Your recipe sounds good. With a little planning ahead you could make it for even less per person.
I pay .99 cents per pound for Chicken breasts with the bone in them. I cut them off the bone myself and throw the bones in a separate freezer bag to use for making soups another time.
If you watch for boxed pasta to go on sale at your local grocery store, you can often pick it up for $1.00 lb. or less. Add a coupon and double it when you can and sometimes you can get it for free!
Stock up on onions when they are on sale cheap. Onions are 10. cents each or less when I buy them this way.
Evaporated milk is on sale a lot too, I never pay more than .99 a can for it, and often less if I have a coupon for it.
Just doing those four things would save you at least $6.42 off the cost of the entire dish.
You are absolutely correct. Just by doing those things you create a good, nutritious meal for under a buck a serving.
I swore off white flour and I haven’t found a good box whole wheat pasta. The pasta I found at the market is pretty good and it is fresh. I am having the same problem with bread. There is an Amish family who brings their bread to the market. I sampled it and it is delicious. But you know those whacky Amish.