thrifty eating

Working on lowering the average cost per meal per week/month.
While remaining mostly healthy (aka, not buying junk food just because it's cheaper)

First, I'm going to attempt to track it.
I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Baked Penne recipe

Baked Penne 
(This is a post from my friend Shannon's blog.... this looks so yummy, I sure do want to try it!!!)

This is my take on baked ziti.  I used penne, not because I like it more, but because it tends to be easier to find in whole wheat rather than other pasta shapes.  The meat here is purely optional, I made two trays with meat (a combination of ground beef and Italian turkey sausage), and a tray with just cheese, and they were all equally good.  Jeremy and I both loved this, it has the great flavor of lasagna, with a few less steps, and a shorter cooking time.


-1 lb whole wheat penne, cooked al dente
-1 lb meat, either lean ground beef, or Italian turkey sausage, or a combination of both
-32 oz marinara sauce (homemade or jarred)
-24 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
-1 egg
-1 lb part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded


Cook meat over medium heat.  Drain.  Combine meat and sauce.  In a separate bowl, mix together ricotta, 8 oz mozzarella, egg, 2 cups of the meat sauce, and the cooked penne.  Spread mixture into a greased 13x9 pan.  Top with remaining sauce, then with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Baked Pears

BAKED PEARS
4 pears, cut in halves and skinned 4 tbsp. butter 1/3 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place fresh pear halves or canned halves in baking dish or pie pan. Brush halves generously with butter. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture atop halves. Bake 8-10 minutes.

....maybe tomorrow... :)