Spaghetti With Mushrooms and Parsley Lemon Pesto

Remember that 1/2 container of mushrooms leftover from the Cubed Steak Paprika I made about a week ago? And how 'bout the rest of that bunch of fresh parsley and the de-zested lemon Jordan used in the Valentine's dinner he made me?

I'm not one to let food go to waste, so I did a little googling ("fresh parsley, lemon, mushrooms") and found a yummy little vegetarian dish on www.anjasfood4thought.com. My hubby, the meat man, even ate it. (Although, he did suggest that chicken would have been a good addition. And it would have been.)

It was a great way to use up the "odd" ingredients I had on hand and I didn't need to buy anything else, either! I'm guessing this meal is around $1.50/serving - that's just a guess b/c I had everything on hand, but I included my cost estimate after each ingredient.

Sauteing mushrooms. Yum. (I don't think I ever thought I'd use "yum" and "mushrooms" in the same thought.)

I made my pesto the night before - forgot to take pics as we made it.

Tada! Easy and delicious. (A poor-quality pic though. Oops.)

Spaghetti With Mushrooms and Parsley Lemon Pesto

Spaghetti (I used approx 2/3 of a 1-lb box) $0.66 (cost of 3/4 box)
2 cups mushrooms, sliced (I believe I had about 7 or 8 mushrooms left) $1 (cost of 1/2 the box)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Parsley Lemon Pesto
2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley $0.50 (cost of 1/2 the bunch)
1 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of a lemon $0.88
3/4 cups walnuts (chopped) $2 (this is a really rough estimate; it's probably high)
1/3 cup  olive oil
salt to taste

The other ingredients (olive oil, salt and garlic) I estimated about $1 for those.

Serves 4

1. To make pesto, place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until it becomes a paste. If it's crumbly, add some olive oil. Add salt to taste. 
2. Make and drain spaghetti. Brown mushrooms for 5-7mins in the olive oil. Add a bit of pesto. 
3. Mix spaghetti, mushrooms, and pesto. Enjoy.