A Falafel or shawarma,it is good for you and tasty.

Boiled potatos. Maybe with butter, but not necessarily. ---------------------- Peel 8 small potatoes. Cover with water, 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to boil. Simmer until tender, 20-25 minutes to 1/2 hour. Drain well. Keep warm. Salt, pepper, Accent 1 stick butter Pinch parsley Add at serving time. This is standard on all menu's. Leftovers are used for other potatoes.

If you eat red meat then minced beef recipes are very economical. Cottage pie, Chilli, spaghetti bolognaise are good standards. If you're a white meat eater then turkey is a cheaper meat than many. If you're over all trying to cut back Make a roast turkey dinner several times a year and use the cold cuts as you would at christmas (stews, curries, sandwiches etc). If you are a veggie I'd always go for a three bean stew. Fish is good for you but is quite dear, I use frozen fish for cheapness but take care not to over cook it, you can get good results if you don't over season and overcook fish. If you want a recipe for any of these you can google or ask away! It might be helpful if we know how many people you are cooking for.

Anything from a fast food place, good, cheap and it helps your local mega-corporation.

Ramen, with whatever you can toss in there, like eggs, onions, garlic. Got any bits of meat left around? Toss them in, and you'll have a nice bowl of soup.

Tacos are yummy and cheap!

Salad and crackers

Tortilla pizza. Take a tortilla, smear it with some tomato paste and some cheese with whatever veggies you have around (mushrooms and onion are my favorite), and bake it in the oven, toaster oven, or even roll it up and microwave it.

Quisno's Angus Beef sandwich. Yummy Yumm Yumm !!

Rice and Beans. Add a couple scrambled eggs and you'll blow away your friends.

Ground up some hamburger and brown,add hot dogs cut up in small bites,a can of pork and beans and a can of sliced tomatoes and a handful of cut up jalapeno peppers..yummy

There are some basic ingredients that can be mixed together in a number of ways. The key that I found was having a basic set of spices to keep things interesting. Salt, Pepper, Tabasco, Ground Cumin, Chili pepper flakes, oregano and basil have always been staples for me. If you are on a really tight budget (and I am not recommending this), a lot of these spices are available as free condiments at a mall. You can buy a small meal at a food court, and grab a few extra packets of salt, pepper, parmesian, chili flakes, etc and save them for later.

Ground beef and pasta with any sauce you like, I like cream of mushroom soup and adding whatever vegetables I have to the mix

When I was young and very poor I ate tuna, mayo, and spaghetti almost every night. I hate to admit it but I used to eat it right out of the pot. I was too lazy to do an extra dish

meatballs and spaghetti, the best meal ever and if you make enough meatballs it will feed an army.....

Fettucine Alfredo--I just made a fantastic alfredo sauce the other day-about 6-8 servings and it only cost me $4 thats with the pasta noodles also

Ramen? Well, if not I love browned sausage with scrambled eggs and cheese added, then put inside a flour tortilla that has been warmed and buttered. Roll up and you've got a great eat-from-your-hand breakfast burrito.

One of our favorite, "I'm too tired ... you're to tired to cook' EASY meals: Simply mince a bunch of a really fresh of herb (stems removed first) and toss this with cooked pasta of any shape or kind! We usually add some extra virgin olive oil. Adding whatever unsalted butter is optional. Season to taste. Favorite and easy: fresh baby dill, stems removed, minced. This is so versatile: sometimes we add garlic -- roasted or not -- carmelized onions ... sometimes dried spices ... depending on taste or mood ... sometimes we toss in Balsamic ... sometimes appropriately matching leftovers. And ... sometimes ... we just make the pasta and toss it with either homemade or store bought salad dressing!

If you have to cook for children, take something that everybody likes: - spaghetti with tomato sauce - Macaroni and Cheese - pizza - Couscous - french crepes (choose your filling)

Tough question.....is anything economical today? Two pounds of burger in my area is about $8.00. I buy in bulk and then freeze in serving size portions. Or cook a big chicken and then make several other meals out of it and freeze those.

Upside down pizza Fry up mushrooms, onions , peppers & tomatoes in a small fry pan. Sprinkle with a little mozzarella. Top with a pita & then flip over onto a plate.

1. Buy some pasta. 2. Buy a bag of frozen vegetables. 3. Buy your choice of pasta sauce. 4. Buy your choice of meat. 5. Cook it all and mix it together. Everything can be switched around and customized. You can feed yourself for a week.

We are feeding nine people at our house, so all my recipes make a lot. Oriental flavor ramen noodles cooked in plain water and drained + frozen, boneless skinless chicken thighs cooked in a skilletwith 1/2 the seasoning packets from the noodles and cut in small pieces + fresh and/frozen veggies to taste stirfried. Toss all with remaining seasoning packets= lo mein as good as any takeout. Red beans and rice is easy and good. Cook rice enough for everyone, add 2-3 cans light red kidney beans with "juice", add sauteed onions and peppers, hot sauce to taste. Add a lot of flavor for a little more money by dicing a Polish or andouille sausage and cooking it with the onions and peppers before adding them. Breakfast for supper is cheap and most Mexican food is inexpensive.

Buy a slow cooker or crock pot! Add your meat that you can get fairly cheaply...Add your veggies and a lil' seasoning and water. Wait 3 to 10 hours and you got an awesome meal(s)...

2 tablespoons olive oil 6 chicken thighs tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon seasoning salt 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 medium red onion, diced 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 red chili pepper, finely diced 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth (about 2 cups) 1 (15 ounce) can white beans 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies 1 ounce taco seasoning mix (I use the spicy hot kind) tortilla chips (optional) In dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, seasoning salt, and garlic powder.Place chicken thighs on a plate, and sprinkle seasoning mix over both sides of the meat, and put into hot oil. Cook 8 minutes on each side, covered, and remove from pot.With heat still on, add diced onion, chili pepper, and minced garlic cloves to the chicken juices. Sautee 5 minutes.Meanwhile, cut up chicken into small bite sized pieces.Add diced chicken back into the pot and continue sauteeing with veggies for 5 more minutes. Add chicken broth, white beans, green chilis, and taco packet. Stir together.Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes with lid on, but cracked.Serve hot in bowls with tortilla chips either on the bottom, the top, or on the side for dipping!

Omelette Noodles with oil, salt, and oregano

Progresso soup and scalloped potatoes.. with a can of Mountain dew code red ooo yeah :)

uncle ben's ready rice, chicken, frozen or fresh vegetables, a little sauce (like soysauce, hot sauce, vinagrette whatever you prefer), all wrapped in a tortilla. fast, portable, and you can mix and change. for dessert, frozen berries and whipped cream

Toad In The Hole is always a good one. http://hubpages.com/hub/Easy-Toad-In-The-Hole-Recipe

Shepard's Pie.... Cook ground beef (season to taste) Boil & mash Potatoes Shredded cheese (whatever you prefer) 2 Cans of corn Layer in a baking dish- Ground beef, then corn, cheese, mashed potatoes and a little cheese on top. Bake at 375 until cheese starts to brown! Economical, filling and delicious! (you can also add gravy to each serving)

PB&J.

Chicken soup a la Recession.

vegtable soup

Poached eggs on toast. I can have it 24/7/365(6)

Mac & cheese and hot dogs