fall veggies and a simple supper

Yesterday afternoon I needed a break from school work so headed to the gardens to walk through and enjoy them in the cool fall drizzle. While down there I decided these four heads of broccoli were done growing so I harvested them, thinned out one of the carrot beds, plucked some green onions, pulled a few peas, and ripped out some salad greens. The old saying of not going to the grocery store hungry also holds true for heading to the gardens. The only difference is you spend no money in doing so and the guilt does not come into play as it may in a store.

The only logical dinner I could think to make with the haul was pasta primavera in an alfredo sauce as it was nearly complete with my pickins. The only thing I needed to add to finish dinner was some pasta and a little bit of sauce to make it a meal. Veggies cost me nothing, pasta was about $.50, and the ingredients for the sauce were under a buck. It took me longer to chop the veggies than it did to cook and it made for a nice healthy meal. The recipe below is for 6 people as a main dish. While I used carrots, peas, and broccoli as my veggies, cauliflower, corn, mushrooms and summer squash also go nicely in the dish. Frozen veggies can be used in place of the fresh and the meal would still be a budget friendly option. Canned or fresh chicken or hams chunks also make a nice addition to the meal but are not needed to make it a more filling dinner for the meatosaurs among us.

pasta primavera alfredo
1 pound pasta (of your choosing)
5 cups of veggies sliced thin
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 oz cream cheese
2 oz butter
1 cup milk
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp flour

cook pasta as directed adding the veggies for the last 3-5 minutes of cooking. While pasta is cooking, in a sauce pan add butter, onion and garlic and saute to bring out the flavors of the onion and garlic. Add the flour and mix well. Slowly add the milk sour cream and cream cheese and heat until cheese melts and sauce thickens a bit, then add the parmesan. Drain pasta and mix the sauce with pasta, stir and serve.Add salt and pepper to taste.