Budget Friendly Family Meal

As I am the one who does the cooking in our household (I am extremely fussy so there is no way anyone else is cooking) I try to make meals we will all like and are budget friendly.  I tend to cook the same meals over a fortnight and I thought I would share with you a favourite budget recipe.  This meal is budget but doesn't compromise on taste it is delicious and full of veggies!!!

Before topped with cheeses.

Sausage Pasta Bake
6 beef sausages
375g penne or spiral pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium brown onion chopped coarsely
1 small red capsicum chopped coarsely
1 small yellow capsicum chopped coarsely
1 large zucchini sliced thinly
200g mushrooms quartered
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
Bottle of pasta sauce
1 cup cheese tasty or mozzarella
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Cook sausages and once cooked cut into 1cm slices and put in bowl to side
3. Cook pasta according to the packet or your taste
4. Heat oil in frypan; cook onion, capsicums and zucchini until they are tender.  Add mushrooms, basil and pasta sauce; bring to boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.
5. Combine pasta and sliced sausages in a large bowl, add vegetable mixture and half of the cheese (Mozzarella or tasty).
6. Place in a baking dish; sprinkle with remaining cheeses.  Bake uncovered in the oven for about 25 mins or until lightly browned.

*You can add whatever vegetables you like, we don't eat capsicum so we just have zucchini, carrot, onion and mushrooms.  Feel free to add or remove whatever vegetables you feel.

It is such a quick dish to prepare, I normally make it mid morning and then cover it up and put in the fridge, then at dinner time do step 6 and pop it in the oven.  This meal is great for the kids too!  It makes a lot of leftovers so make sure you freeze it.  We normally get 2 nights meals from it and it is just as good second time around.

Hope you love it and I will post more budget friendly family meal recipes son.