the sauce! I wasn't sure what I was going to cook today until I saw that comment and thought, "YES. That's exactly what I feel like eating!" All I had to buy was some tomato paste and a can of artichoke hearts, and the rest I had on hand! Love it!

This pasta is super fast and easy, and is just bursting with flavor. The secret is the (not) Sun Dried Tomato Sauce, which is basically tomato paste, olive oil, and a bunch of herbs. The zesty, herbal sauce perfectly coats the pasta, artichoke hearts, and spinach, adding flavor to every single nook and cranny available. I like to use bow tie pasta for this, because I find it difficult to stir other ingredients into long pasta, like spaghetti.

I sprinkled a little parmesan cheese over top of each bowl, but that's completely optional. In fact, this makes quite a delicious vegan pasta dish if you skip the parmesan!

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tuna noodle casserole with olives & spinach

I'll be honest, I really wasn't sure I was going to post this recipe because it ended up being a lot more "involved" than I expected. But, after eating it for lunch and then wanting more once I got home from work, I figured all of the work and dirty dishes were worth it!

This recipe for Grown-Up Tuna Noodle Casserole landed in my mailbox courtesy of Thekitchn.com the other day and it looked so yummy that I thought I'd give it a shot. The only tuna noodle casserole that I've ever had was super creamy, rich, and gooey. I'm pretty sure there were a few cans of "cream of" soup in there. This casserole is not that. It uses a real, homemade white sauce (bechamel) and real mushrooms instead of the canned stuff. It's creamy, but not so much that it sits like a rock in the bottom of your stomach. I used The Kitchn recipe as a guide, but kinda winged it from there.

I had some leftover ingredients that I wanted to use up, so I tossed in some frozen spinach and kalamata olives. They're completely optional, but I love how they work in this dish. The spinach adds veggie goodness and balances the heaviness, while the kalamata olives add a pop of saltiness. The Kitchn version uses capers instead of olives, but for the same effect.

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creamy spinach & sausage pasta

I saw this recipe over at Kevin & Amanda the other day and immediately knew that I wanted to make it. Of course, I made some changes to fit the ingredients I had on hand and my personal preferences. The bones of the recipe, though, are perfect. It's a one skillet meal, it cooks in about 30 minutes, and it's got everything I want (pasta, meat, vegetables, and cheese). That's a winner in my book.

I nixed the heavy cream in the original recipe because I figured that between the cheese and sausage, there'd be plenty of fat/creaminess going on, and I was right. The end result was rich, but not so much so that you'll get a belly ache. I also added fresh spinach because I have a HUGE bag in my fridge just waiting to be used up. Plus, I felt that the recipe needed a little green.

Some other vegetable options for this recipe are bell peppers or broccoli. Both go great with smoked sausage. If you want to add bell peppers, cut them into thin strips and saute them with the onions in the beginning. If you want to add broccoli, cut it into very small florets and add it with the pasta so that it can simmer a little bit and soften. There are so many different ways you can take this recipe... I'm excited to hear what you come up with!

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kale & pasta salad

The moment I saw this recipe over at Kalyn's Kitchen, I knew I had to make it and share it with all of you. It fits the Budget Bytes formula to a "T". Take a few expensive/flavorful ingredients (olives, tomatoes & feta) and bulk them out with inexpensive ingredients (kale & pasta) to bring the cost per serving down. It works every time!

I made a few changes to the original (check the original recipe out too, because it looks awesome) to fit my budget and what I had on hand. I made a basic red wine vinaigrette instead of a pesto dressing, used sun dried tomatoes instead of fresh, and left the kale pretty much raw. Oh, and I didn't use whole wheat pasta, but only because I wanted these little "flower" shaped ones that reminded me of the curly kale leaves :)

If you don't want the kale to be raw, you can simply pour the boiling water and pasta right on top of the kale in the colander when you drain it. The hot water will wilt the kale in the process. Two birds with one stone!

Or, say you don't like kale. You can totally do this salad with regular green leaf lettuce, but you won't want that to wilt at all, so make sure your pasta is sufficiently drained and cooled before you combine the two.

