Thrifty Throw Down: Sausage and Pasta.

$7.00 total to feed a family of four.

     Radhika (fellow blogger) posted a recipe on here a couple weeks ago about a meal she threw together with stuff around the house and the fact she didn't make it from scratch but it did its job feeding her family and making them happy. I replied to that post and told her it is often in life when you just don't have the time or the money to get creative or spend a couple hours whipping up a masterpiece. And your kids? They don't care, they just want to eat something good.

     Last night - my oldest worked his part time job until 9pm and I didn't bring home my youngest until 7pm, after football practice. The wife has a cold and was in bed. So, I made one of my Pasta Roni treats. Quick, cheap, and tasty!

     Once every month or so when I don't have a lot of time I will bust these simple little dishes out and the kids always gobble it up. Our local markets (and assume, yours) always have Pasta Roni on sale, usually only a $1 a box. My market also usually has Hillshire Farms sausage links on sale, avg. price 2 for $5, when on sale. Your grand total for a family of four = $7.00. Prep time = 5 minutes. Cook time = 15 minutes. Taste level = Excellent.

     You can use just about anything you want with these types of foods. Pasta Roni has a variety of side pastas and Hillshire Farm, a variety of meats. My go to meal when I'm going this route is usually chicken alfredo (alfredo noodles by Pasta Roni and a 4pk of chicken breasts). That whopper of a delicious meal is only an extra $3, for a grand total of $10. Thrifty throw down? You bet.

1. - 2 Boxes of Pasta Roni (4 cheese corkscrew pasta) - cook as instructed on box, less 1/3 the water and 1/4 the milk. Because you are combining the 2 boxes, you do not need as much as suggested.

2. - 1 & 1/2  Hillshire Farm Beef sausage links. Slice up sausage and cook in pan for 5 minutes, tossing to grill evenly.

(Store the other half in fridge to have with eggs, or crackers, or by itself in near future).

Enjoy. Feeds a family of 4-5.