So, besides eating cheap, my other hobby is cooking quick meals.
Today, I was at the chem building from 7:45 AM and I walked in my door at 9:06 PM. I had gone for a run, too, so I was starving. I knew I had two avocados that were nearing the end of their shelf life, so I pulled out everything in my fridge and pantry that was opened and needed to be eaten:
2 avocados
1/2 bulb of garlic
1/2 bag of onions
plain yogurt
1/4 box of spaghetti
whey
2 eggs way past their expiration date
The first component was easy- I made guacamole. I’m a big baby about doing dishes, so I always mix my guac in a tupperware instead of a bowl. It makes me feel like I’ll make a good housewife someday, once I’m done with this PhD business and all. (kidding.)
guacamole
2 avocados
1 clove garlic, fine chop
1/4 onion, fine chop
salt, pepper to taste
cumin to taste
taco seasoning, to taste
2 large spoonfuls of plain (homemade!) yogurt
time: 5 minutes
I just mixed it all together. It definitely could have used some cilantro. Sometimes if I don’t have cilantro I’ll super finely chop celery to give it that fresh taste…but I didn’t have any of that, either 😦 The yogurt made the cilantro deliciously creamy. My old roommate used to put sour cream in her guac, so I kind of stole that idea.
Next, I decided to boil the spaghetti in the whey. This was really interesting because it gave the spaghetti a very sweet taste. I liked it..it tasted more like fresh, homemade pasta to me. My roommate, on the other hand, wasn’t such a big fan. It may have been her lactose intolerance telling her that what she was eating was poison..or maybe sweet pasta just isn’t her style. The nice thing about the whey is that it all seems to get soaked up by the pasta. When I drained the pasta, maybe only a tablespoon came out. Once I put the pasta back into the pot I added a couple heaping spoonfuls of guacamole and stirred it, with the heat on low.
time: 8 minutes
While the spaghetti was cooking, I fried the two eggs, sunny side up.
time: (concurrent with spagetti, 6 minutes)
When everything was finished, I placed the guacamole laden spaghetti on the plate, put the two eggs on the side, and drizzled my homemade creme fraiche over the top.
total time (with plating): 15 minutes
The result? Amazing. It was honestly pretty reminscent of spaghetti carbonara. The yogurt and creme fraiche gave the dish that wonderfully gooey, light consistency that good carbonara sauce has. The fluffy eggs were the perfect protein to pair with the mild flavors of the guac. If I could do it over, I would probably add an orange vegetable- maybe cooked carrots or sweet potato to liven it up a little. Now, for my favorite part:
Price
spaghetti: $0.25 (1/4 of the box, paid $1.00 for whole box) (NOT organic)
avocados: $0.80 (used 2 avocados for the sauce, but only used 1/4 of the sauce)
yogurt: $0.25 (used $2.00 of milk to make the yogurt, only used ~2 tablespoons)
garlic: $0.20 (used 1 clove)
onion: $0.20 (used 1/4 of the onion)
eggs: $0.28 (paid 2.50 for 18) (NOT organic)
creme fraiche: $0.25 (paid 2.50 to make the creme fraiche, used ~1 tablespoon)
Total: $2.23
BUT
I only ate half, and have half packed for lunch, SO:
Grand total: $1.12
I’m okay with that 🙂
Poor Girl Organic 