Post Furlough/Student Food: Simple Cream Cheese Pasta

 This is another one of the many recipes that is throw it in a pan that I can do in my sleep.  It was something that I discovered as a student 30 years ago and something that we still have for dinner today.  It can be cheap and cheerful or have "added extras" to make it feel more like a whole meal even though it just uses left over bits and pieces.  But what it really is is a substantial comfort food that does not use tomatoes - essential in our house since my daughter was sent home from uni with a stomach ulcer from all the worry.

Cream Cheese Pasta (serves 4)

300 g pasta - any kind will do (75 g per person)

1 onion, chopped

vegetable oil

1/2 a 250g tub of cream cheese, unflavoured or flavoured - up to you

splash of milk

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Saute the onion in the vegetable oil until it is soft.  When the pasta is almost cooked add the cream cheese to the pan with the onion and stir - the objective is to let it melt.  If it looks like it is too thick then add a splash of milk, you want to make the consistency like double cream.  Drain the pasta and add to the pan and toss until coated. 

Serve.

Variations:

Do not use low fat cream cheese - it splits!

Second the cream cheese I mean is the one that is like Philadelphia - not Dairylea, a friend of mine made this mistake and I have to say it was really gross.

The savers brands from the supermarkets work just fine making this a nice cheap version in it's simplest form (62p at time of posting for a whole tub at Morrisons)

Now onto the additions...as always as many as you like...

Garlic can be added to the onion (add when onion is nearly done though so it does not burn)

Add sliced mushrooms

Add chopped peppers

Add leftover roast - any kind

Add tinned tuna

Add tinned sweetcorn

Add sliced cooked sausages

Add leftover cooked cauliflower or broccoli

Add bacon

Add leftover sandwich meat such as ham

Add leftover smoked salmon (Christmas treat!)

Cost for the basic version... 

Morrisons prices used from their website as a mid range cost.

300 g pasta (500g for 45p) = 27p

onion= 10p

Cream cheese (250g for 62p)=31p

total =68p for 4 people or 17p per person plus a couple of pence for oil and milk.

And if you wrap the half used tub of cheese in clingfilm then it will keep for a whole week easily in the fridge making it less than 10p per person for week 2.  Impossible to beat on the money front!