What's In Your wallet or Pantry? Save Money by adapting recipes! Try this Creamy Pasta with Mint Recipe!

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     This past week, I shared some recipes that I'm wanting to try using mint from my garden.  I came across this recipe that sounds and looks absolutely delicious that I couldn't wait to try!  Unfortunately, it calls for items that I didn't have in my pantry and that may not be in everyone's budget.  So, until I can go to the store specifically for those items, I decided to do a bit of an adaptation.  
     Adapting recipes isn't a new thing or an unusual thing for me to do.  I'm pretty comfortable saving a trip to the store and a few bucks for my food budget by substituting ingredients that I already have on hand! This pasta dish called for pancetta and heavy cream, as well as fresh parmesan.  Let me show you how I changed it all up with a delicious result! 

     It all started with this pretty green, fragrant plant growing out in my garden.  Mint.  I wanted to use it for more than just scaring away squash beetles in my garden.  The Creamy Pasta dish that I found on The Family Kitchen sounded fabulous to me! But I didn't have pancetta, fresh parmesan and I was out of heavy cream.  Here is a run-down of what I substituted for those ingredients: 

     With those substitutions in order, I also decided to add a few more veggies from my garden, such as pattypan squash, which my mint had been guarding, and green onions.  I also added garlic, but that was from the store because mine isn't ready to harvest yet.  

      I used penne pasta, which I already had on hand in my pantry and after all of that, the recipe came together really easily! It was delicious and made enough for a 2 large portions at dinner last night and some leftover for lunch today!  Cooking with mint made me a bit nervous.  I was afraid it would make my food taste like toothpaste, or be overwhelmingly minty, but that was not the case at all.  The mint is a subtle undertone taste in this dish and lifts it to a brightness that sent me back for seconds!  I can't wait for lunch to get here!  
​      Click on the pictures for the process:​

    And here is a little video that you can check out on YouTube:

Be sure to click on the recipe card to get the printable pdf.
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      Do you adapt recipes to fit your budget?  What are some of your favorites? 
      Let me know what you think if you give this recipe a try!