Cheap and tasty, that is my life motto. Pagliacci's made the BEST pesto pasta salad but they discontinued it! Emily used to order it for meetings and I would need an entire vat to myself. The Seattle Times ran a very detailed knockoff recipe: https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/15257161/.

I picked up the ingredients at TJ's. It works out to $1.13 a serving (though it's hard to stop at one serving).

Bag of penne: 99 cents

Tub of pesto: $3.49

Bag of frozen artichoke hearts: $3.29

Bag of frozen petite peas: $1.29

Already had:

A couple spoonfuls of mayonnaise

Some shakes of parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste