Good Enough to Eat... Again! --Pasta with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce

About two weeks ago, I made a version of my favorite pasta dish. It's a good thing that it came out fantastic, because I went wild finishing up two boxes of pasta that seemed to be far emptier than they truly were. The result was an entire week's worth of pasta, and I wrestled with the idea of reheating pasta and eating it overcooked... for another four days. But somehow, the sauce kept the pasta at just the right consistency each time I reheated a portion, and when I finished the batch on day four, I was almost a little sad to see it finally go. I knew I had a winner for Good Enough to Eat... Again, so here's a nice kick-start to the week.

Red's White Sauce Pasta With Mushrooms
Serves four, easily


1 box of pasta............................................................$2.00
1 cup heavy cream...................................................$0.99
1 cup white wine......................................................$3/bottle at TJ's
1 shallot....................................................................$0.50
1-2 tbsp. garlic..........................................................$0.10
1 cup fresh parmesan (not dried)............................$5.00
1 cup each Portabella and Shitake mushrooms.....$3.00 (a steal at the farmer's market!)

total cost...................................................................$13.59
total cost per meal......................................$3.40

Instructions:

1. As you're cooking the pasta, chop the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms, and sautee them in a large pan with a tiny bit of olive oil until just cooked through.

2. Place sauteed vegetables aside in a small bowl, deglaze the pan with the white wine, and simmer on medium heat until wine reduces by almost half. Add in the full cup of cream and vegetables. Bring back to a simmer, and add half of the cheese.

3. Drain pasta, add to the pan, and add the rest of the cheese. Mix together. Viola! Enjoy your meal with the leftovers from your three-buck-chuck bottle of wine.

Note--it's really easy to add chicken to this recipe in place of (or in addition to) the mushrooms. Just cook the chicken along with the vegetables and keep all those ingredients together.