What are your favourite cheap meals?

My favorite cheap meal would definitely have to be tin mackerel with a lot of onions and bell peppers alongside some steamed rice; i don't see it getting any better than this.
 
I guess the simplest meal that I have made that is also cheap cost-wise is rice with vegetables. I bought a small rice cooker a few years ago and started experimenting with adding things to the rice as it cooked like onions, carrots, and edamame. There is very little prep involved and it's a one dish meal you can have on it's own or with some kind of animal protein.
 
For me, an easy- to- cook and cheap meal usually means pasta made with any leftover meat and random veggies that I can find in the fridge. Another alternative is making plain chicken soup and eat it with a small sandwich (preferably grilled cheese) or this Turkish bread dipped with hummus- extremely delicious!
 
Yoghurt with... anything. Cottage cheese, nuts, or just some cinnamon and honey. It's hands down my favorite snack and yoghurt is relatively cheap here in Bulgaria. It's easy to prepare too, so that's another bonus.
 
I'd always go for pasta when I'm being stingy as the noodles are really cheap I don't really need expensive tomato sauce to make a yummy pasta dish. I would just buy a can of tuna and mix it with some olive oil and season it to taste. It's cheap, easy and delicious!
 
missbishi said:
Things are financially tough right now. Not just here in the UK but all over the world. What are your favourite meals to cook when money is tight? I do a lot of jacket potatoes and one-pot meals when there's too much month left at the end of my paycheck but I would welcome some new ideas.
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Potatoes are a good idea, as is pasta but it can get a bit boring. How about a curry? Egg curry is something I do quite often. Check out the garlic/ginger paste from Tesco's (Nishaan brand), its great value, cheap, and lasts ages. Caramelise some chopped onions, add garlic/ginger paste (Nishaan or your own) and Indian spices of your choice and half a tin of chopped tomatoes. Cook for a while and blitz if you want a smooth curry sauce. Then you can add hard boiled eggs (halved) and gently heat through. Top with chopped coriander and serve with boiled rice. I usually make a tarkha dhal (lentil) curry to go with this (also very cheap). This recipe does depend on having spices in your stock cupboard.
 
My favorite cheap meal is rice with homemade beanie weenie. It is not only cheap but it also takes under 30 minutes to prepare. You make the beanie weenie by dicing canned sauages and sauteing them with onions, tomatoes and sweet pepper. The next step is to add a can of baked beans and serve it over the rice.
 
Egg are cheap and has a lot of nutrients. You can cook it in many ways too.
 
I have a nephew who loves pizza. For snacks when he is in our house, he would always request pizza. He could finish one family size pizza all by himself, not to mention the fried chicken wings. We also like pizza and occasionally order for delivery. We keep the leftovers in the fridge and the next day, it would be nice to heat if in the toaster oven. That's the idea of my husband.
 
You can stretch red beans and rice out pretty far, and the most expensive ingredient is the smoked sausage. Around here its about 3$.
 
Slow cooked Meatballs - anything in a slow cooker for that matter - is cheap and spreads. We used to do many hotpot style meals - soups, stews, taco and cheese chips with meatsauce, right now today we just did a BBQ sauce called "Sweet Baby Ray's" and a pack of frozen meatballs. The total cost was under 4-5 bucks American and fed three people with leftovers.

Rice meals, Ramen Meals, anything else under 1 dollar you could add ingredients too (like butter garlic with shrimp ramen) for under 6 bucks if you get some decent shrimp or fillers.

Hmm. I'd hate to say you don't cook these 'cheap meals' but those fast-food chains are also a quick and easy alternative, though they kill you in fat/calories/what not. Under 3 bucks for two sandwiches and a fry? Fills me up for half the day, at least.

I'm a poor man in terms of financial standings, so I've found plenty of meals 'to stretch' between my money.
 
My husband is diabetic, so my cheap meals still have to be relatively low in carbs. A cheap meal for us is usually a meatloaf (ground beef and possibly pork), at least 1 or 2 vegetables, and a small starchy side like a box of scalloped potatoes. Under $10 US
 
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