There’s about a billion ways to make Pasta with Ham. Ham is a really resiliant form of Cheap Eats because it lasts so long in the fridge. This goes for both packaged ham steaks and for larger whole hams. My absolute favorite thing to do is to make this near the holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. Why? Because someone ALWAYS makes a whole ham and I’ve never been to a family gathering that didn’t have leftovers from it. Usually, the relatives have to cajole someone to take home some of the ham. I’m the first to signup, however. Leftover ham also makes great fried rice, sandwiches, etc. The below recipe assumes storebought ham, but subtract 75 cents from the final price if you can get it for free!

Pasta with Ham and Parmesan

Cubed Ham (1/4 of $3.00 hamsteak) — $0.75
Any Dry Pasta like Rotini (4 oz of $0.99 8 oz bag) — $0.50
Parmesan cheese (1/4 oz of $3.50 8oz can) — $0.11
Olive oil (1 tbsp of $4.00 12 fl. oz bottle) — $0.17
Butter (1 tbsp of $1.00 4 oz stick) — $0.13
Milk (1/2 cup from $4.19 1/2 gallon lactaid) — $0.26
Chicken Stock (1/2 a $.50 can) — $0.25
Brown Onion (1/8 a $.50 onion) — $0.06
Parsley (1/4 cup chopped from $0.69 bunch) — $0.06
Salt / pepper — negligible

Total: $2.29

Get a large pot of water going on the stove. Meanwhile, mince the brown onion and parsely and cube the ham. In a large skillet heat olive oil and add ham. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned, then add brown onion. Cook for another 2 minutes. Turn up heat to high and deglaze the pan with chicken stock and milk. Reduce heat and simmer mixture for 5-10 minutes. Watch out for the mixture foaming up too muich. If that happens, reduce the heat. When water boils, salt it and add macaroni. Cook till al dente then drain (don’t rinse or sauce won’t stick to pasta). Add pasta to skillet and toss well. Add parsley and parm cheese and cook for about 1 minute more. Off heat add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Mix and serve.

This dish comes in more expensive than it could be. As I said, getting the ham as leftover for free can make this a really cheap meal. You can also easily omit the parsley, brown onion or butter. Many people use half and half or cream for a richer tasting dish. That’s fine, but I don’t tend to have that on hand as I don’t use it often. You can also try sour cream or ricotta cheese. This dish can also be good with green or black olives.

Cheap Eats Score: 7/10
Cheap Eats Score: 8/10 (with free ham)