Day 7 - January 7, 2014: Spaghetti with langostinos, asparagus, baby spinach and sun-dried tomatoes

The kids and I were on our own for dinner tonight because my husband was working late.  That usually means some kind of pasta dish, because, well, pasta is awesome.  I still had the other half of the asparagus from the baked potato day in the refrigerator, so I knew I was going to use that.  I also found an unopened package of sun-dried tomatoes in the cabinet, which probably should have been eaten a little sooner than 3 months past the sell-by date, but who's counting?  And, with a short soak in hot water, the tomatoes looked and tasted as good as new.

So, here are all the ingredients (I have to totally guess on what I spent on the sun-dried tomatoes - my grocery price memory only last about 6 months and I clearly bought these way before that date):

1/2 package of thin spaghetti: $0.45
2-3 handfulls of langostinos (I used about 1/3 of the frozen package from TJs): $4.00
1/2 bunch asparagus: $1.50
1/4 bag of baby spinach (you should use more, but my kids are not terribly crazy about spinach, so our version was definitely on the lighter side of spinach): $0.50
1/2 oz sun-dried tomatoes: $0.50 (total guess, based on a $2.99 price for 3 oz that I literally pulled out of thin air...)
1/4 of a ball of mozzarella: $0.67
a handfull of roasted pumpkin seeds (I paid $2.99 for the whole bag, so...): $0.35?
evoo, s+p: negligible
Total: $7.97

Cook pasta according to package directions.  In a pan, sauté first asparagus in 1 Tbsp evoo for about 3 minutes, then add spinach, langostinos, and sun-dried tomatoes at the same time.  Sauté about 2 more minutes, just until spinach wilts a little.  Turn off flame and toss with spaghetti and roasted pumpkin seeds and another tbsp of evoo.  Divide among 4 plates and add a few slivers of mozzarella to each.  Add s+p as you wish.

Verdict: Really really yummy!  This is definitely a keeper.  As a matter of fact, it was so good that I may have eaten my husband's portion after the kids went to bed.  But if he asks, I left the door open and a raccoon came in...