Pasta is a great meal if you are on a budget. You can make a meal for 4 people with a bag of pasta and a 59p jar of own-brand supermarket pasta sauce. So for less than a quid, you can feed four people, working out at 25p a meal. Pasta is a really filling meal and it is quick to cook too. Rice can also be a filling meal and you can also make a cheap meal out of it. Get a bag of rice and pour 4 cupfuls into a pan. Then add half a bag of frozen veg and a stock cube or a tin of chopped tomatoes.
Storing Pasta And Rice
How many times have you opened the kitchen cupboard and spaghetti has rained down on you? Or does the open rice bag become unwound and spilt all over the worktop? It has happened far too many times. Get tubs with lids from Poundland or another kitchenware store. But the best spaghetti storage tub is actually a Pringles pot!
Cooking Pasta And Rice
You want to be able to cook your meal really well so it is enjoyable to eat. Both pasta and rice are starchy foods, so they need to both be washed before you cook them. I usually wash it until the water runs clear. Here are some tips on cooking perfect pasta and rice for your family meals.
Use A Cooking Spray To Stop Pasta Boiling Over
Adding a spray of something like Fry light will help to prevent the pasta from sticking to the pan and also will help to stop the water from boiling over the side. If you don’t have any spray, you can add a teaspoon full of olive oil to the water because it does the same thing.
Carrot Ribbon Pasta
Making Carrot Ribbon pasta is so easy. Wash some carrots and cut ribbons by using a vegetable peeler. You don’t need to peel the carrots, because most of the goodness is in the skin. if you saute them in some butter and flavouring like herbs, pepper, then add it to the final part of the pasta that is cooking. Finish with some cheese and serve.
Add Taste To Rice
A favourite in our house is to add a stock cube. Keep a selection of them in the cupboard, so you can choose which taste you want for a particular day. We often use vegetable stock cubes to add some taste. Adding herbs and spices is another way to jazz the flavouring up. You can make orange or lemon flavoured rice by adding equal parts of orange juice and water, instead of just water.
How To Make Fluffy Rice
Fluffy rice is the best-tasting rice to eat. The only way you can get fluffy rice is to make sure that you soak the rice in a bowl of up to an hour. This helps the rice to soak the water into the middle and it will cook faster for you. Drain it and rinse it before you cook. Rinsing it, removes the starch and stops it from sticking together.
How To Get Great Rice Noodles
Rice noodles need to be soaked for a while before you cook them. Soaking them for a few hours is better, but as long as it is at least an hour, that’s okay. If you have soaked them and then change your mind, you can keep them damp by laying damp kitchen rolls pieces between them. They will keep it until tomorrow then. Then cook them as instructed on the packaging.
Using Left Overs Of Pasta
If you are like me, you will cook far too much pasta every time. But it is okay because it will keep for the next day and you can warm it up for lunch. You could also make a quick pasta frittata by popping the pasta into an ovenproof dish with some olive oil. Beat a couple of eggs and pour them over the pasta in the dish. Bake it until it is golden brown. Then slice the frittata into equal parts and serve with a salad or some chips. You can find more recipes here on Just Average Jen
This makes for a cheap but filling second meal from the bag of pasta that you have bought.
