Indian food my friend! Loads of pulse based dishes that are not difficult, and very inexpensive. Dal, Channa, Pani Puri, Paneer etc... If it works for 1 billion modest Indians, it will work for you.

Even if you add meat, you can use the cheapest cuts and include the bones for savoury broth making built into the dish.

Beans and rice takes many forms, and is generally cheap, and fairly nutritious

I’m a fan of pork butt (or shoulder) in a slow cooker all day (or oven on low) it manages to be pretty cheap per serving, and you can spice it to match any cuisine

Beef is just for special occasions unfortunately

Some fish, like tilapia, can be cheap proteins… I cook mine with lemon and dill

Canned proteins should not be overlooked

Bread is one of those things that is cheaper to buy than make IMO

If only cheese wasn’t so fucking expensive lol

The noble potato, savior of many a meal

Meat is expensive, so veggie meals first. Something simple, nourishing and tasty is Risotto

Curry.

• Any vegitables
• chickpeas or tofu
• rice
• curry paste or some spices
• coconut milk

Prep:

• cut and steam vegetables, rice
• bake tofu
• mix everything
• wait 20min

Lovely vegan curry. Could switch to meat if you want. Costs me roughly €2,50 per portion for a very tasty and healthy meal.

You can basically never go wrong with a curry/stew. Japanese curry/rioux cubes are amazing and people sleep on the jarred thai curry pastes. Excellent with frozen veggies although I try to still grab fresh carrots or some other root vegetable.

Aside from that? My go to (that I made probably a bit too much during the pandemic...) is a boxed rice mix (think zatarans or goya), some low sodium spam, and some varying quality chicken stock. Minimal effort, basically all stuff you can buy in bulk and keep in the pantry. and it usually makes 2-3 servings depending on your tolerance for sodium. Bonus points if you use half and half homemade stock (which is a lot less effort than people would think) and carton, but Better than Boullion is an expensive way to get close.

Go-to meals that don't break the bank:

• Butter/Vindaloo Chicken
• Marinara/Ragu/Bolognese
• Whole air-fried chicken
• Roast Pork Butt w/ ratatouille
• Madras Lentils
• Refried Black/Pinto beans + wraps

Tips:

• I buy a bag of taters and pressure cook like 6-12 at one time (depending on size) then individually freeze them. Now potato sides, baked potatoes, etc are greatly simplified.
• Buy a large pork butt and either section it yourself and freeze or roast the whole thing for leftovers. Collect the drippings and make a pork broth, great for a soup base!
• Roasting a whole chicken with simple seasonings/butter, then sectioning and using the carcass for stock - lots of precooked chicken and 'free' stock in the fridge!

Are you just sick of beans and rice or have you not found a recipe you like? If the latter, try this one. I made it a day or two ago and it's good.

Serious Eats Foolproof Pan Pizza is one of my regulars. You can put all kinds of stuff on a pizza and it's still good. I'm vegetarian so I use fake chicken and such, but here are a few of my favorites. (they all have mozzarella)

• Teriyaki sauce base, fried tofu, green beans, mushrooms, red onion, fried eggplant
• Barbecue sauce base, chicken, mushrooms, red onions, pickled jalapenos, sweet corn
• Refried bean base, cheddar, onions, mushrooms, pickled jalapenos. Top with Romain salad w/ ranch.
• Tomato sauce base, mushrooms, onions, peppers, olives. (flexible, use what you like)

You can make the pickled jalapenos. And the refried bean base is just a can of beans with a little water, garlic, and salt. Heat to cook the garlic then blend/mash.

I also like a good vegetable pot pie. That one is made with simple ingredients like potatoes, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, along with any spices you like. She has a nice pie crust recipe too. Turned out well when I made it.

A good stew. Most expensive ingredient will be the osso-buco, or any similar meat-on-the-bone.

You cook the meat, bone and all, till the marrow melts out. Vegetables can be... Anything. One pot can last you a week and it's a real hearty meal.

All possible variations of one-pots.

You can use what's available and make dozens of variations with cheap ingredients. Plus easy cooking and low energy costs because you only use one pot.

What are your best economical recipes that aren't just beans, chickpeas, and rice?

I mean I eat beans and rice almost daily and always look forward to it, so...

Try this Eggplant with Garlic Sauce. I just use standard dark soy sauce and an American eggplant, it's still great. Anyone in college in particular should try it, just because of how cheap and easy it is.

