In the spirit of frugality (as well as eating healthfully) in the midst of one of the most depressed economies we’ve seen in a long time, here are some cheap meal suggestions. We live in what is probably the best time to learn how to cook. Why? Because you can literally Google any ingredients (go ahead – enter the meager ingredients in your fridge and see what results you get) and pull up a recipe. You can find tons of cooking demos online as well.

The following is a list of some of my favorite meals to cook. I am a no-frills cook, which means I encourage using shortcuts (canned or frozen foods usually work just as well as fresh veggies, with less prep work on your part) and don’t like doing anything complicated. One of my favorite shortcuts is canned black beans. I mean seriously, who has time to soak black beans overnight and boil them for several hours the next day? I rarely spend a lot of time making meals. I usually spend the majority of the time prepping food. I also don't like greasy foods so what you'll find here are mainly healthy foods. Everything in moderation, of course.

I’m using the term “cheap” a bit loosely. It’s cheaper compared to eating out and a lot healthier. You can substitute or omit certain ingredients to make recipes cheaper too. I edit recipes all the time. I don’t like spicy food so I don’t have to buy jalapeno peppers. If you don’t like onions, don’t use them. I think you get the idea.

I will provides links to some select recipes as I have time. (NOTE: Some of the URLs are too long and are not hyperlinking properly. You might have to do a Google search or copy and paste the provided text for some.) Some of these are my own recipes I am writing from memory so hopefully I haven't forgotten anything. Feel free to share your ideas.

I think soups are the easiest one-dish meals to make and they can be quite hearty. The beauty of soups is that the possibilities are often endless. I love salads too and they are simple to make, taste great and are healthy. Rice dishes are pretty easy to throw together as well.

I've used rice or soy milk instead of cow's milk many times before and my boyfriend didn't notice the difference, even though he would raise bloody hell if he saw me cooking with non-cow's milk! The consistency usually just isn't as creamy.

Bon appetit!

Appetizers
Artichoke Dip,http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/136/...-Dip76771.shtml
Bean Dip
Hummus,http://greekfood.about.com/od/appetizerssa...ummustahini.htm

Main Courses
Almond-Crusted Tilapia,http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Almond-Cruste...pia/Detail.aspx
Beef Burgundy
Black Beans, Rice, Ground Beef or Chicken, and Tomatoes
Chicken Enchiladas,http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-f...cipe/index.html orhttp://www.eversave.com/eversave/consumers...ecipetitle=Easy Chicken Enchiladas&recipeauthor=Tonya Kelley&fromSearch=true with Black Beans (heat up a can of black beans) & Spanish Rice,http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000040spanish_rice.php
Etoufee
“Fried” Rice (Spam, rice & eggs) - Cook rice (see White Rice recipe in Snacks & Sides below). Brown Spam in frying pan and set aside in a large bowl. Make scrambled eggs in frying pan. Optional: Wilt chopped lettuce in frying pan. (My mom is Chinese and always puts lettuce in fried rice but my boyfriend thinks it's weird and complains when I do it.) Mix all ingredients and season with soy sauce as desired. Fast, cheap and simple!

Green Bean Casserole
Lamb,http://www.lambrecipes.org/aromatic-lamb.html
Lasagna One of my all-time favorite recipes. I will have to post when I have time.
Lentils & Rice
Linguine & Clams,http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1758,132190-252195,00.html
Meatloaf
Pork Chops with Sour Cream Sauce,http://southernfood.about.com/od/porkchops/r/bl30214a.htm
Pot Roast
Quiche
Sandwiches
Southwestern-Style Black Bean & Corn Salad - Optional: Add cooked, sliced chicken. You can also add BBQ sauce to mix things up a little.http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-An...d-I/Detail.aspx
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Along with my lasagna, one of my all-time favorite dishes I make. Your tastes may differ but this is one food I can keep eating long after I'm full because it tastes so good! Here's the recipe: I actually use linguine but use spaghetti if you like. Boil to your liking (I don't like mine al dente so I cook it a little longer). For the sauce: I can't eat Prego or Ragu. I use a jar of Trader Giotto's (from Trader Joe's) Organic Tomato Basil Marinara. In a frying pan, saute chopped onions. Add ground beef or turkey (your choice) and cook until done (when it's no longer pink). Add chopped garlic (I use minced garlic from a jar or the frozen cubes from Trader Joe's), basil (again, I use the frozen cubes from Trader Joe's or fresh chopped basil, whatever I have on hand. I like to keep a potted basil plant in my garden as it's my favorite spice.), oregano, salt, pepper, chili pepper, and a dash of sugar. Add the sauce and cook on low to medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Optional: Add chopped mushrooms and tomatoes if you have them on hand.
Spaghetti Carbonara - I never use the white wine so that makes it cheaper.http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1635,129183-245195,00.html
Spaghetti Bacon is a much easier alternative if you want to be super-simple,http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726,149173-244204,00.html
Tacos

