Dinner under $10 - White Bean Alfreado Sauce, Pasta,Veggies and Garlic Bread

Stay with me here.  Maybe hearing the words "white bean" and "Alfredo" in the same sentence might have you a little worried.  We are trying to eat more beans because they are cheaper and easy to store.    This meal is a great "pantry" meal.  It is quick and easy as well.  And I really liked the taste of it.  My niece was here too and she is a very picky kid and she even liked it.   I think the garlic bread won her over.

The recipe (slightly adapted from The Prudent Homemaker):

2 cups cooked white beans (Great Northern, Cannelini, or Navy will work)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (from a can or grated if it is the good stuff)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp garlic salt (or 1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic)
1 pound pasta (I used ziti-type pasta)

Cook pasta until al dente.
While pasta is cooking, blend milk, beans, parmesan cheese, and garlic together. I use an immersion blender to blend it right in the pan. Cook in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring regularly.
Drain pasta.
Spoon sauce over pasta on individual plates.

 **Cooking the white beans - I soaked them overnight and cooked them for about an hour on the stove top and then dumped them into the slow cooker to finish cooking - on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours until tender.

I served this with:

Steamed Veggies 
Garlic Bread


The numbers:
Pasta - $0.75 (on sale with a coupon)
bread –  $0.98 (I usually make my own but this was easy)
Garlic salt - $0.25
Beans - $0.60 (I used half a bag)
Steamed Veggies - $1.25 (bought on sale)
Parmesan cheese – $0.50 (took the total price and divided it)
milk – $0.25
butter – $0.50 (Paid $1.99 for a pound and divided out)

Total for this meal: $5.08
*I fed 2 adults and 4 children ages 10, 7, 5 and 3.  We had leftovers for my husband's lunch and for us to have for lunch the next day.  Two of the kids don't love Alfredo so they didn't eat as much as usual.

This is a good meal to have on hand.  Give it a try!