Also cabbage soup is one of my favorite lunches.

cheap is tacos here.

heat up the tortillas
heat up whatever goes in the taco (usually some leftovers from the fridge, or some ground meat)
saute some onions
make some salsa
put it all together
eat the taco

you should probably do it in the order that has them all done at the same time, but like tacos is usually leftovers. like, leftover pork butt, leftover beef, leftover whatever. it's delicious.

i've also got a cheap pasta

-boil some water, add a small handful (about 1 T) of salt
-get a can/jar of unseasoned tomato sauce, passatta if you can get it
-brown some ground beef/pork/italian sassage (meat optional, you can just add the spices and wine to the tomate if you're going veg)
-season the sassage (use italian seasoning if you don't know what you're doing, if you do or want to learn: add garlic, basil, oregano, fennel/aniseed, pepper of your choosing (i usually add red/white/black in ratios of my whim that day) a little sugar if you want i never do (that's my mother's variation), some onion if you want i never do (that's my wife's variation)
-when the sassage is browned deglaze the pan with a decent red wine of your choosing and add the tomate
-let the sauce warm, bring to a simmer
-MEANWHILE: boil the pasta in the salted water. about halfways through, add 1/2c of pasta water to the tomate. this helps the sauce stick to the noodle.
-If it's a long noodle, when the noodles are al dente add them directly to the tomate with tongs. don't use a strainer. if it's a short noodle, get a spider skimmer, do the same. finish in the tomate. serve with a good crusty pugliese.

Cook in bulk. Everything is cheaper if you can make 10 portions, divide and freeze.

Veggie Pasta

1 Red Onion diced 2 Carrots diced 1 Celery diced Fresh Mozzarella 4oz bacon 6oz fusilli pasta (My personal favorite is Dellalo) 1.5c Marinara sauce Parsley for topping

Cook the bacon to desired doneness in a 10 to 12" skillet. Personally, I like it just a bit chewy, rather than crispy.

Drain the bacon on a plate with a paper towel while you cook the veggies.

Cook the veggies until soft and browned. Add sauce and bacon and warm.

While the veggies are cooking, bring a well salted pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta per directions on the package.

Aliquot the pasta onto two plates add fresh mozz into the pasta and spread the sauce evenly between the two plates. Top with parsley.

This makes enough for two people.

Potatoes and lardons

https://lemmy.ml/post/41968717

For cheap ingredients, don't forget to pop into your local supermarket near closing. You'll find a lot of fresh things like veg and bread will be reduced down to almost nothing.if your lucky you can score a cooked rotisserie chicken.

Meals based on pasta and rice will be filling and cheap.

Soups are a great way to get nutrition on a budget and shouldn't be overlooked. Theres a reason soup kitchens are a thing.

Don't forget to take into account cooking costs. Make a large batch of something and portioning it off in a freezer. Also heating in a microwave is ofern cheaper every wise than a stove or oven.

Carnitas is pretty inexpensive if you get a pork butt on sale. Slow cook it all day with some spices and then all you really need is some tortillas.

The meat is usually good enough to eat by itself but you can get other things to go on it

Pico Hot sauce Guac

But none of that is strictly necessary.

Total cost for days of food is miniscule

some bread you like(soft bread is good for this), cheese slices, tomato. optionally tuna or salmon if you can find some with decent price, maybe some spices(i like dill and oregano). You can also just skip the tuna/salmon, its pretty good with just cheese and tomato too.

Butter the bread, put tomato slice on it and cheese on top of it. Put it on oven and set it to 200c. Let them be there until cheese has properly melted and bread has toasted a bit. Take it out and put tuna on top of it or small slice of salmon. or put something else you like on it.

You can put the spices on top of the cheese before the oven or after it.

And naturally you dont have to make just one singular bread, make as much as you want.

Another food i have been occasionally making is mashed everything. I boil some potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots until they are soft, then just mash them with the wooden.. smasherthingy..? (perunanuija). Add some cream if you want, also some salt and other spices you feel might work (again, i like dill and oregano, they go with everything. Some other spices might work for you better so experiment). If it tastes good, its done, if not you could try putting it on stove for some time so new ingredients mix up better.

two jars of salsa

chicken thighs

veggies

crock pot on low for 4 hours

serve with rice

If you have access to ham hock, look up Congri. It's a Cuban beans and rice dish that's very cheap to make and quite tasty.

It might sound like more of a side, but I've found it's plenty hearty enough for a meal.

