It’s a lament you will hear a lot from me: my cabinets, freezer, and fridge are full of food, but there’s nothing to eat. And often it’s true in that there’s nothing immediately ready to eat. But I do have loads and loads (and loads) of ingredients.
So last week, I resolved to use up as much as I could in the making of dinner for myself and the Gentleman. I started with a large container of frozen homemade tomato sauce, made over the summer and taking up space in the freezer ever since. Sauce probably wants pasta, right?
Empty pasta boxes posing while their contents were boiling on the stove
I had two boxes remaining from a long-ago trip to Costco in which I purchased a stupid quantity of pasta. They take up so much space. Good riddance! While yes, they were two different types of pasta, the farfalle cooks for 4 minutes longer than the rotini, according to the box. So I just put one in to the boiling water four minutes earlier.
Meanwhile I foraged around for other things that would pair well – some frozen peas, sun dried tomatoes, leftover bits and bobs of cheese.
Haunting my fridge no more
These weren’t really melting cheeses, but I cannot be bothered! They will get eaten, I say! If I’d had some kind of salty pork product like bacon or pancetta, that might have gone well, but I was fine to keep it vegetarian. All manner of veggies might have gone well here, like carrots or spinach or artichoke hearts.
I mixed together the al dente cooked pasta with the defrosted sauce, frozen peas, and sun dried tomatoes and then topped it all with the cheese. Baked at 375 until it looked about right…
Finished!
Not too shabby, eh? Truly delicious, and there were leftovers for days. Not a penny was spent and lots of room was cleared out in the cabinets and freezer. Can the MacArthur genius grant be far behind?
Seriously salivating right now! The dish looks great, especially when in need of some comfort food (:
Thanks so much! Sometimes I struggle to finish leftovers, but I continue to find joy in reheating this.