The 99 Cent Chef: National Pasta Day Recipes

National Pasta Day - what's not to like? I probably have the most food recipes involving pasta. Just type and enter the word pasta into my blog search window to see them.

I'll save you some search time and highlight some of my most delicious ones below. And click on any recipe name to see the original blog post with tasty text and yummy photo illustrations.

Dried Pasta is still cheap. I find it in my local grocers and Dollar Tree.

If you have a favorite jar or can of tomato sauce, then sprinkle in some dried Italian herbs for a quick pasta sauce.

SpaghettOs are still around since when I ate a can or two in my high school daze.

You should have a pasta sauce to start with. My homemade version is quick and easy to do.

My Tomato Marinara Sauce is a click away, here. Check out the video.

I like recipes that you can devour a few ways. My Lighter than Air Meatballs fit the bill. I usually have the Meatballs in tomato sauce over Pasta.

You can also make a fat Meatball Sandwich. My Meatballs have a lot of veggies that make them lighter than the average Meatball. I like the addition of spinach and mushrooms in my Meatballs. It's okay to leave out some veggie ingredients for a more solid Meatball. Check out my video below.

For the simplest Pasta recipe, how about canned Sardines in Tomato Sauce? It's ready to go once you've cooked some spaghetti.

Open a can of Sardines in Tomato Sauce, heat for a minute then top the spaghetti with fish fillets and tomato sauce, it could be easier and quicker to do.

One of my first recipes on this blog was canned Baby Clams with Spaghetti.

I don't find cans of baby clams for 99 cents anymore, but small cans or packages of clams show up quite often and cheaply.

My local Dollar Tree carries small packs of cooked salmon, imitation crab meat, and cans of tuna. I have mint in my small garden, so combine salmon (or, any of the above) and add fresh or frozen peas for my Peas, Mint & Salmon with Pasta.

The other main sauce for Pasta is made with cream. I like sauteed Mushrooms with Cream and Pasta.

Another creamy dish is my Ham, Peas, & Cream with Pasta.

My favorite cream Pasta meal is a ripoff recipe called Olive Garden Fettucini Alfredo.

It's just pasta, cream, and parmesan cheese. Okay to add a little protein and a favorite veggie.

One of my earliest stop-motion videos is Baked Pasta with Cauliflower & Cheese. It's basically a Mac & Cheese with cauliflower. Cauliflower and cheese are a tasty combination.

Let's go from heavy to light. Saute some kale in a little olive oil then add garlic and you have a veggie Pasta. Click on my Pasta with Kale, and Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, here.

You can't get much leaner than my Veggie Pasta Salad. Steam your fave veggies and mix in a light salad dressing to add to cooked pasta. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

I also like frozen, canned, or jars of veggies to add to a Pasta salad like my Peas, Artichoke Hearts, Broccoli & Wheat Pasta recipe.

My nephew Zak has a filling Cajun-style Tuscan Primavera Pasta.

I always have a fun time when I cook with my family.

Zak's Tuscan Primavera Pasta uses pine nuts. I find them quite expensive. A cheap substitution is bags of nuts I get from Dollar Stores. The amounts are enough for a serving or two. If they are salted it's easy enough to shake the salt off or even rinse the nuts. When you saute them they will dry out.

Try my Pasta with Garlic and Cashews...or Almonds, or Peanuts, or Walnuts - you get the idea.

You can combine almost any protein to pasta. Chicken is still cheap so try my Chicken & Lemon Cream with Pasta.

Sometimes, I like ground poultry, now that it is cheaper than ground beef. Everyone likes Baked Lasagna, just add a one-pound package of Ground Chicken or Turkey.

Salami or Pepperoni anchor a pungent pasta sauce. All you are doing is heating up the meat with a little onion and garlic then adding pasta. Click here to read all about it.

A delicious slow-cooking pasta sauce is made with the cheapest cut of beef I can find called beef shank. It has a bone with marrow, so this is an extra-rich meaty sauce.