I can see you're in the UK, so this might be completely different for you, but another thing I've found lately is that chicken drumsticks are extremely cheap compared to every other cut of chicken. I can get about 8lbs of drumsticks for $8 from costco. I bake them, tear off the meat, and freeze it for use in whatever. I also save the bones so I can make chicken stock once I have enough.

Not sure if that will hold true across the pond, but I'll throw it out there anyway just in case.

Edit: I realize you said no beans and rice, so I guess I'm not helping in that regard with this, sorry! 😅

Quick and easy Potato soup:

1 box of chicken stock

1 bag of frozen hash brown potatoes (approx 2 lbs)

1 medium onion

1 stick of cream cheese

1 half stick of Butter (approx 1/4 cup)

Salt and pepper

Optional: Sour cream (or plain, unflavored yogurt), Shredded cheese, Bacon crumbles

Empty stock and hashbrowns into a large pot, bring to a boil. While it is heating, dice the onion and add it as well. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cover. Boil for 20ish minutes, stirring occasionally.

If the soup gets too thick, add water to dilute.

Hashbrowns should start to crumble and dissolve. When that happens, mix in the cream cheese and butter and stir to help everything break up and dissolve.

Once cream cheese is fully melted and mixed, add salt and pepper to taste and serve, adding optional toppings as desired/available.

This is enough soup for 2 hearty full meals or 4 regular servings

Cheese burger and tater tots. I can turn out a decent burger and tots in about 20 minutes. This is a simple cheese burger using frozen patties with pickles and onion. And the tots take about 14 minutes in the air fryer.

Lentil stew is great, if you want a hearty meal.

I like to have cubed soup greens in my freezer. I usually freeze them myself.

Then I just throw them in a pot, together with some lentils and vegetable stock powder. Maybe some potatoes as well, if I want it to be more filling.

But there are thousands of proper recipes you can try.

Potatoes are good. Cut up potatoes (peeled or not, I like unpeeled because less work and more nutrients that way), season with olive oil (rapeseed oil will also work probably) and thyme (or other herbs of your choice), cook in a 225℃ oven for 20-25 minutes. (I recommend setting a timer for 20 minutes, then checking if they are done yet and setting a timer for 5 more minutes if not to prevent burnt potatoes.)

Tater tot casserole.

Saag aloo. Potatoes, greens, tomato, and spices. Takes some prep (boil the potatoes, cool, cut into smaller pieces, and fry) but it’s worth it.

Soup, easy to make, you just need a big pan and some water and some ingredients

Bulk cook the entré or protein on the weekend because it takes the most time. Make a side everyday, or every other day, so you can switch it up based on your mood.

Literally take 1-2 lbs of meat and make it last a week for a family of 4.

That Taco Ground Beef/Turkey can then be prepared 5-7 different ways for every day of the week. Feel like you want a Quesadilla? Or a Taco? Roll it up and pour enchilada sauce on it? Throw some chips in the Oven, Pour on whatever is left with cheese and you got nachos.

Make a steak on Saturday. On Monday, you chunk into some delicious rice pilaf. On Thursday you get a baguette and thinly slice the leftover for a Cheese Steak.

Way too many people think every meal has to start from scratch each time. Restaurants don't even cook this way.

Etouffee. Best with crawfish and sausage, but chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, whatever proteins you have work.

Mince two onions, put them in a wok or large pan with 1/2 cup of butter or oil, and keep them moving over medium low heat so they don't brown. When they start to lose their structure, add 3 staulks of minced celery and keep going. When those lose structure, add 1 and 1/2 minced bell peppers, green and or red. Cut the other half pepper into strips for later. Keep stirring until you've got a good slurry.

Now add 2 Tbsp of flour or GF flour, and again, keep it moving, until a nice yellow roux forms.

The hard part is over now. Add a cup of broth, (chicken or shellfish, are best, but vegetable works) stir it up and let it simmer. If you're using sausage, add them in whole at this point. If chicken, add in strips or chunks.

Now rinse and clean two cups of rice, and set it aside to soak in 3.5 cups of water, or 2.5 water and 1 broth.

Chop up a bunch of parsley, like a cup or more, and 4 garlic cloves. Use Italian parsley, curley is a garnish and doesn't have enough flavor.

Add half the parsly and garlic and another cup of broth to the pan, and simmer, stirring occasionally. As it reduces, keep adding broth. Your going to end up using about 4 cups total.

Put the rice in a pan and heat until boiling in the water/broth combo. Reduce to the lowest setting and cover.

Take the whole sausages if you added them, and cut them up and put them back in. This is when you would add the shrimp, crawfish, or mushrooms if you use them, as well as the pepper strips from earlier. I like to add some clam juice right here if I didn't use seafood stock earlier.

