Spicy Ziti with Sausage

Most people that know me know that I love to go out to eat. Given the cost of gas these days ($30 to fill up my little Lancer) it’s becoming increasingly clear that I need to be more frugal elsewhere. So with great regret, the budget for eating out is getting cut first.

Now, as an experiment, I decided to see exactly how well I could do by cooking – and eating – on a very strict budget. Could I replicate some of my favorite restaurant meals at home?

At Shop-Rite, I spent a hearty $6 on this spread.

Pictured above: a box of ziti pasta, frozen spinach, jarred pasta sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, and one pound of hot Italian sausage (all innuendo is free of charge).

I already had a few of the other ingredients that I needed to turn that into this – a cheesy pasta dish with a spicy kick, simple and cheap enough for a weeknight dinner. Adding spinach to the meal helps increase the nutritional value of the meal. You could also throw in some chopped fresh tomatoes to the sauce or use wheat pasta for a variation.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 box of dried ziti pasta

1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 jar of chunky tomato sauce

5 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

3-4 links hot Italian sausage

olive oil

1 clove garlic, diced

Directions:

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Sear the whole sausages for a few minutes on each side, until browned but not cooked; this makes it much easier to cut. Remove sausages and slice into 1/2″ pieces. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic and heat for a minute or two. Add pasta sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir in thawed spinach and sausages. Cover and simmer until sausages are cooked through, 5-10 minutes. Add grated cheese and stir it melts and blends into the sauce.

Cook pasta to al dente and drain. Add to sauce, toss to coat and serve.