BACON AND SPINACH PASTA WITH PARMESAN

Bacon, spinach, and Parmesan are not exactly the least expensive ingredients on the planet, so you do have to be a bit careful with this one. I used a half package of bacon and froze the rest for later use. 

To save on spinach, I skipped the salad sized bags and got a jumbo bag of “cooking spinach”. The big one pound bag was only 20 cents more expensive than the smaller salad sized (9oz.) bags and almost twice as big. 

I’ll enjoy the extra spinach as salads and freeze some in smoothie packs. Frozen spinach can be used in a pinch, but make sure not to get “chopped” frozen spinach because it will be in a million tiny little pieces. You can use other greens, like collards, mustard, or kale, but because they’re quite a bit more sturdy, they’ll need to be sautéed down with the onion in the beginning. 

Parmesan really does top off this dish and make it grand, but you can lighten up on it if you’re strapped for cash. Parmesan is very flavorful, so a little goes a long way.

INGREDIENTS :

• 6 oz bacon (1/2 12 oz. pkg) $2.15
• 1 small onion $0.25
• 2 cups chicken broth $0.28
• 1/2 lb pasta $0.50
• 1/4 lb 3-4 cups fresh spinach $1.50
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan $0.55

INSTRUCTIONS :

1. Cut the bacon across the strips into one-inch pieces. Sauté the bacon in a large skillet until it is brown and crispy (no extra fat needed). Remove the browned bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Carefully pour the fat off into a separate bowl, leaving about one tablespoon in the skillet.
2. While the bacon cooks, dice the onion. Once the bacon is removed and the fat is drained from the skillet, add the diced onions and sauté until they are soft and transparent. Allow the moisture from the onions to dissolve some of the browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.
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full instruction : www.budgetbytes.com

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