Five weeknight dishes: Budget-friendly and downright delicious

by Margaux Laskey

One-pot cheddar tomato mac. This single-vessel recipe from Ali Slagle proves the world does need another mac and cheese recipe. Food styled by Monica Pierini. (Christopher Testani/The New York Times)

Every year around this time, I look at the calendar, and I low-key panic. With tax season and summer child care costs looming, I have to start cutting back on, well, everything. I’m keeping a close(r) eye on food spending: making sure we’re eating or freezing leftovers, bringing lunch to work, skipping the late-afternoon lattes, etc., ad nauseam.

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