Week # 41: 12 lbs variety of Pasta (even, more!)

 Week # 41: 12 lbs variety of Pasta (even, more!)

(If you can’t accomplish this in 1 week, don’t worry, just take your time and do it in steps.)

Pasta:

Pasta is one of the more popular and versatile foods you will find on the dinner table. It comes in many forms and can be made at home, purchased fresh, or purchased dried for long term use. We’ll obviously be going over the “long term storage” pasta. Pasta is great in hot or cold salads, italian entrees, casseroles, or even mac & cheese! If you have more reasons let us know!

Storage:
Uncooked Pasta
Store uncooked, dry pasta in your cupboard for up to one year. Keep in a cool, dry place. Follow the “first-in, first-out” rule: Use up packages you’ve had the longest before opening new packages.

Cooked Pasta
Refrigerate cooked pasta in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. You may add a little oil (1-2 tsp. for each pound of cooked pasta) to help keep it from sticking. Because cooked pasta will continue to absorb flavors and oils from sauces, store cooked pasta separately from sauce.

Freezing Pasta
The best pasta shapes for freezing are those that are used in baked recipes, such as: lasagne, jumbo shells, ziti and manicotti. You’ll have better results if you prepare the recipe and freeze it before baking. To bake, thaw the dish to room temperature and bake as the recipe directs.

If you keep things like pasta or boxed pasta mixes in the original package for longer than the expiration date it can go bad. But when you take them out and put them in buckets, foil pouches or your own vacuum sealed bags they can last for decades.

Measuring Pasta: Learn how to measure pasta like a pro with this chart that includes correct amounts for every pasta shape. Go>>