Anyway, this salad was a hit in my book. Loved it so much that I almost choked to death on a kale leaf while scarfing it down. True story.

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jalapeno popper mac & cheese

Can I single handedly undo all of the healthy things I accomplished with the Quinoa and Black Bean Tacos? Challenge accepted. (I know, it's like I have split food personalities sometimes.)

This is a super ooey-gooey white cheese mac with spicy jalapenos and zesty green chiles. I could have made it more "popper" like by topping it with some buttered bread crumbs and baking it in the oven, but I'm a little impatient when it comes to mac and cheese. If I just finished cooking it on the stove top, I really don't want to wait another half hour for it to come out of the oven (am I right?). I also contemplated topping it with bits of crisp bacon, but again that would have delayed my enjoyment of this creamy delight. But those are both tasty options if you've got time to spare.

This mac n cheese whips up really fast and doesn't require a roux based cheese sauce, which can be tricky for new cooks (or just those new to cheese sauces). It's super rich, so I estimated a serving to be just a cup. That's all I needed before the cheese sensors in my brain quieted down and drifted into a satiated slumber.

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chicken enchilada pasta

This is a super easy, quick fix for dinner. I made the basic version with just chicken, pasta, sauce, and cheese, but you could get really creative with the add-ins. Try black beans, corn, green chiles, or anything else that usually goes good in enchiladas. I'm sure you could even make this into a delicious vegetable enchilada pasta, too! Saute up some squash and other veggies instead of the chicken and you're good to go!

I used homemade enchilada sauce, which only takes a few minutes to make, tastes better, and costs much less than store bought. Of course, you could always use canned instead, but at least check out the recipe because it's super easy. You could also use shredded rotisserie chicken for this if you don't have chicken breasts.

I got a couple of good deals that also helped keep the price of the recipe low. 1) This is chicken that I had in my freezer from when it was on sale for less than $2 per pound. 2) The pasta was on sale $1/lb. Both of those ingredients are things you can stock up on when they're on sale and then save for later. Always keep your eyes open for deals like that when you're in the store because taking advantage of them will save you a lot in the long run. You just have to remember to actually use it later ;)

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baked spaghetti with sausage

I never really understood the point of baking spaghetti... it just seemed like an extra step that stood between me and eating it. But, there's something about a hot, cheesy casserole straight out of the oven that is extra comforting.

Now that I've baked my spaghetti, I totally get it. Baking it in the oven not only lets the cheese get all gooey, but it lets the spaghetti soak up some flavor from the sauce and get all deeeelicious. It's worth the extra 30 minutes.

I made a quick meat sauce using Italian sausage, which is heavily seasoned and provided all of the herbs and spices that were needed to flavor the sauce. If you want to make a vegetarian version of this (with say, mushrooms and green peppers) be sure to add a good tablespoon or so of Italian seasoning blend to make up for the missing spices in the sausage.

This recipe is perfect for freezing, so pack up half of it and save it for a rainy day when you want something warm and comforting!

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tangy tomato pasta

If you're in the need of a super quick and easy side dish, this might be the one for you.

I wanted something really fast and easy tonight so I turned to my pantry. I had some pasta, some tomato paste, and I knew I had some feta in the fridge. Easy. I'll just mix up a batch of my (not) sun dried tomato sauce, toss some pasta in it, crumble on a little feta for extra oomph, and I'll be good to go!

I halved the olive oil from the original (not) sun dried tomato sauce, which helped it stick to the pasta better. If you have some fresh herbs (parsley or basil), add it in for color and a pop of freshness. If you need something a little more hearty, try adding in some sauteed and sliced Italian sausage links. Pair this with some garlic bread and maybe some roasted broccoli and you've got a nice, light dinner!

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spinach tortellini soup

Aaaannnd WE'RE BACK! Yesss! I have electricity again! :D Life is good.

For my first recipe after over a week of hiatus, I wanted to start with something super fast and easy. I had to replace everything in my refrigerator and freezer, so I wanted to make something that didn't require a lot of ingredients and that I could use to stock up my freezer. This soup was perfect.

