Budget Barbie: Homemade Pasta for Pennies on the Dollar

This morning I was adding the recipe and photos to my American Housewife recipe site for my homemade spinach and squash pasta when I realized it was such an affordable option for homemade pasta it would be perfect for my budget blog as well! Why pay $4 - $20 at a grocery or specialty market for something you can make at home for pennies? And when you make it at home you know you have no preservatives or other chemicals in your food. Just good, wholesome pasta.

Homemade Spinach Pasta
Homemade Butternut Squash Pasta

1 egg
1/2 t olive oil
4-5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and briefly cooked
or 1/2 - 3/4 c butternut squash puree - already baked and scraped from the shell

Place into the bowl of a food processor and whirl until smooth.

Add 1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt

Process just until it gathers to a ball. Let set 10 minutes before working with it.

Roll it out very thin on a lightly floured surface, or if you have an Italian pasta machine, roll it out in portions starting at 1 and thinning it down to a 3 or 4. If you have rolled it thin by hand, now use a pizza cutter to slice it into 1/2 inch strips, or even 1 inch if you like your noodles wide. With the pasta machine, make it into noodles if you have the attachment or lay it out and use the pizza cutter as well. This pasta is also perfect for making homemade ravioli with if you cut it into squares, fill and seal instead of slicing into pasta strips. Use right away by dropping in boiling water and boiling for about 8 minutes. Toss with butter, salt and pepper or your favorite sauce or use in a chicken noodle soup! If you want to let them dry, just let them dry on the counter overnight, flipping the next morning and continuing to dry or if you have a pasta drying rack, let hang over night or to the next day until dried. Store in a sealed ziplock in the freezer until use.

Stop processing when it forms a ball