I feel a little ridiculous even posting this “recipe,” but it’s one of our favorite frugal meals. When Jason and I first started dating, we ate it just about every week and always enjoyed it. Something about the bread and olive oil elevates this meal from “basic pasta” to something more substantial. You’re welcome to add vegetables to the pasta sauce for a little extra nutrition, but honestly, I never do.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb pasta, any kind
1 jar pasta sauce (I buy Classico, but you can make your own! I haven’t found the perfect recipe yet)
2 smallish loaves soft Italian bread (I buy the kind where two loaves are connected in the middle, and then separate them myself)
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat the pasta sauce in a saucepan. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and place the Italian bread on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and rub to coat. Sprinkle with a thin layer of garlic salt and bake for 10 minutes, until nice and crusty. Fill a small saucer with olive oil and grind in some black pepper. Slice bread into pieces before serving.
For more meatless meals, please check out the rest of my Frugal Meatless Meals series. You should also visit Meatless Monday’s recipe archive.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
That bread and olive oil for bread dipping sounds really good.
Have you tried this sauce: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe2/index.html
It is very very good. The pureed vegetables add a depth and brightness to it.
Ooh, I have not! I might try that next. I also have my eye on the marinara sauce from The Family Kitchen, which is the cookbook I got the butternut squash gnocchi recipe from. Hopefully one of those will be a winner! (Or both…I can hope).
Oh, that butternut squash gnocchi. It is still the best thing I’ve ever tasted. I’m so grateful you posted that.
I love this and would eat pretty much this exact meal (I even buy Classico) 5 nights a week, but my husband doesn’t like just marina sauce. So, now I add a tiny amount of our precious organic ground beef. I have also lately been sprinkling raw spinach leaves on the pasta before I dump the sauce on.