My grocery store has cheese tortellini in three areas: dry pasta goods, the freezer aisle, and near the dairy with other fresh pastas. I checked all three places and the frozen cheese tortellini was by far the most inexpensive. You will probably want to do some price comparing on your own.

I'll admit, this soup is not super heavy on the tortellini. Because it's the most expensive ingredient, I went light with it. Each bowl (2 cups of soup) had about 5 or 6 tortellini in it. If you want to beef this soup up on the cheap, try adding a cup of plain pasta (uncooked). I would go with something small, like orzo or those tiny, short tubes.

Instead of adding extra pasta, I served mine with some crusty french bread to sop up the rest of the rich tomatoey sauce. I also tried a little parmesan sprinkled on top and that was fantastic!


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taco stuffed shells

But Mom! Everyone else is doing it!

I don't know who the first person was to stuff pasta shells with taco fillings, but it's definitely a good idea. I kept seeing taco shells around the internet, so I had to make some, Budget Bytes style.

I made this recipe affordable by using homemade enchilada sauce (takes less than ten minutes), homemade taco seasoning (takes about two minutes), and beans cooked from dry in my slow cooker (cooked ahead of time and kept in the freezer until used). It took a little thinking ahead, but it definitely saved some bucks.

This recipe ended up being a little more work than I anticipated and I dirtied more dishes than I like to, but in the end it was well worth it. It made a HUGE batch of ten large servings, nearly all of which went into my freezer. I've been eating these amazing shells for almost a week now and have yet to get tired of them!

I didn't realize that the ground beef I bought was in a 1.5 lb. package instead of just one pound, so thats part of why it made so much. You could also do this with just beans and no meat if you want it even less expensive!

I paired this with some cilantro lime rice and I was a happy, happy girl.

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dragon noodles

Ooooh lawdie. This is my new favorite quick fix! It takes about 15 minutes, is totally rich, flavorful, and SUPER SPICY. Like, "burn a hole through your stomach" spicy. Call me crazy, but sometimes I want that. No, I crave that.

So, this one goes out to all of you heat seekers!

The simple sauce for this recipe uses only pantry staples and perfectly balances sweet, salty, and spicy. The richness of the butter helps smooth everything out, cilantro adds a fresh note, and the green onions lend a savory back note. It all just works and it happens to be incredibly simple. That's what I'm talkin' about.

I made a small two serving batch because I just wanted something quick and easy. You could easily scale this up, if needed. If you want a heartier dish, try using two eggs rather than just one. Also, I used two tablespoons of butter, which made for a very rich and delicious sauce, but I suspect that it would still be amazing if you cut the butter in half.

If you can't find the same noodles that I used, don't fret. You could make this with ramen type noodles or even regular linguine. The noodles are just the vehicle for all of the other yummy ingredients!

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jewel pasta

I LOVE simple pasta dishes. They're quick, easy, and just plain satisfying (see tuna & red pepper pasta). After all, why make things more complicated than they have to be?

I called this "jewel" pasta because the little bits of dried fruit turn into glistening, semi-transparent jewel-like nuggets after being sauteed in butter - so totally pretty. Fruit and pasta might sound weird, but they provide just a hint of sweetness to this otherwise savory dish. The recipe starts with a classic pasta backbone of garlic, butter, and parmesan and then adds nuts for texture and the fruit for sweetness. I added parsley because I love the color pop, but that's optional.

A basic fruit and nut trail mix is what you want to use here. Nothing with chocolate or those little sesame cracker type things, just straight dried fruit and nuts. Sesame seeds or pepitas are okay to have in the mix too. Basic trail mixes like this are usually pretty inexpensive. I picked one up at Target but upon inspecting the bag, I noticed that it was pretty much ALL fruit. So, I also bought a small tin of mixed nuts and just combined the two (and added the prices together for the cost break down). Bulk bins are a also a great place to find inexpensive trail mix.

P.S. Stirring small pieces of food into pasta is extremely difficult and I don't know why I keep trying to do it. If you've never tried, the pasta tends to clump into a ball with all of your other ingredients falling behind. To eliminate this problem, you can make this dish with a different pasta shape, like maybe orzo.