Tilapia
with Garlic Butter,http://southernfood.about.com/od/tilapiare...tm

Tuna Casserole
Turkey Stroganoff - Here's my simple recipe: Brown chopped onions and ground turkey in large frying pan. Add cooked pasta, salt, pepper and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Stir and heat. Really tasty and SO easy to make!

Snacks & Sides
Avocado & Beet Salad

Bananas and Peanut Butter

South American Cheeseballs. Here are two recipes:
1 -http://www.sonia-portuguese.com/recipes/pqueijo.htm
2 -http://web.mac.com/marcusvsantos/iWeb/Site/Pao de Queijo.html
Hard-boiled Eggs - How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs,http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/0052...boiled_eggs.php
Mashed Potatoes with Chives - My girlfriend introduced me to this recipe. It's supereasy and so tasty!http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-li...cipe/index.html
Pasta Salad
Potato Salad
Quinoa Salad - Quinoa (keen-wah) is a grain; you can find it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I have never looked for it at Safeway but they might carry it as well. I like this recipe. I also add a can of mandarin oranges with the juice.http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/vie...EAN-SALAD-12245
Parmesan Risotto,http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1950,147173-247205,00.html
Smoothies
Soba
White Rice - Use ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1 1/4 cup water. Put on medium heat until boiled (do not cover). Once it comes to a boil, turn heat to low and cover for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, leave lid on and let steam for another 15 minutes. That's it! Or a rice cooker works too.

Soups & Stews - Most of these are good one-pot meals. Serve with bread and/or salad if you like.
Beef Stew - This is probably the most time-consuming recipe in my arsenal. I cut the time down to an hour instead of the 3 hours listed. The orange zest gives it a nice twist. The first time I made it, I didn't realize it required so much prep work. It was a lot faster the second time (which was a few days ago.) This took me an hour to make the first time. I cooked it in an extra large Calphalon frying pan. I made it with the red wine the first time, and without the second time (didn't notice the difference).http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-f...ipe2/index.html
Black Bean Soup -

My super simple recipe is to drain a can of cooked black
beans, add a little lemon or lime juice, olive oil, coriander, salt
& pepper. Puree in a food processor or blender. Transfer to a pot
and heat on low for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Add
a little water if you don't like it so thick. Optional: Garnish with
chopped
spring onions.
Lamb Stew
Lentil Soup
Minestrone Soup
New England Chick'n Corn Chowder - Haven't tried this one yet either but looks tasty and supereasy.http://www.lightlife.com/recipe_detail.jsp...ickncornchowder
Spinach Lentil Soup - I don't like kielbasa so I made turkey meatballs from ground turkey instead for this one. For a vegetarian option, the soup is rather bland without meat but is easily remedied by adding some Worchestershire Sauce.http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Lentil-Soup/Detail.aspx
Sweet and Spicy Garbanzo Bean Stew Recipe - I don't like horseradish so omitted it and it tastes fine.http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotsoup/r/bl22c3.htm

Desserts
Famous Tiramisu Dessert,http://www.belgioioso.com/MascarponeRecipes.htm
Monkey Bread - I haven't actually tried this one yet but it looks supereasy and sounds yummy! I'm not much of a baker. I have the skills but it seems a waste of time to spend an hour on something when you can spend $5 or less for a really tasty dessert at the grocery store. http://www.eversave.com/eversave/consumers...eid=1