Pasta salad with veggies is quick and easy, if you think leftovers. During the summer months, I try to keep a container of cooked rotini noodles in the freezer. If I find I have small amounts of cooked vegetables, such as broccoli, grilled zucchini, carrots, etc. I put the frozen cooked pasta in a colander and run cold water over it until defrosted (takes less than 30 seconds).
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Heat skillet, dice tomato and mix with macaroni and cheese. Place in frying pan and cook until brown on both sides.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
When I make something with pasta, I always have some uncooked pasta in boxes left over. Now I have about 3 boxes of different kinds of uncooked pasta that just have a little left in each of them (less than half the box). I have some lasagna, fettuccine, elbows, etc. Different lengths and sizes. Could someone please suggest a way for me to use up these extra amounts of pasta rather than throwing them out? Thanks in advance for your clever replies!
The hard part is that the different pastas have different cooking times. There are two things I do with these leftover dried pastas. If I have one that cooks in 7 minutes and another that cooks in 11 minutes, I throw the 11-minute pasta into boiling water, wait four minutes, and then throw the 7-minute pasta in. That way, they both get done at the same time. Then I throw a sauce on top of the pasta or use it for homemade mac and cheese.
My kids always thought it was cool to mix the pasta shapes in any kind of dish, no matter what kind of sauce or whatever we were using.
Also, if you are making a pasta salad, it looks "fancier" if you use different shapes; you look more creative! :)
One of my fave pasta salads is this one (also VERY easy to make):
We usually use tri-color rotini, but you can use whatever you have onhand, and yes, I've done it with the combination of several different kinds of pasta, and it's always been delicious and well received.
Boil the pasta til it's done (Al Dente)
To the prepared pasta, add diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, diced onions and cubed cheddar cheese.
Add the contents of an entire bottle of italian dressing (fat free is great too). Toss to distribute the dressing throughout and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and preferablly overnight. Serve chilled.
Optional: You can add green peepers and other diced veggies that your family likes. Yum Yum -- enjoy!
Prepare the pasta in smaller portion sizes and pack them in your own or your children's lunch boxes. For the lasagna noodles, you can fold up the cheesy filling in just one or two cooked noodles. Do just one for a single serving, or do several in a loaf pan, covered in sauce, and you'll always be able to remove a single serving for each person without cutting and marring the whole thing. Freeze them individually, too, for days or weeks later. It's the same as buying those individual, single-serving-sized pudding cups or apple sauce cups. In fact, save the cups from those -- they make good single-serve portion sizes for pasta.
I especially like to put out mini-portions in my DH's bento box. A bento, or o-bento ("great bento," a term for respect rather than for size), is simply a lunch box that contains a balanced, nutritious, and visually appealing meal.
General overview:
en.wikipedia.org/
One fantastic website (there are many):
lunchinabox.net/
Ideas: Prepare a small pot of mac-and-cheese sauce; then prepare several single servings of pasta, one at a time, to put in the tiniest serving size Gladware you own (I've got some that'll hold just about a half-cup each) and spoon over a little of the sauce. Pack that, plus maybe a boiled egg, for your protein and starch, then fill the rest of the box with vegetables and fruits. Bonus points for cutting the veggies and fruits into cute shapes, but it's not totally essential. An entire, balanced meal can fit in a single Gladware container.
In my house, my kids LOVES spaghetti with different shaped pasta.
Or, the next time you make soup, throw a few different pastas in the soup broth.
How about parsley buttered noodles or just add it when making spaghetti like the one lady said. Just have fun when you cook. Our grandmothers did the same thing they never used measuring cups or anything.
I just keep all my dry pastas in gallon jars and add to them as needed so I never have leftovers and always have it when I need it. I store the jars on the top of my cupboards. They look neat and decorative, and they are sealed from bugs and dust. Pasta is much cheaper when bought in large packagesa rather than single recipe sizes. I agree with everyone else as to great ways to use small amounts. Why would you throw out something that keeps forever?
I just keep my pasta in a large canister, When the canister gets low, I add the pasta to my grocery list.
I purchase different shapes of pasta for my marinated pasta salad - bow tie, wheels, etc...and all colors. Besides pasta I add whatever I have in the refrigerator: chopped ham, chicken-turkey, salami, pepperoni, cubed cheese - cheddar or mozzarella, marinated artichoke hearts, onion, peas, broccoli, corn, olives.
Family Circle has a wonderful feature called 1-2-3 Ingredient Meals. I learned that if you mix 1 part ground turkey, 1 16 oz. can of Cranberry Jellied Sauce and 1 24 oz. can of Spaghetti sauce, you have the best goolash I have ever had. Its tangy, sweet, and low cal.
So, what better way to use up mismatched pasta than to break up the larger pieces and make some Goolash!!
And, if you are in a need for something to decorate with, here's an idea. Break up the lasagna, mix it with the other, maybe add some spinich pasta or some 16 bean soup for color, and put it in an old jar! Keep in up high and away from heat, and it's a nice addition to that country home look!
Why not break it all into different size pieces and use it in a casserole, using pasta sauce and spices and maybe add some ground beef. Top with cheese and bake it a while and presto all the pasta is used up and a dinner is made. Hope this helps.
Once you've cooked all of the pasta, try stirring in some olive oil. That way you can keep it in your refrigertor for days and have it handy for any recipe since it won't stick. You can throw it in soups, toss with herbs and parmesan cheese, etc. Also, if you steam some frozen vegetables and mix in spicy cheese sauce (like Tostitos salsa con queso), it's wonderful!
Once you've cooked all of the pasta, try stirring in some olive oil. That way you can keep it in your refrigertor for days and have it handy for any recipe since it won't stick. You can throw it in soups, toss with herbs and parmesan cheese, etc. Also, if you steam some frozen vegetables and mix in spicy cheese sauce (like Tostitos salsa con queso), it's wonderful!
Try breaking your pasta into similar sizes and toss into your favorite rice mix 7-9 min. before rice is done. Adds flavor, shape variety and good taste!
We've got a restaurant in our area called Nothing But Noodles. All of their dishes have noodles of some sort. In most of the pasta dishes you will find all different types and shapes. It makes it interesting, so use them all together!
If you have leftover pasta in the fridge, grab some other ingredients to make this yummy dish. This is a page about making pasta a'la leftovers.
