5 Star Pasta!

I was at the grocery store the other day with a mad craving for pasta, but I didn't want plain Jane pasta with tomato sauce. Instead I created an incredible crab pasta bake. The dish served atleast 4 with each portion costing less than $3.

You will need
1.5-2 cups of uncooked pasta shells (or other pasta, not spaghetti though)
1 package of "mock" crab, usually pollock
1 bottle of Alfredo sauce
1 green pepper, cubed
1 red pepper, cubed
1 med white onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
parmesean cheese

Method
1.Par cook your pasta. You want your pasta to be just before aldente.
2. while the pasta is cooking saute the peppers, onions and garlic in a sauce pan
3. when the vegetables are soft add alfredo sauce to the vegetables,
4. after sauce is heated, add in the crab, mix
5. when the pasta is par cooked put it in the bottom of a glass baking dish, pour sauce over top and stir in
6. add parmesean cheese to the top
7. bake in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. broil the dish for the final 5-10 minutes to brown the cheese.


This dish could easily be substituted with any protein, just make sure if you are using raw meat to cook it through before putting in the oven.

Buying lunch from a grocery store.

Recently my posts have been few and far between. Between work, family situations, new opportunities and oral surgery I haven't had time to blog let alone cook. I had to move into my grandparents for a week last week and therefore had to find some creative lunch options for work that wouldn't impede on my grandparents fridge space. I shopped at sobeys, and superstore and ended up getting lunches for two weeks for under $20. The best thing is, the meals that I got are healthy, although higher in sodium than I like, and well balanced.

Both Sobeys and Superstore have their own brand of "freezer meals". They range from $2.00 to $3.00, which is cheaper than some sandwich fixin's. I ended up trying a few different options. Basil Chicken Pasta, Macaroni, and Tandoori Chicken. For the most part the meals were good, and what I appreciated is how well portioned they were. Although this isn't something I would purchase regulairly I am going to start keeping a few of these in my freezer for every once in a while and for rushed days where I need a put together lunch.