glutenfreedirtcheap

Very occasionally, my local H.E.B., will make me cry. 

The first time was when I realized that they had labeled every gluten-free thing in their store on 36th street, right down to the generic mayonnaise.  Today was yet another teary-eyed moment in the grocery store, because they now sell this:

What is it?  It’s gluten-free H.E.B. brand pasta, and it’s $2.00 a bag. Why is it so important?  It means that if you have $6.00 in your pocket, you can walk into your local grocery in Texas, and walk out with a jar of generic pasta sauce, a container of parmesan, and a package of pasta, and feed a family in about an hour, just like someone who is not gluten-free.

Ingredients:

1 package store brand gluten-free pasta

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Newman’s Own.  They support nice charities like camps for kids.)

1 container parmesan

Kitchen Apparati:

microwave

microwave safe casserole

plate

Directions:  Pour 2/3 of the pasta package into the casserole.  Cover the penne with the entire jar of marinara sauce and enough water to cover the pasta completely, plus about half an inch more;  how much will depend on the size of your dish–if it’s not covered by water, or pasta sauce, it won’t cook.  Put the dish in the microwave, and cover it with a plate, leaving about an inch uncovered.  Set the microwave to run for one hour on 50% power.  Walk away.  Vacuum the living room, finish your filing, and answer three more personals ads.  Let the pasta cool for about ten minutes and sprinkle with parmesan.

Cost:  About $6.00 for five or more people, and a priceless amount of peace of mind.