$5 Mac?

I made some sautéed onions and garlic with zucchini and sausage, and boiled small pasta shells to go with. Figuring to pair with a bit of olive oil and grated cheese, I set to work. The meal came together nicely, and I realized this seemed like mac and cheese, partly because I didn’t have any romano or parmesan to use. Here are the ingredients:

1 lb small pasta shells ($.99)1 largish diced onion ($.25)5 cloves minced garlic ($.50)1 large zucchini ($.99)2 large diced pork sausages ($1.40)4 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese ($.50)1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ($.15)1 teaspoon butter ($.15)1/2 cup water

Place large pot on stove filled 2/3 with water and 1/4 tablespoon olive oil. Place large cast iron or other pan on stove with 1 tablespoon olive oil, butter and 1/2 cup water. Turn pasta pot on high flame and turn pan on to medium flame. Peel and mince garlic, peel and dice onion, dice zucchini, and add veggies to pan and place cover over most of pan. Once pasta water boils, set pasta timer for 8 minutes, stirring periodically.

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Meanwhile, remove casings from sausages and dice. Move veggies aside to accommodate direct cooking of sausages. After about 6 minutes, sausages should be cooked.

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If so, mix into the veggies in same pan and reduce flame to low. Once pasta is done, turn off both burners, drain pasta and return to pot. Add 1/4 tablespoon olive oil to prevent sticking. Grate cheese and serve over pasta & veggies.

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To me, this tasted like a very rich and healthy mac ‘n’ cheese… the total estimated cost? $4.83 for 6 helpings of pasta and 3 generous helpings of sauce. I plan to have the extra pasta later with something else, and for another $1-2, I could have made enough sauce for all the pasta.

A special shout to Grocery Outlet, for keeping the cost down on the ingredients