Lately I’ve been experimenting with new dishes that are a) quick, b) inexpensive, and c) conducive to leftovers (because believe it or not, one does eventually get tired of eating baguette sandwiches for lunch every day). Two of my favorites are a lentil soup/stew-type thing and a baked pasta, and both fit all the criteria perfectly. If you have similar constraints, see recipes below:
Ridiculously easy lentil soup
Around 1 T. olive oil
Any type of cooked sausage/salami in 1/2-inch cubes, as much or as little as you have/want
Prepared lentils (I found them in a jar in the supermarket here, and apparently Trader Joe’s sells them in the US. Oh TJ, how I miss thee)
Some type of onion (I used spring onions)
Spinach, as much or as little as you have/want
Heat oil in medium-to-large pot, depending on quantity of soup you want to make. Brown the sausage, around 4-5 minutes. Remove the sausage using a slotted spoon and put aside. Use oil left in pot to cook onion until translucent (other veggies could be added here as well– carrots, parsnips, etc.). Add lentils and cook until desired consistency; you could add broth here for a thinner soup, or just the liquid in the lentil jar for a thicker consistency. Add sausage back in, and finally, add spinach near the end and stir it all until spinach wilts. Enjoy… Hopefully for several meals to come.
*This is based on a recipe from Epicurious, so I can’t take all the credit. Follow theirs if you want to get a little fancier.
Ridiculously easy baked pasta
Around half a box of pasta of your choice: ziti, penne, etc.
Small jar each of tomato sauce and pesto sauce
Smallish packages of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses
One egg
A bunch of spinach
Cook pasta according to directions. Mix sauces in a medium-sized pot and bring to a simmer; add parmesan. Once hot, combine sauce mixture with pasta and add spinach in large-ish bowl; stir to distribute ingredients evenly. In a bowl, mix ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and the egg. In a baking dish, put a layer of the pasta mixture followed by spoonfuls of the cheese mixture and repeat. Bake at 450˚ for 30-40 minutes, or until everything is heated through and cheese has melted… But not so long that you burn the top like I did! Eat for dinner and then for lunch for the next three days, making classmates/coworkers insanely jealous. Yum.
