Homemade Lasagna is Cheap!

I’ve heard said that it is not worth making lasagna as it is such an expensive meal, what with all its specialty items. I beg to differ. When I make lasagna, the cost is pretty cheap- less than 3 dollars for the whole meal, and there are usually leftovers.

Cheap Lasagna

Ingredients:
Homemade noodle dough (made from 1.5 cups flour)
Homemade pasta sauce (half recipe)
Homemade ricotta cheese (recipe coming soon)
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup homemade breadcrumbs
1 onion
1 zucchini, eggplant, tomato or some spinach (whatever is in season)
3 slices hard cheese (American, meunster, mozzerella, etc.)

Instructions: 
1. Make your noodle dough, then roll it out in flat sheets. No need to cut it up; lay out the whole sheet on the bottom of the baking dish. Cut the excess dough and use it to fill in gaps where the pan shows through.

2. Cover the first layer of dough with a layer of tomato sauce and layer onion rings on that.

3. Add another layer of dough on top of the onions and sauce.
4. Mix homemade ricotta cheese with milk, sugar and breadcrumbs. Grate zucchini into the mixture and spread on top of the dough layer. If using tomatoes or eggplant, slice thinly. If using spinach, mix into the ricotta cheese mixture.

5. Add another layer of noodle dough, and then another thick layer of sauce. Top this with cheese. I usually break mine up so that 3 slices can cover the whole layer.

6. Bake for an hour or more, at least until the cheese on top is all melted and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Variations- You can add a layer of mashed beans into the lasagna for extra protein. You can use a milk based   “cream” sauce instead of the tomato sauce and omit all the cheeses.

What do you put in your lasagna? How much does it usually cost you?
This is part of Make it Monday.