Confetti Pasta Salad

My kids loved the corn chowder. I got sooo many veggies in them because I called it Confetti soup! SO today CONFETTI PASTA SALAD! As I type this they are scarfing it down!

Make it vegetarian by omitting the chicken.... if its for a hard core "no dairy" vegetarian... I dunno what to do LOL!

• 1 lb tri-color (garden) pasta
• 1/2 c seasoning blend
• 1 bag frozen mixed veggies
• 1 small cucumber seeded and diced small
• 8 oz fat free plain yogurt
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1/4 c Italian dressing
• 1 can chicken breast (12 0z) drained
• Fresh and/or dried herbs and seasonings to taste
• 1 cup cheese blend

Add-ins if you have/want it (we used all of this!):

• 1 sm. zucchini, quartered and sliced thin (steam with veggies)
• Grape/cherry tomatoes sliced in half (do not cook)
• 4-5 small radishes grated
• Raw shredded carrots for crunch

Preparation:

1. Cook noodles, drain, and cool
2. Saute seasoning blend and cool
3. Steam mixed veggies and zucchini together and cool.
4. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix gently.
   

I'd say it was about.. $5?? Give or take a little, I had a lot of stuff hanging about ijn the freezer & pantry... and there is a bowl full left. I'll probably use it for a side tomorrow.

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This week's Meal Plan

Miserly Meal #7- Country Captain

Moving the meal plan around a little. It has been raining and muggy/humid as all get out here and the hogie roals I bought for the meatball subs got moldy. I hate Louisiana.

So rather than just make a spaghetti with the meatballs, I'm moving on to the counntry Captain over pasta. This miserly meal is not courtesy of Jonni McCoy, though we have has lots of fun with her book!

Country captain is touted as a southern dish and served over rice, thick with vegetables and sauce. Born and raised in southern Louisiana (any farther south and I'd get very wet! SPLASH!!! -- in the gulf...) I had never heard of it, until I got my premiere copy of Food Network Magazine. It was #30 in a pull out flyer called "50 Recipes for Marinara Sauce" Very simple, and I have expanded on it just a bit. We've tried several recipes from the flyer and it is definitly worth keeping a few $1 cans of sauce in your pantry.

The noticeable changes were that after the first time pulling all the meat off the bone for the kids at the dinner table - I swore to only use boneless skinless chicken. If I have breasts and thighs I use a little of both, if I'm buying specifically for the dish, I buy whatever is on sale. The second big change is that we have enough rice dishes... we use pasta!!

This was the very first dish that ever brought that little jar of curry powder into my kitchen, and I am thankful for it. It has opened up so many doors to new exciting dishes & flavors!

This runs about $4 plus pantry items and gives us two full meals with lunch for hubby. So about 40¢ per serving!!!! I have also frozen half in the past and it comes out great.

Country Captain

• 1 lb pasta (have fun with shapes! The girls want shells today!)
• (OR rice if you prefer to serve it over rice)
  
• 1-2 T oil (olive is nice)
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken cut into bitesized pieces.
• curry powder to taste
• Tony's or season salt to taste
• Salt & pepper
• 1 c seasoning blend or chopped onions
  
• 1 jar fav pasta sauce

Directions:

1. Prepare pasts as directed on box, draining it just shy of al dente so it doesn't overcook in the sauce later, OR cook rice and leave it set to warm.
   
2. Season chicken lightly with curry and Tony's. Leave S&P for later. You can always add more of everything. These are strong spices and you can't take it away once added.
3. Warm oil in a deep pot or skillet and saute chicken and seasoning blend until the chicken is lightly browned.
4. Add pasta sauce and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through then taste for seasoning.
5. Toss in pasta or serve over rice.

Miserly Meal #5

I cannot get my husband to eat anything "lasagna", but he'll eat pasta, meat, & cheese dishes, lol! I really thing it has something to do with teh wide noodles. I make "Mexi-sanga" with tortillas all the time and he eats it. We had dinner at his sister's and she used the wide lasagna noodles and he ate it (because he will eat anything) but he didn't "care for it". So - back to Miserly Meals this week - I turned Jonni's White Lasagne into a White Faux-sagna using rotini noodles. and mixing the non-sauce ingredients together before layering it.

The first thing my 11 yr old noticed that got us both giggling was that it's more of a yellow and green faux-sagna because of all the broccoli, spinach, and my colby jack obession! But we did sneak a bit and we lovedthe taste. I can't belive that just a few months ago she would cry about eating if she knew spinach was in a dish and now she's begging for bites before it's even done!

Using leftovers (chicken/broccoli) saves a ton, but we bought everything so it was a whopping (not!) 75¢ per serving, lol! and that was doubling to put one in the freezer as well :)

White Faux-sagna

• 1 c cooked diced or shredded chicken
• 1 c frozen broccoli thawed to warm and chopped small
  
• 1 c frozen spinach thawed and drained
• 1/2 lbs noodles cooked and drained

Sauce

• 1/4 c oil
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 c milk
• 1 t Italian seasoning
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t onion powder
• 1/2 t salt and pepper
• 2 c grated cheese (still loving colby jack here!)
  

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to directions on package and drain.
2. Make roux by warming flour and oil in a skillet until thickened but not browned.
3. Add all remaining sauce ingredients.
4. Simmer stirring constantly until it thickens.
5. Set aside.
6. Combine meat, broccoli, and spinach with drained noodles.
7. Layer sauce, pasta mixture, and cheese (two layers) in 8x8 pan.
   
8. Bake uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes.

Option 2:
At step # 6/7 Toss it all together and pour into pan.
Continue to step #8

Miserly Meal #2 Chicken Florentine

Another Miserly Meal from Jonni McCoy's book!

As usual I traded in the tuna for canned chicken because of a family allergy but many canned meats trade out that way. For a tasty splurge you can try crab, canned salmon, or any other favorite canned flaky meat you prefer. You can also forgo the baking and just let the heat of the pasta melt the cheese for a warm rather than baked dish.

Chicken Florentine

Serves 6 at about 87¢ per serving
Use canned tuna (the original recipe) and save 20¢ per serving!

Ingredients:

1. 8 oz egg noodles
2. 16 oz frozen spinach, thawed & drained
3. 6 oz canned chicken, drained
4. 2 cups grated cheese (called for cheddar, I used colby jack) plus,
5. handful of cheese or Parmesan for the top.
   
6. 1 t onion powder
7. 1 t garlic powder
8. 1/2 t pepper
9. 1/4 t celery seed
10. 1/4 t salt

Directions:

1. Boil the noodles according to the package and drain.
2. Add the remainder of the ingredients to the noodles and mix well.
3. Pour contents into an ungreased 9x13 pan.
4. Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese or Parmesan
   
5. If you do not want edges to crisp cover with foil.
6. Bake at 325° for 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts and center is warm.

Enjoy!

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