It should be a yellow/orange gravy at this point. As the rice finishes, stir the remaining garlic and parsley into the gravy. Give it a minute to mellow the garlic, and you're done. Put it on the rice, and add a cayenne based hot sauce to bring the heat up.

Green onions and parsley are a solid garnish.

I will often salt the minced vegetables while they wait to be added.

It's cheap and great, and reheats well.. The trade off for pricing is the 2 hours you spend stirring.

Variations:

-add sliced jalapeños at the simmering point.

-no garlic, but add cayenne pepper

-no peppers, but increase celery.

-peel your own crawfish, then bake the shells for 25 minutes, and simmer them in a big pot for a few hours to make your own swamp broth. It starts out smelling terrible, but that leaves and you get an awesome stock to use as the base.

One thing I like making is Pesto Pasta. It's just:

• 2 lbs rotini
• 1 cup half & half or heavy cream
• 1 jar pesto
• 3-4 small tomatoes, diced
• (opt.) 1 chicken breast, grilled and chopped

Just boil/drain the pasta, add everything else, stir it together, and you're done. It's easy, cheap, and surprisingly good.

I make it with Classico traditional pesto which can be a bit pricier (I think it's worth it if you have the extra few dollars) but any kind works. I also tend to add salt to the water before boiling the pasta but it can be added later to taste as well. Usually feeds 6-8 people at like $1-2/person.

Every year, I buy a farm share (CSA) that gets me about half a bushel of produce every week during the growing season, plus PYO privileges; right now, it's running about $400 for 24 weeks, so about $17 a week. The CSA model is that you pay up front, so the farm has the money to run for the year without being dependent on extreme variables like weather and crop prices. When it's a good year, I get extra produce; and if it's a bad year, well, prices in the stores are going to rise anyway. And after I buy my share, I don't have to buy produce for like 2/3's of the year. Anyway, it all means that my meals are very veggie-based, and seasonal; and that I have less of a 'feel' for the cost of my meals because I pay most of it up front.

Stuff that I make with my share (I freeze about half the stuff I make and eat it through the winter and spring):

Leafy-green stuff: salad; stir fry; frittatas; lettuce soup (okay but not great, but prevents letting stuff spoil when I get sick of lettuce month); kale chips; spinach salad, spinach dip.

Veggie dishes: eggplant Parmesan; zucchini boats; stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers; feta-crusted baked tomatoes; cinnamon roasted potatoes; French onion soup; seven layer casserole; pizza; mashed turnips with potatoes; colcannon; moussaka; baba ganoush; roasted daikon; radishes with butter; three beet salad; double garlic soup; garlic scape dip; chili; garlic mashed potatoes; creamy corn chowder. [This also doesn't include simple "direct" stuff like roasted carrots or potatoes, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, etc.]

Canning / freezing / dehydrating extras: marinara; salsa; tomato paste; red pepper flakes; hot sauce; pickled garlic, pickled onions, pickled beets; giardiniera; dilly beans; apple slices, apple skins, apple butter; sauerkraut; garlic scape relish. Lots of various herbs.

Fruit-based or dessert-type stuff I make from my share: strawberry muffins, strawberry shortcake; blueberry pancakes; raspberry jam; blackberry compote; apples baked in lemon custard; zucchini bread, butternut squash bread; pumpkin pie; peach kuchen; sweet potato pie; baked sweet potatoes with apples; baesuk.

There's undoubtedly a lot of stuff that I'm forgetting to list.

Try Finnish pasta casserole, childhood favorite of most Finnish kids. You can also replace some of the ingredients with vegan alternatives, but I've only tested with vegan minced "meat" which was quite ok

https://keefcooks.com/makaronilaatikko-finnish-pasta-casserole-recipe

Roasted sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary. Cut them into 1" cubes, cook around 12-15 min,once warmed up, roast em at 400 for another 5-10min until a little crispy. Delicious.

Kale chips! Take some kale, remove the stems, brush it with oil and seasonings, then throw it in the oven on some parchment paper

put anything you want into a rice cooker and that's it

Mille feuille nabe. It's cabbage and pork (sliced thin) layered together and cooked in dashi or whatever broth you have. Pack it with other veggies, mushrooms, whatever is on sale. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, serve with rice or noodles.

I like to put the whole pot on the table and have people take pieces like hot pot.

Also a good time to break out any sauces you have. Ponzu, chili oil, sriracha, whatever your taste. It's very flexible.

