GOURMET MEALS FOR $5 OR UNDER: MEAL 9 OF 25

LASAGNA 
W/ A SIDE OF GARDEN SALAD

Total Cost: $4.11/serving

Total Preparation Time: 2 hrs

With the arrival of my husband, the packing marathon has begun! Not the time for a 3-hour measuring, cooking and photographing run, if you ask me. But I did it anyway... For the man of the house, who over the next two weeks will be in great demand to the rest of the family.

I baked lasagna- the comfort food enjoyed by millions around the globe. A fairly rare treat in our household, it is time-consuming and requires several levels of cooking. Nevertheless, enough is always made to last quite a few meals, so the initial time investment pays off in the end. Tonight, I made enough for nine meals, which will prove handy in the next few days, as we busy ourselves with stuffing cardboard boxes and Rubbermaids.

First, I minced and sauteed onions, garlic, carrots, white mushrooms and mini peppers.

MEASURE	WEIGHT (g)	INGREDIENT	COST PER PACKAGE ($)	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)
10	228	Lasagna noodles	0.50/100g	1.14
¾	185	Onion	1.97/3lb	0.27
2	10	Garlic, cloves	1.49/pack of 3 (115g)	0.13
2	125	Carrots	3.98/5lb	0.22
N/A	150	White mushrooms	2.99/lb	0.99
2	100	Mini peppers	6.48/1.5lb	0.95
TOTAL				3.70

While cooking, I prepared tomatoes, more peppers and carrots to be blended into pasta sauce. To do that I used Vitamix- my favourite multi-function blender or, as some would correct me, total nutrition centre. To save time, one can also buy a jar of already-made additive-free tomato paste. Once ready, I stirfried some ground beef, making sure to break down large lumps of meat into smaller pieces, and poured the contents of the Vitamix container in. 

MEASURE	WEIGHT (g)	INGREDIENT	COST PER PACKAGE ($)	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)
N/A	600	Organic ground beef	18.99/1.8kg	6.33
4	500	Tomatoes	2.18/kg	1.09
1	56	Mini pepper	6.48/1.5lb	0.53
1	50	Carrot	3.98/5lb	0.09
N/A	50	Dill	1.69/bunch (130g)	0.65
TOTAL				8.69

It was time to cut up broccoli and cauliflower, as well as slice some cheese and separately saute spinach. As soon as the beef was cooked through, I added the vegetables I sauteed earlier and was now ready to layer my lasagna. First, I put a little bit of the sauce on the bottom, then covered it with 5 uncooked strips of lasagna noodles. More sauce went on top along with raw broccoli, cauliflower and a layer of cheddar. Another set of 5 noodles atop... Now, spread cooked spinach, the remainder of cauliflower and broccoli, add the rest of the sauce and cover up with cheese.  

MEASURE	WEIGHT (g)	INGREDIENT	COST PER PACKAGE ($)	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)
N/A	145	Broccoli	4.14/kg	0.60
N/A	270	Cauliflower	3.26/kg	0.88
N/A	130	Organic spinach	3.99/5oz	3.65
N/A	316	White cheddar	10.48/500g	6.62
TOTAL				11.75

It is now ready to be covered with a sheet of aluminum foil and put in the oven, which I pre-heated ahead of time to 375°F. My lasagna cooked for 40 min, then I uncovered and cooked it for 10 more minutes or until the cheese on top browns slightly. Done!

	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)
LASAGNA TOTAL	24.14*	2.68

*Makes 9 servings

For a side, I made my favourite garden salad, which I described in one of my earlier posts. To view the ingredients, see GOURMET MEALS FOR $5 OR UNDER: MEAL 2 OF 50. Another affordable meal is ready! 

	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)
GRAND TOTAL	25.57	4.11*

*Includes price per serving of garden salad ($1.43)

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