Tasty on a Budget: Fun with Pasta (Beet Greens Carbonara, Penne with Parmesan Sauce)

Alright, let's be honest. I may have talked last post about my desire to get away from pasta sometimes--and not without good reason--but all a week without it did is sharpen my desire to have it again. And in any event, the cause of  Pasta Monotony lies not so much with pasta, but with that red menace, jarred tomato sauce. It can be a lifesaver of course--it's a quick easy way to make 50 cents worth of pasta and 50 cents worth of vegetables and/or meat taste pretty good, and so long as the other stuff you toss in is tasty enough and you don't do it too often, there's no reason for it not be a pantry staple. But I've found, at least for myself, that if I try to eat pasta and red sauce too often,  especially for multiple days in a row the flavor quickly becomes oppressively same-y and dull.  (Homemade red sauce is, of course, an entirely different and far more wondrous beast, but it's anything but quick and easy). Pesto, especially when it's homemade, is significantly less prone to this, but I've even got sick of it too sometimes. But these are by no means the only two things you can do with a pot of pasta, and there are multiple other fun approaches that you can take that can produce seriously exciting dinners with no less speed and hardly any more expense.

Tasty on a Budget: Cooking Ahead. (Warm Roasted Beet, Potato, and Fennel Salad)

Hello all,

So, I've got a big post on my experiences so far cooking for myself regularly (and on a small budget) coming, but I wanted to post this recipe before I forgot it, especially since I just polished it off and, after eating it for three and a half consecutive meals, the only thing I wish is that there were more of it.

As I think I mentioned in one of my posts from South Africa last summer, I can't really cook a one-person, one-meal sized portion of most things. My brain doesn't work that way, and the proportions come out funny. Additionally, I think the reality is that while I do quite like cooking, I don't have the energy to do it daily after getting home from work.