One day, I’d like to discover a huge trust fund that’s been hidden from me my whole life. I will bathe in black and white truffles, brush my teeth with foie gras, exfoliate my face with Caspian Osetra Caviar… maybe I’ll take a casual weekend trip to The Fat Duck or something. I’ll bring friends and family with me and at the end of the meal say, “nah, nah, I got it.” But for now… truffle oil will have to suffice. I’ll buy the dried version of Chantrelles and eat tobiko off of the California rolls my friend usually pushes aside. Life is so hard.

Truffle oil makes me feel like I’m rich without greedily taking away from my wallet. I love how a few drops can go such a long way. One of my favorite things to do on a lazy night is boil pasta, mince a few cloves of garlic, grate up some Parmesan and drizzle with the oil. Quick, easy, elegant, and scrumptious. A great tip that I picked up is that there is a big difference between pasta and egg noodles when using truffles. Egg noodles have a very silky texture, compared to pasta where it is much more starchy and chewy. Silky textures and truffles are truly a match made in heaven.

And getting into heaven is not hard at all. You only need a few ingredients:

Ingredients:
8 ounces Egg Noodles
3/4 pint Heavy Cream
3 tbs White Truffle Oil*
3 tbs Butter

Top with:
Grated Parmesan
Chopped Chives
Salt and Pepper

*I found this truffle oil in TJ Maxx’s homegoods sections. Most food specialty stores will have it, sometimes Stop & Shop has it too.

Directions:

1) Boil a pot of salted water for pasta

2) Mix butter with white truffle oil

3) In a saucepan, bring heavy cream to a simmer. Add truffle oil and butter mixture and let it melt. Season with salt and pepper and mix.
( I sauteed garlic and ham first, but optional)

3) Add egg noodles to boiling water. Cook until tender. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and add noodles to cream sauce.

4) Coat the noodles with cream sauce to absorb the flavor. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta water to have desired amount of thickness.

5) Plate pasta.

6) Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top and garnish with chopped chives.

Bon appétit!

Prep time: 25 minutes
Level: Easy
Servings: 2 people
Total Cost of Recipe Amount: $11
$13 white truffle oil bottle
$5 Parmesan
$3 butter
$3 chives
$3 heavy cream
$5 egg noodles (16 oz) 

Perfectly cooked, al dente pasta laced with flavorful cream sauce and vibrant green peas is something everyone should be entitled to- but all those calories… ouch. Sometimes the guilt you feel after swiping that last piece of rigatoni in sauce hurts! Fortunately, instead of using heavy cream, there is an alternative. Milk and flour.

Thanks to an inspirational allrecipes recipe with helpful comments and a few tweaks, here is another meal any newbie can make with ingredients everyone is familiar with.

Ingredients:
1 pound pasta (I’m using rigatoni)
1/2 pound Spicy Italian Sausage, remove casing
1/2 pound Sweet Italian Sausage, remove casing
12 oz frozen green peas
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
6 garlic cloves minced
1  1/2 cup milk
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter (healthier: light canola butter)
1 tbs all purpose flour
Salt and Pepper

(The picture below shows 1/2 the recipe amount, so use a large pot instead of a sauté pan to fit all the ingredients for the whole amount)

Directions:

1) Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add pasta. In the meantime…

2)   In a sauté pan, sauté garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes

3)   Add Italian sausage meat and cook until brown. (Drain the oil for less calories)

4)   Add frozen peas and cook for 5 minutes

5)   Add flour and mix

6)   Add milk and butter. After it boils, bring to a simmer and add Parmesan cheese

7)   When pasta is al dente, drain and add to sauce

8 )   Mix up all that goodness. Season with salt and pepper. (If sauce is too thick, add more milk)

9)   Pat yourself on the back because you just cooked like a champ.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Level: Intermediate
Total Cost: ~$20 ($4 per person)
Servings: 5-6 people

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The best $3.99 I ever spent was something specifically designed for Salmon. My future brother-in-law exposed his secret seasoning blend, which is now my favorite cheap Friday night meal (thanks, Quan!) It’s not a Monday night meal, nor is it a Tuesday night meal. It is an inexpensive Friday night meal because that’s when Haymarket’s affordable selection of produce and seafood comes out! For a large filet of Salmon, you only pay $5. Make sure you cook it that night or else you will sacrifice the quality of the fish.

Let’s do the math:
$5 (Salmon filet that serves 4-5 people)
$3.99 (Seasoning blend that will last you forever)
$.25 (Lemon)
$9.24 Salmon for 4-5 people

I’m completely okay with that. If you are only cooking for one or two, leftover Salmon is also great crumbled up with greens and salad dressing for your next lunch. Also, the recipe’s seasoning blend can be found at any Stop & Shop near you. So don’t worry, you won’t have to purchase any exotic spices like Himalayan Pink Sea Salt. (Don’t you hate it when a recipe calls for only three ingredients, but one of them is insanely difficult to find? “Ooh, so that’s the catch!”)

Paul, you're awesome - $3.99

Ingredients:
1 Whole Salmon Fillet
3 tbs Chef Paul’s Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning Blend
1 Lemon, thinly sliced
Olive Oil

Directions:

1)   Drizzle olive oil in baking pan (or other cookware) and on top of Salmon

2)   Season with seasoning blend

3)   Place sliced lemons on top

4)   Loosely cover with tin foil and bake at 375F for 20 minutes (if frozen, 35 mins at 400F)

5)   Take the Salmon out and let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes

6) Dig in and enjoy.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Level: Beginner
Total Meal: $9.24
Servings: 4-5 people

Some people don’t have the time to make elaborate dinners or wait three hours for their sauces to simmer. Fortunately, I have the time and energy- but I am lazy. Oh, woe is me!

Therefore, I’d like to share my simple and delicious spaghetti recipe with my fellow lazy friends, exhausted parents on week nights and newbies in the kitchen that do not want to start another fire.

First, you’ll need a couple of ingredients:

Ingredients:
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 tbs butter (optional)
1  1/2 cups Crushed Tomatoes (with or without seasonings)
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tbs Chopped Fresh Basil
4 Cloves Garlic (or to your taste)
4 oz Cappellini Pasta

Directions:

1)   Start boiling water with 1 tbs salt for pasta. Meanwhile…

2) On medium heat, heat olive oil and butter. Sautee garlic for two minutes and for the love of all good food in life, please do not burn it

3) Add crushed tomatoes, bring to a light simmer then turn to low heat

4) Add basil, mix and let the awesome aromas take over your kitchen

By this point, you will hear people in your house say “My god! What is that heavenly smell?” Refrain from boasting until you are completely finished cooking. Onward!

5)   Add pasta to boiling water. When al dente (~ 3 minutes) strain and add to sauce.

6) Add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

7) Coat the pasta with sauce by tossing it together

8) Add some more Parmesan at the end if you'd like

True lazy home cooks will not be done at this point though. There are 2 more ingredients I left out before making this a truly simple and sluggish dish for the lazies.

9)   TV
10) Bed

 Enjoy!