Day 127 - cooking pasta

Again, I have nothing interesting to talk about today, unless you find revising work interesting. So to let's talk about cooking then - cooking pasta. Again, cooking can be fast, quick nutritious and cheap.

Ingredients I'm using - Courgettes / Zucchini, carrots, peas and basil leaves from the resilient pot at my window. I'm adding chicken meatballs as well this time as it was on offer!

First, boil your pasta. If your meatballs aren't cook yet, cook it first. Then on HIGH heat, brown the courgettes / zucchini.

Next, dump in the rest of our vegetables until it is half cooked.

Dump in your cooked meatballs. Then, turn your heat to MEDIUM.

Dump in your passata, just enough to coat the vegetables. Remember, must be LOW/MEDIUM heat, or it will start spurting around your stove.

Next, dump in your cooked pasta. Al Dente, super soft, whatever your preference, but make sure you boil in SALTED water. Mix everything well and season. Depending on the passata/puree/chopped tomatoes you use, there can be a tendency for a tart taste. Balance it with a bit of sugar. A BIT hor, we're not making desserts here!

The LAST thing to add is your basil leaves. You could julienne them if it is big, but I had to clear the small ones for the growth of the plant. So I didn't julienne them. Mix.

Serve!

Time Taken (Preparation + Cooking) - 5 + 15 mins

Cost breakdown (All prices, except curry leaves, are from Waitrose)
Frozen Peas - £0.11 (30 servings for a big bag at £3.30)
1 carrot - £0.038 ( 6 carrots for £0.23)
Courgettes/Zucchini - £0.10 (3 servings from 1 for £0.30)
Chicken/Turkey Meat balls - £0.20 (14 servings from 2 boxes at buy 1 get 1 free for £2.68)
Passata- £0.116 (7 servings from a bottle for £0.81)
Basil Leaves - More or less Free
Condiments - £0.10 (salt, sugar, oil)
Penne Pasta - £0.063 (30 servings from a 1kg bag for £1.90)

TOTAL - £0.78

A nutritious good meal for less than £1! You can vary the ingredients according to your preferences (please do so.)