Thrifty Thursday: Two for One

Today, I am posting TWO Thrifty Thursday recipes! I am very excited about both of these. The first one, I am going to just give you the link to it. It is what I am making for dinner tonight so I can't tell you (yet) what I think about it. However, it looks so yummy! I got a great deal on some white fish at Aldi this week. I got a bag of about 6 filets for $3.99. They were out of tilapia but I think these will work great. I will let you know what I think about Bobby Flay's Grilled Tilapia with Lemon Butter, Capers and Orzo (for dairy free, just substitue the butter for smart balance light and omit the cream). If you can find a similar deal on a white fish or tilapia, then you can make this meal for a family of four for around $7.00.
Here is a pic of Bobby Flay's meal that I made last night. It got rave reviews from my husband! Now, if you read the reviews from Foodnetwork.com they say that the written recipe is not the same as how Bobby does it on his show. I did it like the reviews said to do it (make a butter sauce). However, my guess is that he changed it up a bit since making a butter sauce is kind of finicky. The trick is to remove the pot from the heat and whisk in room temperature butter...one cube at a time so that it doesn't separate. Do not re-heat in the microwave. If you need to warm it up put it in a bowl over hot water.

This next idea I got from Rachael Ray's Neapolitan Baked Ziti. I had planned on just making regular spaghetti but then I saw this on her show and thought it looked really good and figured I could do something similar with baked spaghetti. You can make this for around $6.10!! AND, it makes two dinners for a family of four!!

Jazzed Up Baked Spaghetti
1 pound spaghetti (Cooked a couple minutes short of what the package says...noodles will continue to cook when you bake it.)
1/2 lb ground turkey or beef, cooked
2 tbsp EVOO
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped or use a microplane zester
seasonings (Use whatever seasonings you like in your spaghetti. I used about a tbsp of Italian seasoning and some extra basil because I LOVE basil.)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes
S&P to taste
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 bay leaf
nutmeg, freshly grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 -1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Heat EVOO in a medium to large saucepan. Add the onions and sweat on low heat until they are translucent (do not brown). Add garlic and cook another minute. Add your seasonings (do not add the S&P yet). Let cook for another minute and then add the tomato paste. Stir and let cook for another minute. Then, add your tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

While the sauce is simmering, melt the butter in a small to medium saucepan. Once melted, add the flour and whisk until combined. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly add the milk while whisking (you can also heat the milk before adding it so you don't have to worry about adding it as slowly). Add the bay leaf, nutmeg and season with S&P. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low and simmer until thick, stirring often. Remove the bay leaf.

Combine the pasta, beef and red sauce and place in a greased 9x13 casserole dish (I split mine into 2 8x8 so I could freeze one of them). Pour the white sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and then the parmesan cheese. Bake on 400 for 25 minutes. Then, place the oven on broil and broil for a couple of minutes until the top of the cheese is golden brown.