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creamy garden vegetable pasta salad

It's HOT outside. Seriously so. I can still handle eating hot food up until about the 90 degree mark, but when it's in the upper 90's ever day and as steamy as a Roman bath house, I barely want to eat, let alone eat something hot.

So, yesterday I whipped up this delicious vegetable pasta salad. I knew I was in serious need of some veggies, so I made this pasta salad really heavy on vegetables and just used the pasta to kind of fill it out. I wanted something creamy to really satisfy my hunger, but I used my secret mix of ingredients to make a nearly guilt-free ranch-esque dressing. It turned out perfect - totally satisfying but secretly light and fresh.

I used light mayo (only Hellman's or Blue Plate will do, IMHO) and low fat buttermilk for the dressing. In a lot of recipes you can simply replace buttermilk with milk and vinegar or lemon juice, but I wouldn't suggest that here. In this recipe the buttermilk is not only used for its acidity, but also its unique flavor and thickness. Using regular milk with either lemon juice or vinegar mixed in does not have the creamy thickness or flavor of buttermilk. Another option would be to use a mix of plain yogurt and mayonnaise. It will still be lacking that classic buttermilk flavor, but at least it will be thick. ...but you've gotta try the buttermilk if you can, it's awesome!

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miracle mac n' cheese

It's a miracle. Macaroni and cheese that is smooth, creamy, and gooey, is made in one pot, requires only a few ingredients, and is every bit as easy as the blue box. I'm serious. Seriously serious.

I've seen versions of this recipe around the internet for a while and I really don't know what took me so long to try it out, but thank god I finally did. This is going to be a new staple in my house and if you're a fan of mac n' cheese then you MUST try this today.

Why does it work? Well, if you're familiar with regular macaroni and cheese recipes, then you know you have to go through the whole bechamel sauce process, which can be tedious and absolutely terrifying to new cooks. The roux in the bechamel sauce is what helps the cheese melt into the sauce rather than sticking together in one big, melted clump. It's those tiny flour particles that keep everything uniform and smooth. Wellll, this recipe has a short cut version of that. By simmering the pasta in the milk, all of those little starch particles that usually make your pasta water cloudy are in the milk acting just like the flour in the bechamel sauce!! It's a one step process! BINGO!

Anyway, when I came across this recipe on pinterest and saw the process for the 100th time, I finally decided to give it a try. ...and I hope I've convinced you to do the same today.

I used sharp cheddar and I've found that cheddar melts in better than other cheeses. I seasoned with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and a bit of dijon, but you can use your own blend. Onion or garlic powder would make a nice, subtle mac n' cheese and a dash of hot sauce will add a zing. Use your taste buds to make it your own!

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chili cheese beef n mac

WARNING: Comfort food ahead! This dish contains pasta, beef, and cheese. It's hearty and delicious. Proceed at your own risk! ;)

Say you grew up on Hamburger Helper (no shame), but now that you're an adult and all classy and stuff, you just can't bring yourself to buy one of those cardboard boxes with the mystery powdered cheese sauce. THIS recipe is your grown up "I actually know how to cook now" substitute!

This recipe is still really easy, really fast, and only requires one pot. Like Hamburger Helper, it's hearty and rich, so I would suggest serving it with a sizable side of something green. I'm going for some simple steamed broccoli with just a pinch of salt and pepper. Broccoli pairs famously with both beef and cheese, so it's a natural.

If this recipe is still too rich and cheesy for your tastes, stay tuned. I'm sure that by the weekend I'll be in the mood for something super light, fresh, and uber healthy! It's the yin and the yang y'all!

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roasted garlic pasta salad

This pasta salad is super easy to throw together and is surprisingly filling! I was also really happy with how creamy and delicious it was, despite the fact that I used part-skim ricotta. It looks and tastes like a really creamy, guilt-inducing pasta salad, when really it's quite innocent!

