It’s Spinach Week here at Kitchen Stewardship!  I get to share one of our family’s favorite recipes today.

The first indication that it’s a winner is that Kraft Food and Family Magazine publishes it at least once a year, sometimes more.  Second is that my son always asks for seconds on (he’s a good eater, but he likes to get to dessert most of the time and doesn’t waste time with seconds…which is why his pants are always falling down!).  Finally, when I served the leftovers to a friend, she immediately asked for the recipe, and we joke about how often we both make it.  It’s truly a go-to meal when you’re not sure what else to make.

If you forget the Parmesan cheese like I often do, there are only 5 ingredients, so you can do it from memory without searching for the recipe. Gotta love that!  Read on for healthy upgrades to the basic recipe and make-it-from-scratch substitutes for some of the ingredients.

Sausage Spinach Pasta Toss

2 cups uncooked short pasta (about half a box, $0.25)
½ lb. hot or mild Italian sausage ($0.50-80)
7 cups (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves (about half a bag or box, or as much as you can fit in your skillet, $0.50-2.00)
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained ($0.50)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese ($0.75)
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package.  Meanwhile, crumble meat into large skillet and cook through, stirring occasionally. Drain grease.  Add spinach and tomatoes:

It looks like a lot...

...but it wilts way down like this.

Click here to see ideas to use up the rest of the bag of spinach so you don’t waste!

Cost:  $2.50-4.30, depending on organic vs. conventional spinach and your meat selection.  Just add salad and garlic toast for a complete meal!
Super foods:  2 (or up to five if you do some of the upgrades below!)

Healthy Upgrades:

1. Use whole wheat pasta instead of white – lots more nutrition, but more $ as well
2. Use ground turkey with sausage seasoning (directions here) instead of sausage; from pastured turkeys even better, or grass-fed ground beef works fine with Italian sausage seasoning
3. Make your own Italian diced tomatoes (I had to learn to do this when I avoided all white sugar for 40 days)

“Homemade” Italian Diced Tomatoes

1 can regular diced tomatoes, undrained (if you’re canning this summer’s bounty, what an amazing meal summer tomatoes would make in this dish!)
olive oil
a few cloves garlic (depending on your mood, I used 3 last time)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp basil
½ tsp parsley
pinch rosemary
1 tsp molasses (blackstrap adds iron)

Saute the garlic in olive oil for a minute, right with the already cooked and seasoned meat in this recipe.  Add the molasses and stir so that it coats the meat, then the tomatoes and all the spices.  Proceed with instructions for meal.

Home-added seasoning...look at all those gorgeous herbs!

If you follow all the upgrades, you get 4 super foods (adding olive oil, turkey and fresh garlic), but you also end up with 16 ingredients instead of 5!  Yowza!  Make your choices wisely so you don’t burn out – not everything has to be homemade “from scratch!”

What to do with the rest of the meat?

One of the reasons I love this recipe is that it allows me to stretch my meat budget (one pound for two meals).  But what about another recipe with half a pound of meat, since you usually have to thaw the whole thing?

Options include:

• Spaghetti with ½ pound of meat, or ½ pound plus an equal amount cooked lentils or pinto beans
• Sloppy joes with ½ pound of meat and equal amount cooked lentils
• Sausage patties for breakfast with your eggs
• Add another pound of meat and make tacos
• Add a few pounds of meat for meatloaf
• Try your favorite ground meat casserole with just ½ a pound (but not if your husband’s FAVorite meal is lasagna!)
• Use less meat (or make half a batch) in a recipe like Sausage, Bean and Kale Soup or Turkey Chili, or…
• Add meat to a recipe like Cuban Black Beans and Rice or Tuscan Bean Soup

Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

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If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.

Other Recipe Connections:

• Potato Salad with the Kids
• Homemade Refried Beans
• Jamaican Meat Marinade
• Summer Fruit Dips

I’m pleased to participate in Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace, Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff, The $5 Dinner Challenge this week, Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap, The Make it from Scratch Carnival, Friday Feasts at MomTrends, Frugal Fridays at Life as MOM, Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, and Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairy Tale.