Meals designed with a budget in mind

It was inevitable and not unexpected — you overspent on holiday meals and entertaining. Now it’s time to look for budget-friendly recipes.

Pasta e Fagioli — or macaroni and beans — was our Friday night dinner at least twice a month. I still enjoy it, and I like cooking it because it is truly a quick and easy meal rounded out with a tossed green salad.

Also on the thrifty side are reliable potatoes. For our skillet dish we chose unpeeled new potatoes, but you could substitute any variety as long as they’re thinly sliced. Serve as a main dish with a salad, or as a side with broiled fish or chicken.

Quick And Easy Pasta E Fagioli

3 tablespoons best quality extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

1 celery stalk (including leaves), diced

1 carrot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste

3 (14-ounce) cans vegetable broth

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini (white kidney) beans

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 (1-pound) can stewed tomatoes, sliced

8 ounces (dry weight) small shell or bowtie pasta

1 1/2 cups shredded (or grated) Jarlsberg cheese, divided

In large saucepan heat olive oil. Add onion, celery and carrot; sautè until tender. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until garlic is softened, 2 or 3 minutes. Add broth, beans, bay leaves, oregano, basil and tomatoes. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta following package instructions until almost al dente; drain. Add pasta to saucepan and simmer 2 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Before serving, remove and discard bay leaves and stir 1/2 cup cheese into saucepan. Pass remaining cheese at table. Serve with salad if desired. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Skillet Potatoes

1 1/2 pounds new potatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/3 cup Lucini premium select extra-virgin olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons dry mustard, to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound grated Jarlsberg cheese

Slice potatoes wafer thin, using a vegetable slicer or processor, dropping them into cold water to avoid discoloration. Rub rosemary between fingers to break fresh or to crush dried leaves; set aside. Preheat oven to 425 F.

Heat oil in a 12-inch iron skillet and add potatoes. Cook over medium-high heat, shaking pan gently to toss but not break potatoes. When potatoes are slightly limp, add rosemary, mustard and pepper. Shake well to mix and press down with a spatula. Cook until brown and crisp on bottom, lifting carefully to check.

Sprinkle grated cheese on top. While still hot from stove top, immediately place skillet in preheated oven. Bake 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese starts to bubble and brown. Serves 8 as side dish.

Contest Alert

McCormick asks you to create a scrapbook page capturing your holiday tradition that includes McCormick products in an 8-by-10 photo. For entry form, official rules and information, or to submit an entry, log on to www.mccormick.com or write The McCormick Holiday Recipe Scrapbook Contest, P.O. Box 1310, Ronks, PA 17573, enclosing a stamped, self-addressed No. 10 (business-size) envelope. One entry only. Contest deadline is Jan. 31, 2005.