Chili garlic tofu

Though to be honest I don't usually use a recipe or cook anything. I cube a block of soft/silken tofu, dump on some chili oil, add some kind of vinegar (and maybe sesame oil if I have it), and eat it raw and cold.

You could probably do it with any kind of sauce you like and put it on rice if you're feeling fancy

Golgoppa, minced veg salad you can eat with potato chips.

Cabbage base, carrots, onions, other crunchy vegetables, dice/minced everything, mix in some cream sauces so it sticks together, you don't need much, cute down on tastiness.

Super cheap, super easy to make, super tasty and healthy.

From a post with more detail and recipes back in the old travel com. New travel com here.

Shakshuka.

The only potentially expensive part would be the eggs. The rest is just onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and spices.

And it's quite possibly the tastiest food on the planet.

Braise onions, add tomato paste, garlic, spices, stock, and red lentils, boil till thick then dilute to preference when serving.

Serve with a swirl of hot flavoured oil (heat oil, add spices) and plain soy yoghurt, some fresh or dried herbs are nice too.

This works as soup or over rice, and a big pot is cheap to make and it freezes well.

Spice wise, I go either turkish or indian.

Potato wedges, roast carrots and parsnips with herb salt

I feel like my idea of cheap is a lot less money than everyone else here. I grow the herbs myself so that is free.

Red Beans and Rice is very efficient. Even if you're using Andoiulle which can get a little pricey.

Pork shoulder is cheap as hell, so I'll also often do carnitas and use it for tacos.

Tuna Chilli

• 1 diced onion
• Some garlic (fresh or lazy)
• 1 tin of tuna in oil….ideally a block or steak tin option.
• 1 tin of tomatoes (I get full and chop with scissors)
• A few small fresh chilli’s, chopped small.(I like the long skinny ones)
• Good squidge of tomato paste.
• Preferred spices/herbs

I pop the tuna out as a tin shape block into a frying pan and try to sear a bit on the bottom/sides etc
Add the onions fry till done, add garlic
Add the tomatoes, tomatoes paste, chillies and and herbs seasoning etc.

Leave it boil down till it’s not too wet, I prefer it quite a dry chilli.

I usually eat it with rice or pasta.

Ooh I love beans & rice. But we do eat other stuff, and I find the biggest $ savings comes from avoiding waste, not buying cheap ingredients.

My kids LOVE

Mapo Tofu (ground pork & tofu)

Bulgogi beef or pork with tofu

Cabbage in coconut curry with any protein - tofu, shrimp, chicken, or just veggies.

Rice bowls. This week we had one with chicken tenders, cabbage slaw (dressed in rice vinegar and sesame oil) wasabi carrots (dressed in wasabi and soy sauce), cauliflower (grown in garden, no seasoning), avocado. Sauce of mayo & Sriracha. But most variations they like - a rice, a meat, bunch of veg or sometimes even fruit, a sauce.

Breakfast for any meal, eggs, potatoes, refried beans, and some meat, with onion, cheese, avocado on the side.

Where I am, potato, carrot, and beets are very cheap staple vegetables. So of course, there's a salad made from them, called vinaigrette salad. You just boil the vegetables, dice them into cubes, add chopped onions, and optionally pickles and green peas. Serve with sunflower or olive oil, and maybe mayonnaise or sour cream. A dash of soy sauce adds considerable flavor.

Greek salad is typically more expensive, but is very quick to prepare. Dice a tomato and a cucumber, chop some onion, slice olives. Dice feta cheese or any softish cheese you have on hand. Likewise, add vegetable oil, sour cream or mayonnaise, maybe soy sauce for flavor. I also recommend adding oregano or basil. Some chopped green salad or cabbage work alright too.

Here are some recipes I have made in the past from food pantry items. Don't look down at food pantries and don't wait till your homeless or in debt to get some help.

Quick Beans

2 cans beans (black or pinto work) 4 tablespoons tomato sauce 2tsp cumin 1tsp onion powder 2 tsp oregano salt /pepper to taste 1/2c chicken broth

Mix them all together in a pot. Bring to a simmer then down to a low simmer until the beans soften and the sauce thickens. If the sauce thickens before the beans soften up, add a bit of water(or more broth if you have it)

If you have an** air fryer crispy potatoes** Wash and quarter small potatoes( these usually cost less per pound. I get about 10 pounds for $3-4) drop in boiling water until the outside is slightly soft but the core will still be solid (test with a fork) Drain the potatoes and put in a bowl, toss with salt untill the outside gets fuzzy, Add some kind of oil (or melted fat if you have leftover from cooking) and toss more

put in the air fryer for about 15-20 minutes at 375

My student days:

Curry Super Noodles

After draining most of the water crack an egg in there and give it a small stir, also add small tin tuna and some frozen sweetcorn

Tip into a bowl and drown in Sweet Chili Sauce

Easy to make, only dirties one pan, has pretty much all the nutrients you need. Corresponds to no known world cuisine so name it whatever you want.

