Tasty & Cheap Meal From the Great Depression: Macaroni & Tomatoes

Ingredients

All you need for this recipe is three main ingredients.

Firstly, you need a cup of elbow macaroni. A box of elbow macaroni contains two cups and costs $0.92 at Walmart.

I’m going to be using two 14.5-ounce cans of diced tomatoes. I chose to get one can of diced tomatoes that also have onions, celery, and green bell pepper, just to add a little flavor to this dish.

We are also going to be using butter, salt, and pepper. It’s a super simple meal, and I know it will be delicious. 

Cooking the pasta

I’ve got my pasta water on. I’ll add some salt to it and then drop in my cup of elbow macaroni.

Next, I’m draining the pasta, but leaving a little bit of water. Then I’ll put the pot with pasta back on the stove. 

Making the sauce

I’m mixing a stick of butter into the pasta and letting it melt. I’m also adding salt and pepper. 

After preparing my elbow macaroni, I’m going to put in the two cans of diced tomatoes, liquid and all. You want this to have a soupy consistency. I’m going to add in the cans and give it a stir.

Allow it to cook an additional five to ten minutes on the stove, just to heat the tomatoes through.

Tasting the dish

Once the five to ten minutes is up, this is what your macaroni and tomatoes should look like. 

I dished mine out in this cup serving. It’s really hot. We are going to taste the macaroni and tomatoes. 

It tastes just like I remember it from when my mom made it. It’s flavorful. It’s tomatoey. It’s just comforting. And it's super cheap. You definitely need to try this Great Depression recipe. 

Cheap meals from the great depression

I hope I inspired you to feed your family something delicious this week. What cheap meals do you like to cook? Let us know in the comments.