As more and more of us face the realization that our summertime richness is now gone, im sure people are looking for more (relatively inexpensive) meal ideas.
Please do NOT list things like Ramen Noodles or Macaroni. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Quesadillas (sp?):
-2 buttered tortillas with some refried beans
-Add Cheddar cheese and any other fixins you like
-grill on medium heat until buttered sides are golden brown
-serve with LOTS of salsa
cost: $1 to $3 depending on what you put in it

Seafood Alfredo:
-Cook Spaghetti noodles
-Add alfredo cheese sauce that comes in the jars at the store
-Add small shrimp and vegetables
cost: $1 to $3 again, depending on what all you put in it

I'm afraid of the alfredo, I don't think I'd trust cheap shrimp. Jambalaya is one of my favorite things to make that's not overly expensive. Rice (cheap) few jalapeno's (cheap), tomatoes (cheap) and chicken being the most expensive part. Hell you can even use the chicken helper stuff, throw some chipotle tabasco on that stuff and you're good to go.

Chinese anything. They're good, cheap, and easy to make. All of them eaten with rice, and if you like rice, it can make a little bit go a long way--

Ginger chicken:
Slightly cook some chopped up chicken brease in a pot with some diced ginger (or, pork, if you'd prefer it to chicken, just remember to drain it)
Add some fish sauce, molassas, and a can of chicken broth
Cook until chicken is done

Stir-fried beef and green beans:
Fry thin slices of roast (or any lean beef) with some vegatable oil
Toss in some green beans, fry until the beans are close to how you like them (I like mine just slightly cooked and still a bit stiff)
Pour in some chicken broth and a bit of fish sauce
cook to completion

Mongolian Beef:
Brown some beef like above
Add some cut up red and green bell peppers, garlic and onions and cook until they're however you like
Toss in some oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and a splash of veggie oil

Napa Cang:
Brown some pork and drain
Add Napa (I think they sell it at Wal-Mart, if not, any leafy green will work)
Add some onion, chicken broth and fish sauce
Bring to boil

If you're just cooking one serving, some of the above are expensive. But, if you cook a decent amount, you can get three or four good sized meals out of them at around 2-4 bucks a piece.

If you're not into cooking, a lot of the frozen meals (Skillet Senstaions and the like, not TV dinners) actually taste pretty good for the cost.

Something I make occasionally is like Chicken Alfredo.

1 box of Penne pasta (cook as instructed on box)
1 jar of alfredo sauce (I like the Ragu kind with mozzarella and parmesan)
1 can of chicken

Heat the sauce and chicken and pour on the noodles. It's not bad, but it feels like something is missing when we have it, and I can't figure out what it is.
---
Also, s'getti:
1 box o' s'getti (cook as instructed)
1 jar of sauce (if you get the kind that's meat flavored, adding meat isn't required)
1 lb. ground beef (browned)

---
And, Potato Soup
A couple of potatoes, diced
A bit of onion
A lot of Velveeta, or whatever cheese pleases you
Water

Boil the diced potatoes until they are as mushy as you want them 10-15 minutes. And use just enough water to cover all the potatoes. Then add the onion and cheese. Let it get all melty. If it's too runny, you can add instant mashed potato flake things.

A few people mentioned alfredo sauce in a jar... I've yet to find an alfredo sauce in a jar that I really care for. Here's a recipe that I've used a few times that I think is pretty good.

Alfredo Sauce
1 pint heavy cream
1 stick of butter
1 grated parmesan (the fresher the better)

Heat the cream over low-medium heat in a large pan. Add butter and wisk to melt the butter. Sprinkle in the parmesan and stir as you gradually add the cheese.

Assuming you're having it with noodles, you'll want to have your noodles ready to add to the pan. If you want to get "fancy" you can add in some black pepper to the sauce as it's cooking and top your finished pasta with chopped parsley.

Someone also mentioned Chinese. It's probably not close to authentic Chinese by any means, but one of my favorite things to make is Teriyaki Chicken and Rice.

You'll need at least the following:
1-1.5 lb chicken breast meat
1-1.5 cups of rice
Butter
1-2 eggs
Soy sauce
Teriyaki sauce (my favorite is the KC Masterpiece Teriyaki Marinade)

Bake the chicken. If your chicken doesn't come with instructions, 375 for 20-30 mins is usually pretty safe. You just want to make sure that when you poke the thickest part, the juices run clear. During this time, you can prepare your rice as instructed on the package.

When the chicken is done, slice it into cubes and add into a pan with Terikyaki sauce and soy sauce over medium heat. How much you add of each is up to you. I usually add enough teriyaki sauce to cover the chicken and then add a few splashes of soy sauce. Just find what you like. I also like to add in some honey too for a sweeter taste.

Meanwhile, you'll want to fry an egg or two in a seperate pan and chop it up when it's done frying. Once you've got the chicken how you like it and the eggs are ready, pour your rice into the pan with the chicken and add the fried eggs. Some people also like to add vegetables such as carrots and peas, but I'm not such a fan of that. Mix it all together, add any additional marinade and soy sauce to your pleasing.

We've had it a couple times and its not too bad

Taco Salad
Brown some beef in a pan, add seasoning, crunch some tortilla chips in the bottom, then some lettuce, then meat, cheese and whatever else to the top of that. I reckon its near a buck a person to make.

I have a whole student cookbook thing that I havent even broken open yet but soon I will.

How about a really simple snack?

Sausage Cheese Balls

10 oz Sharp Chedder cheese
1 lb. Hot Sausage (ground)
3.5 cups of bisquick mix

cheese should be grated and at room temperature. Simply mix the cheese in with the sausage, then add the bisquick mix as well. Mix it well by hand, then roll into one-inch balls and bake at 375 F for about 15 minutes.

Makes great party food, after class snack, and can last several days unrefrigerated.

Cheeseburger Casserole. Yes, I know it's a variation of Macaroni, but it's rather tasty.

If you want enough for an 8"x8" pan:

3/4 box of noodle of choice, preferably penne or other cylindrical noodle, boil to choice (I know it seems wasteful to only use 3/4, but otherwise you won't get anything else in the pan).
1 lb ground beef browned (but italian sausage makes a tasty substitute).
1/2 stick of Velveeta.
1/2 normal can of Ragu.
Seasonings of choice (spicing it with cayenne pepper is oh so delicious).

Melt Velveeta, add it and everything else into a mixing bowl and do as the name of the bowl commands you. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes just to thoroughly have the taste cook through everything. Maybe more crazy delicious than Mr. Pibb and Red Vines.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can add ingredients like bacon bits (Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole, how clever!), or veggies (onions are particularly good) if you have extra money to blow.

This one isn't really all that much cheaper, but I like it:
Tater-tot Casserole

1.5 pound ground beef
1 small box frozen peas
1 can cream of chicken soup (2 cans...chicken or mushroom)
1 package frozen tater-tots
Cheese slices

put uncooked meat on bottom of lightly greased pan. Add peas. Add cheese. Add undiluted soup. Add tater-tots. Bake 1 1/2 hours uncovered @ 350 F.

Also, just about any kind of fried rice is good. rice (1 cup per person-ish), egg (1 per person) and then whatever seasoning/veggies/meat you want.



...anyone else just realize we're exchanging recipes....shit.....

http://www.starvinwithlouis.com/
http://www.gbsfood.com/ (currently down)