Parmesan Pasta

The hubs & I have been trying to cut down our grocery budget lately.  Some things have been a success, some have not.  This one, however, I really enjoyed.  I've heard it before but never tried it, but it's it's definitely going to be fairly common around here from now on!

I found this through Favorite Meals for $5 or Less.  It's been several years since this topic started so some prices have risen, but it's still a good place to go for inspiration on the cheap.

Ingredients

• 1 lb pasta
• Butter (to personal preference, probably 1/2 cup or less)
• Parmesan cheese (the grated kind to put on pizza) (again, to personal preference, maybe 1/4 cup?)
• Veggies (optional)

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Stir in butter (can melt if desired).
3. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

My notes

• The plain butter & cheese mix is surprisingly good, and keeps the cost down.  However, some complaints were made in the link about these meals being unhealthy (mainly because it uses a lot of pre-made/pre-mixed things or were low on veggies).  So I steamed some broccoli and roasted some tomatoes to add in there.
• You could also shake things up with seasonings, I know we added garlic powder but I think some Italian seasoning could also be good.  
• The main point- this is a great cheap dinner but can easily be adapted to increase nutritional content.  Honestly I prefer this over Alfredo sauces so who knows what I'll be doing with this simple, plain base in the future.