Cooking for one - Lasagna!

Hey, it's been a while! While I was aimlessly wandering the commissary yesterday, wondering what I was going to eat this weekend, I had the most serendipitous realization -- Barilla No-Boil Lasagne Noodles are the perfect size to fit into an 8x8 pan. Armed with this knowledge, I set off to create a recipe that would result in a relatively small dish.

3 8x8x1⅝ Hefty foil pans, $0.99 = $0.33 for 1
1 lb ground chuck, $2.90 (ordinary ground beef probably would have been fine)
1 24oz jar Bertolli Marinara sauce, $1.99
1 8oz jar Kraft Parmesan/Romano grated cheese, $2.99 = $0.75 for 2oz
1 box Barilla No-Boil Lasagne Noodles, $1.79 = $0.90 for 8 noodles (only need 6, but they come in a box of 16) :[

Total:  $10.66 ($6.87 for 1 pan)

Brown 1 lb ground beef in a saucepan over medium heat; add 24oz pasta sauce and 1/3 C water and stir 'til heated through. Spread meat sauce in a thin layer, then top with cheese. Place two lasagna noodles on top. Make 3 layers of meat, cheese, and noodles, then top with a final layer of meat and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving. Makes 4-6 servings.

fresh from the oven :]

Napkin math says a whole pan is about 1800 calories, so 1/4 pan = 450 calories. Pretty reasonable serving size, I think. That same 1/4 pan also adds up to $1.72 based on the above prices.

Also, the sauce ended up being pretty thin, whereas I prefer my lasagna to be pretty solid. I'd probably opt to add a 6oz tomato paste instead of the water when making the sauce when I make this again. Really, it'd be cheaper to buy canned tomato sauce and make your own pasta sauce, but I bought a jar of marinara purely because I don't own a working can opener >_>