If you are fuel stingy you can cook pasta with less water than is usual and almost cook it down to cooking to where is little to no liquid when done. The works better with finer pasta like vermicelli. It uses less fuel that way. It probably isn't ideal from a culinary POV, but It seemed fine to me in camp with a heightened appetite.
Ramen noodles aren' really pasta but they cook well that way too. I like to use just enough water so they are hydrated and the liquid is gone when they are cooked. Then stir in butter and seasoning and maybe some foil packed tuna or salmon. You can add cheese or veggies too, but cheese makes dishwashing way more difficult. I don't carry much food preferring to buy daily as much as possible, but a few items I sometimes make an exception for are some freeze dried peas and maybe some dired redried beans, both from honeyville.com. They come in a big #10 can and I repackage them in heat sealed mylar bags. I like them both really well. I actually like the beans as well as any non dried product and the peas are great too. Both are light, carry well, and rehydrate easily. Basically just add hot water.
BTW, alcohol isn't the only beverage that gets expensive. Any beverage added to a meal adds significantly to the cost. If you really want/need it it may be worth it, but if you like water okay you save a lot of money by sticking with just plain non bottled water.