Not particularly cheap but not very expensive either and goes a long way pasta salad

1 family pack of buittoni cheese tortellini Italian sausage (ground or whole) 1 jar pesto Cherry tomatoes Red onion Bell pepper Artichoke hearts (jar, marinated) Feta

Boil pasta, drain

Cook sausage, cut to bit sized if using whole links

Cut veggies to desired bite sizes

Add pasta, sausage veggies and pesto to bowl, mix, salt and pepper to taste

refrigerate, serve chilled with a sprinkle of feta

Tends to make about 8-10 servings for 20-30ish dollars, cooks in less than an hour, makes a full meal, great to pack to work and eat cold

I'm still partial to custom ramen. Just get your favorite ramen, get it boiling and a bit soft, throw an egg or two in there, make some spam, throw that in if you want, and then spice it up however you want. Salty as all hell, though. You need a lot of water to offset it, which is the problem.

Egg fried rice is my go to, I lived on it for 3 months without eating any other meals during the start of the cost of living crisis. You can make 2 portions from 2 eggs, 300ml of rice, soy sauce, ketchup and any mixed frozen veg. Sometimes I would even add some meat if I could get it for cheap. Overall I managed to get my spending down to about £2-3 a week towards the middle of 2022. I adapted a recipe that's meant to be the filling for Omurice and if you can get some sweet bbq sauce works really well instead of ketchup.

Start cooking the rice in the morning, then leave it in a sieve with a lid over it for the rest of the day. When it's dinner time start by frying up the frozen veg, just before that's fully up to temperature add the day old rice. Once the whole meal is almost fully cooked add the eggs and lower the temp. Keep stirring as you cook it and once the egg is cooked add the soy and ketchup then mix through till there's no white rice left.

As much hate as we have for LLMs, I've had a lot of luck using them to figure out meals for whatever weird food is on special. It's led to all sorts of interesting meals for fairly cheap.

Generally, I'll go grab whatever cheap protein is out there from a large market, then hit up my local grocers, see what's on special and ask an LLM to come out with 4 suggestions based on the foods I give it, choose one, ask for 3 - 4 variations in ascending difficulty, then select one and I'm good to go. Not all have been 10/10 but a lot have been great!

Do you have a slow cooker? Make a simplified poulet basquaise! Get a tin of ratatouille (La Doria brand, usually less than £1.50 in supermarkets), empty it in a slow cooker, and pop one or 2 chicken breasts (or thighs for an even cheaper meal), add a stock cube of your choice and get it going on low for 8 hours. The meat will shred beautifully and it makes a great rice/pasta/wrap topper. That's enough for maybe 4 servings.

I make pork chilli a lot. Various beans, tomato cans of whatever is cheapest at the moment, and then I buy the cheapest cuts of pork nobody wants and put them through my standing mixer meat grinder attachment. Spice however you like.

I googled pretty much the same thing a few years ago. And that's where I found my now favorite pasta sauce:

• Cube half an onion
• put some oil in a small pot
• fry the onion until it's translucent
• add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• add half a cup of cream
• mix well
• heat to boiling, then let it simmer until you are ready
• in the meantime (or now) heat a huge pot of salt water. It should be about as salty as the Mediterranean sea.
• cook 150 g of white- or 80g of whole grain pasta according to the instructions on the packaging
• add the cooked pasta to your pasta sauce
• add salt and pepper to taste

In general, most dishes that are focused around carbs are pretty cheap.

Rice and soup, any soup, can be simple soups or complex soup, beans and can of tomato all you need some salt. Diced potato soup+ can of tomato. Yellow Lentil soup all you need is salt. Buckwheat soup, Pearl barley you guessed it all you need is salt.

You can add anything to soup, a piece of meat(s), veggies mix other legumes, possibilities are endless

Make a simple crepe made of flour, water, salt. Then fry cabbage with a onion, at the same time some white fish or chicken. Fill the crepe with the cabbage and fish/chicken. Done.
I got this from a dungeon explorer manga. Fucking tasty.

I could really use some insta pot recipes