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>> Hi. I'm Karlene, and I'm a graduate student at the University of Alabama.
So, it's cold.
It's Winter.
And you're on a student budget, and you're hungry.
[brief laughter] So, what are we going to do?
We're going to make a three dollar pasta dish that's going to keep you warm,
keep your belly full, and keep you in budget.
So, the first thing that you need in your pasta dish is obviously going to be pasta.
And we are going to look for 100% whole grain pasta here.
There are pastas that say whole grain on the front.
But you've got to look for one that says 100% whole grain.
Let's see here.
That one says whole grain on it.
But on the fine print, it says 51% whole grain.
So, look for the pasta that says 100% whole grain on the front.
And anywhere on the box that should say that.
And it was only ten cents more than the alternative.
The second thing you're going to need in your pasta dish is some sauce.
Now, because we staying in a budget, we're going to opt for canned tomato sauce.
And we're choosing canned tomato sauce rather than pasta sauce,
because tomato sauce is really just, it should just be pureed tomatoes.
We're looking for one that is no salt added.
You can get other pasta sauces that are seasoned for you, but we're cooking it.
So, we might as well keep control over the ingredients, and the flavor,
and the amount of sodium in our food.
Okay. So, what really makes our pasta dish nutritious is
that we're loading it with roasted vegetables.
Let's start with the mushrooms.
Now, mushrooms are great because they're a good sources of protein.
You don't have to rely just on meat and beans for protein.
And they're a good source of selenium, which is often times kind of difficult to get
into your diet unless you're a fan of Brazil nuts.
So, we're paying $1.99 here for some mushrooms, and you can choose
to get whole mushrooms or sliced mushrooms.
They're the same price.
So, since we're going to be slicing up a bunch of other vegetables,
I chose to get the sliced mushrooms here to save us a little bit of time.
The next ingredient on our list in onions, and we only need one for the recipe.
Onions are a very good source of vitamin C. That will will keep you nice
and healthy during the cold and flu season.
Okay, this is also the season for zucchini.
So, get two zucchinis.
Probably medium to small size.
One that is green and one that is yellow.
Different colors indicate different antioxidants that keep your body healthy
and prepared to fight off DNA damage.
I use this same line of thought when picking out which peppers I'm going to get.
I love the flavor of red, orange, and yellow peppers, and I prefer them to green peppers.
They tend to cost a little bit more.
But since it's cost per pound, and we only need one, it's really worth the buy.
You're going to need garlic.
There's no sense in making a pasta dish without it.
In addition to bell peppers, I like to use red hot chili peppers in my food.
And I only need one here.
And it's really worth adding in.
Don't be intimated by hot peppers.
If you keep out the seeds, and be sure to wash your hands, and keep the away from your eyes
when you're cooking, you will not have issue.
Just using one pepper in this whole dish, chopped very finely,
it just gave it a nice warmth without making it spicy at all.
So, feel free to experiment.
Start small and build up if you're hesitant about having too much spice in your food.
Now, you'll see that once everything is rung up, the total comes to $12.97.
And you might be thinking, "Wait a minute.
I thought this was a $3 pasta."
Well, from this pasta, you get six servings.
So, what that means is, you're paying $2.16 per serving.
I mean, does it really get better than that?
Okay, so now that we have everything we need, let's head to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, you're going to chop up your vegetables.
And make sure you wash them first, including the sliced mushrooms.
Did you know that zucchinis are also a good source of protein?
They are a very good source of vitamin C, K, lots of B vitamins,
magnesium, potassium, and manganese.
Onions are a great source of vitamin C,
so they help you stay healthy in the cold and flu season.
All of these vegetables are going to be good sources of fiber.
They're going to be loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, all the things that we need
to keep our bodies healthy and prepared to take on the cold and flu season and school.
The other good thing about cooking with a lot of vegetables is that they tend to be really low
in sodium, and they have no cholesterol.
And they tend to be naturally low in saturated fat.
Put all of your chopped vegetables into an oven safe dish,
and put it the oven, and turn the oven on broil.
Now, what broil does is it gives a high heat to the food,
and it will bring out an almost roasted flavor.
But it also cooks really fast.
So, while you're pasta is cooking quickly, you can get your vegetables nice and roasted,
and have everything coming together.
Okay. So, once you're done chopping all your vegetables, you're going to go to the kitchen.
Then, make a pot of water and bring it to a boil on the stove.
Once it's boiling, you're going to add in your pasta and return it to a boil.
And leave it there for about 8 to 10 minutes, or whatever your package recommends.
Make sure to stir every now and then just so that it doesn't stick.
Okay. So, now, we're at the easy part.
You're going to take your roasted vegetables, your pasta,
and your tomato sauce and put them all in a big bowl.
And your dish is done.
So, I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Make sure that you share it.
I mean, you have six servings here, so be sure to share it with your friends and enjoy.