pasta bar left overs [moved from General Topics]

[Soup]

Had a caterer bring in a pasta bar. Food wasn't bad but I could have made way better.

As usual, I order too much. I have ton of cooked pasta in all kinds of shapes and quarts of alfredo and marinara sauce. I hate to throw it out.

Is there anything I can do with it. Baked pasta or something? Can we freeze any of it?

Help..

Soup

[woodleyparkhound]

You can use cooked pasta as an ingredient in a frittata.

[ospreycove]

Consider the hassle of packing it up in "family size" portions, containers, freezer bgs, etc., then the amount of freezer space it will occupy; then look at the nutritional value of a white, refined, processed wheat product. I think it is better to use the old adage, "When in doubt throw it out" in this case.

[Nyleve]

If your alternative is to throw it out, why don't you just layer the cooked pasta with sauce and some kind of cheese and bring it to a soup kitchen or shelter for them to bake. You could freeze in smaller foil pans or make several large foil roasting pans worth of this. I'm not sure what is done in other places, but the drop-in center where I volunteer would gladly accept something like this.

[ospreycove]

Not where we live. Food Banks and feeding centers will not touch anything that is not certified as to being made in a NSF commercial kitchen, no raw proteins,(meats fish dairy), etc.

[Nyleve]

Yeah I know regulations vary. We accept everything as long as it comes from a dependable source - it's a pretty loose system, I admit. But it works.

[Cheese Boy]

You'll be full of carbs for quite a while. Try making pizza topped with pasta, try soups, try pasta with eggs, try a timballo recipe perhaps, and get creative using it in place of rice too (if u can).

[AnneMarieDear]

Soup, Soup. :)

[escondido123]

If your family likes pasta salad that could be one way to go. I second the casseroles Max suggests. I would certainly consider freezing the marinara sauce--you can always use that for the base of a much tastier sauce-- but will wait for another opinion on whether the alfredo might separate if frozen..

[Maximilien]

Make some "casserole" or baked pasta (put pasta and sauce in pot, mix, up to temperature, add cheeeze/herbs/...) and freeze everything up in individual portions.

M.