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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Dinner on a Dime... or a Dollar



Feeding your family on a tight budget can be tough; but thrifty divas enjoy finding yummy, crowd pleasing recipes is greatly rewarding.  Here’s an easy recipe I found at http://family.go.com/ that only costs $1.50 per serving.
Almost Lasagna
Hands On Time:  20 minutes
Ready In:  40 minutes
Yields:  6 servings at $1.50 a pop
Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni or small pasta shells
1 pound ground beef, turkey, chicken, or sausage
2 eggs
1 pound ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 jar spaghetti sauce (24-26 ounces)
2 cups shredded mozarella cheese
2 cups chopped veggies (zucchini, carrots, brocolli, etc)
Directions
-Brown meat, drain if necessary
-While meat is cooking, stir together eggs, ricotta, grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.
-Mix cooked meat, macaroni, sauce and veggies.  Add ricotta mixture and blend well.
-Coat a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread 1/2 the macaroni mixture on the bottom, topping with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan.  Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella  and another sprinkle of Parmesan.  Cover with foil.
-At this point, the whole thing can go in the fridge to be cooked when you’re ready (diva note:  LOVE THIS! Prepare it in the morning so that all you have to do at dinner time is pop it in the oven.  Time saving skills!  Woo-hoo!)
-Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and bake the casserole for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for another 10 - 20 minutes, until cheese on top is lightly browned and bubbly.
Add a bagged salad, serve, enjoy, and bask in the knowledge that you are one penny-wise diva!

1 comment:

  1. That sounds delicious and simple. When I make it I'll let you know how it turns out. :)

    ReplyDelete