I personally know some folks who spend all their money on fast food, and then online it seems pretty common folks not knowing how to cook causes massive financial problems.
My super duper cheap meal that takes no effort is “lazy rice veggie soup”: Can of peas and carrots cooked with a bouyon cube until cube is dissolved Add cooked rice to mix, and heat until rice is flavorful with absorbed broth
I do a cup of dried rice, and a can of peas and carrots which means the soup has 800ish calories and I think it’s pretty good as it’s either 2 small meals that you can have sides with, or one large one!
So what are your cheap meals you like to make? The less well known, the better!
I don’t have any advice but I just wanted to point out it’s spelled “bouillon” cube.
Pineapple sandwich. Toast bread, add canned pineapple slices to toasted bread along with some chili powder and ketchup, and you’re good to go. Tastes amazing.
1lb Ground turkey, 6oz crushed Frito corn chips, 2 cloves minced garlic, pinch red pepper flake. Combine, form 4 thin patties, and fry. Serve on toast with or without cheese. Great burgers, and super cheap.
My kids love something we call “brown eggs” which started out as a keto “oatmeal” recipe in 2012 when they were toddlers.
3 eggs, beaten 1 T butter 1 T peanut butter 1 T almond butter if you are feeling fancy 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon White or brown sugar
Beat the eggs with the ground cinnamon. Scramble the eggs in half the butter until they are just runny, add the peanut butter and almond butter and stir well. Serve while still runny for more oatmeal like spoon pudding or give them another minute in the pan to get them firm and crispy for a more French toast like experience. Serve with more butter and a sprinkle of sugar or cinnamon. You can also add maple syrup.
We swear, this sounds insane when we describe it to other people, but my kids love it and demand we make it for guests
For myself, I like bannock or fry bread (amount of fat in the pan is one of the big deciding factors on which it is). Kinda like a cross between a pancake and an American biscuit. To make it, you just need to make a quick bread dough and pan fry it. Roughly 2:1:0.6 flour to water to baking powder and some salt. Mix, divide into smaller portions, and pan fry. That’s it. Using a whole grain and/or bread flour adds extra nutritional value.
Top with butter and or jam. Eat with fruit or vegetables for a balanced meal.
Do you have a preferred fat to fry in? Im thinking ive might have found another use for those bacon drippings.
Anything that’s handy really. Generally, I’ll use a less saturated one like light olive or avocado oil but, I’ve got some fat cap from a smoked pork butt in the freezer that I might try. It renders to a lard really easy in a pan and adds an amazing flavor from the wood smoke.