Leftovers Pasta!

After going to the grocery store three times in one week, I made a decision.  With the exception of milk, eggs and bread, I'm not going to go grocery shopping until the fridge is empty.  I want to find out what I can do with the things in my pantry, fridge, freezer and cabinet, and how long I (well, and Kyle and Laela too) can get by without getting crazy bored or just plain stuck with the food that we already have.

You might be thinking that I'm a total weirdo, but think about it for a second.  How much food do we all waste in a week?  A month?  A year?  This isn't about carbon footprints or piles of waste that we have to deal with.  It's about the food.   First, it's recognizing that you can make delicious food out of pretty much nothing (I learned this from my great-grandmother who used to be able to make the most amazing biscuits for ten people with the very minimal ingredients in her pantry).  If mamas and grandmas could make amazing meals with scant supplies during the Depression, can't we try it out?  During these trying and unstable financial times, is it really such a wild food risk to learn to make do with what you've got now and then?  You might be surprised with what you will learn about yourself and your cooking ability.

Second, one of the biggest problems that a lot of us have is laziness.  We get in food ruts.  I say we because everyone does it.  I've done it!  When I lived alone, I went through a phase where I'd make a roast, live on it for a week or two, then make pasta, live on that for another week.  It was easy.  But damn if it didn't get boring from time to time.  So I learned to make lots of different things with the leftovers, or with the extra things in my pantry.  Give yourself a chance to make a little more effort for your dinner.  I'm not saying bust out the French cookbook and spend hours cooking, but try something new with the same old ingredients.  You may surprise yourself!

Let's call this "Leftovers Pasta".

I'm not going to give you the specific ingredients list for this pasta.  Just try using whatever you have on hand.  (If you do want to try out this exact recipe, combine some cooked ground beef, spaghetti sauce, garlic, chopped basil, cannellini beans and pasta.)

I was exhausted when I made this pasta.  We had some leftover spaghetti noodles, some leftover homemade pasta sauce, and some leftover cannellini beans that I had cooked in chicken broth and garlic.  We had some ground beef in the fridge, so I cooked it on medium heat with some salt and pepper.  Once the ground beef was done, I drained the grease, tossed it back in the pan, added the sauce and beans with some of the broth that the cannellini beans were in, and I added some fresh basil (I just ripped it up with my hands, but you can chop it if you'd like).  I let the sauce simmer with the beef and beans for five or ten minutes (the longer it simmers, the better it is, but if you don't have time, it'll still be delicious.)  Once I was ready for it, I added the cooked pasta and topped it with fresh basil.  If you have any parmesan shaker cheese or fresh parmesan, feel freed to add that as well!

Don't be afraid to raid your fridge and re-invent leftovers or old stand-bys.  Toss your leftover spaghetti and sauce in some olive oil with some broccoli for a fun twist, and bake your leftover spaghetti for a change!  You don't always need to run out to the store, rush around like a maniac to get a healthy, delicious meal on the table.  Try something new!  Go for a new food experience!

*My homemade pasta sauce