Cheap and Easy Meal

So college is expensive. That is not a surprise to anyone who has ever been in college or had a friend/child in college.  I turned in a time card late to work a couple weeks ago which means that I didn't get paid on payday. So I went an entire month on a single paycheck where I had several days off so it was a tiny paycheck to boot. That, my friends, is not easy. So I had to get really creative.  I decided to make some dishes that can really stretch to make many meals from just a few ingredients.

This is one dish that my mother and I made for a wedding. Because I had made so many batches of this dish, I pretty much had it memorized.



Baked Rigatoni Lasagna
1 box Rigatoni pasta
1 large can Marinara Sauce
18 slices Provolone Cheese
1 lb Sausage browned
1 cup shredded cheese (whatever kind you like)
1 cup Sour Cream

1. Cook the pasta according to the box
2. Heat oven to 350
3. in a 9x13 baking dish, spread a spoonful of sour cream on the bottom
4. place a layer of pasta (enough to cover the sour cream)
5.place 1/3 of the sausage on top of the pasta
6. pour 1/4 of the jar of marinara sauce and spread it over the sausage
7. place six slices of provolone cheese in  a layer on top of the sauce
8. spread another spoonful of sour cream on the cheese and repeat the whole process 3 times.
9. top the dish with the shredded cheese and the rest of the marinara sauce.  Bake for about 30 minutes. It is done when the cheese is melted and you see bubbles along the sides of the glass pan


You can alter this recipe if you like more or less sauce or you want to have less cheese.  I  use reduced fat Jimmy Deans sausage. So use what you like, but I would recommend you try it according to the recipe at least once, it is really good!!