Half of the reason that I wanted to make this pasta salad is that I wanted to try out a technique that I've been seeing around the internet: roasting garlic in the microwave. I ruined one head of garlic in the process, but I think I got it right after that. The end result isn't as caramelized as real, oven roasted garlic, but the flavor is definitely good enough to make this technique worth it when you're in a hurry. Roasting garlic in an oven can take almost an hour and this only takes 2 minutes - literally!

There are a few different techniques that I've seen, some microwaving for a minute or so, and some for up to 8 minutes (with water added), but I found 2 minutes with no water to be just right for me. I'm sure every microwave is different and each head of garlic will require a slightly different amount of time to cook, so I suggest microwaving in small, one minute increments until you get the technique just right. You want the garlic to be soft, and very fragrant, not brown and hard. Microwaving past the point of softness will only lead you down the road to burnville, and believe me, it doesn't taste or smell pretty!

Oh, one more thing. If you have access to inexpensive fresh basil, it would be to-die-for in this recipe. Just add it on in with the spinach or even in place of the spinach!

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spinach artichoke lasagna

I love lasagna, but I rarely, rarely ever make it. Why? Because it just seems like so much work. You've got to cook the ingredients, put them together, and then cook them again! Nah, that's too much work.

But then I threw together this really super simple spinach lasagna last weekend and I've changed my tune! Why was it so much easier? I used "no boil" noodles, homemade marinara sauce that I had in my freezer, and a meatless filling required no pre-cooking. I literally just mixed it, layered it, and then just threw it in the oven. Sure, it still needed to bake for an hour, but it was totally worth the wait.

Of course, if you don't have homemade marinara sauce waiting in your freezer, you can use a jarred sauce from the store (and then be sure to make some homemade marinara so you're prepared next time). Also, some people don't like the texture of no-boil lasagna noodles because they tend to be a bit gummier, so you can certainly boil some regular lasagna noodles and use them instead.

Oh, and if you do want meat in your lasagna, I would suggest browning some Italian sausage or ground beef in a skillet, and then adding it to the marinara sauce before beginning the layering process.

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parsley pesto pasta

Who doesn't love pesto, right? It's rich, flavorful, and it can turn something completely boring (like pasta) into something spectacular. The only problem is that it's full of expensive ingredients (fresh herbs, pine nuts, olive oil, cheese, etc.). So, I've made this simplified "beggar's pesto" to satisfy my cravings.

I can usually get parsley for less than a dollar per bunch so I substituted it for the usual basil. Parsley still lends a bright, fresh flavor, which is needed to balance the rich olive oil and zesty garlic. I skipped the pine nuts all together, but you can also try using about a half cup of walnuts if you've got a few dollars to spare. Try to buy the walnuts from bulk bins so that you only have to buy the small amount that you need. I actually forgot to buy a fresh lemon, so I used some lemon juice that I had in my fridge. You can use the juice from one whole lemon and also add in the zest for more flavor.

This recipe is really quick and easy, and makes a ton. It makes 8 side dish sized servings (2 oz. pasta each), or 4-6 main dish servings. Add some grilled chicken and a fresh side salad for a complete meal! Also, check the bottom of the post for a few variation ideas.


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chicken yakisoba

Let me first say that I'm sure this is not authentic yakisoba. I've never eaten yakisoba on the streets of Japan, but I have seen Mark Bittman make this yakisoba on his show, The Minimalist, and I knew I had to make some.

It looked easy, it had tons of vegetables, and the sauce looked like an interesting combination of salty, sweet, tangy, and spicy. I've grown tired of my usual teriyaki sauce that I use on most of Asian dishes, so this was a nice deviation. The sauce contains worcestershire and ketchup, which truly does offer a unique flavor. I used a whole tablespoon of sriracha in my sauce, but as you may know by now, I like things spicy. If you're not into spicy, you can leave that out all together or just add a dash or two of sriracha or any hot sauce. I suggest using at least a little because it does add some flavor and if you use just a bit, the heat won't even be detectable.

I will admit that I may have overcooked my vegetables and noodles, but guess what? It was still so freaking delicious that I couldn't wait until I was finished photographing to eat a bowl. You gotta try this stuff!

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