Here are a couple of recipes that are easy to make and fairly inexpensive. Both of these dishes can be made for $5 or less in my part of the country.
Italian Stir Fry Noodles
This is what I would call a “fusion” recipe since it is made like Asian Stir Fry Noodles, but with ingredients popular in Italian Food.
1 pound Spaghetti Pasta
cooking oil
1/2 - 1 pound Italian Sausage (use what ever kind you like)
1-2 onions, cut in small strips (I like to use red onions for this dish because the color looks nice, but any will do)
1/4-1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper flakes (optional)
2-3 zucchini, cut in 1-2 inch strips
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half (optional)
Italian Salad Dressing to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese to taste
Cook Pasta according to package directions, and drain.
While Pasta is cooking, stir fry the Italian Sausage in a wok or a large frying pan with just enough oil to get the meat started cooking and prevent it from sticking to the pan, moving it around as you would for a stir fry. When the meat is almost cooked through add the onions and cook them to translucent, continuing to stir fry. We like our zucchini barely cooked, so I add it last and stir fry it just until it is slightly cooked and still quite crisp.
Add the pasta and red pepper flakes and stir fry until the noodles and other ingredients are well combined. I then add the tomatoes and a little Italian style salad dressing to the pan to season the pasta, and toss well.
Remove from heat and finish off the pasta with Parmesan cheese (we like a lot of freshly grated parmesan on this recipe). Serve with garlic bread and a side salad. In the summer months I like to serve it with a fresh fruit salad, since there are veggies in the pasta.
When you are craving a nice fruit salad in the Winter here is a great alternative to a fresh fruit salad:
Wintertime Fruit Salad
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
2 small cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 jar of maraschino cherries, drained (optional)
1-6 ounce container of plain or vanilla yogurt (some people also use mayo, sour cream, or even whipped cream instead of the yogurt)
1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)
1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Combine all the ingredients and serve. In my family I have to serve the marshmallows, cherries, coconut, and pecans on the side since I have picky eaters. That way everyone can add the extra’s they like, and everyone will eat the fruit salad. I have also added grapes instead of the maraschino cherries and that is good too!
Notes: I like the fruit to be nice and cold, so I drain the pineapple and oranges early in the day, and leave it in my collander with a bowl under it so any extra juice drains off as well. My collander fits in my large tupperware bowl with a lid, so I set the collander in that and put the lid on it and put it in the refrigerator until just before I am ready to mix up the salad at dinner time. Use plastic wrap if you don’t have a bowl with a lid, so the fruit doesn’t dry out.
My mother used to save all the juice from the fruit and add it to orange juice to make a delightful and refreshing orange punch.
Yum! A coworker made a similar salad but left out the yogurt. I had another similar salad at a Chinese celebration; that one had dragon’s eye fruit and whipping cream as the dressing. Both were wonderful.
I have had this winter fruit salad mad with vanilla pudding, and it’s great, too.