Nachos - Handful of tortilla chips on a baking sheet, grate some cheese on top, bake at 325 degrees until cheese is melted, dump 1 small can of Herdez Salsa (Hot Salsa Casera ONLY, the rest of their flavors taste awful, but this one is the best salsa that you can find at the store) on top, eat
The good thing about this is that a paper plate in the microwave works almost as well. It's good for a snack every now and then. This is NOT healthy, but it's damn good and damn easy to make.
Spaghetti w/ spicy sausage - Spaghetti sauce in jars at the store are cheap enough and tasty enough that you can just buy them instead of starting from scratch (which some people swear by, but I say you can easily add spices to any store-bought jar and it will taste the same). Fry the 5 or 6-pack of hot sausages that you can buy at any store. Chop them as you're cooking, this helps you to see that they're thoroughly cooked. Drain the oil out of the pan, pat the sausages dry with some paper towels. Add the sausages back into the same pan (which is now barely slick with oil) and add spaghetti sauce. Add garlic (powder is fine) and basil. Serve once warm. For the noodles, big pot + dry noodles + water + some salt + some butter if you want to make the noodles taste better. You can also add mushrooms, but that's inconvenient and doesn't add enough flavor to justify it in my mind. This is good for 3 meals. If you want to make a REALLY big batch, dump in a can of diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste, and add more garlic, but this will require a little bit of cooking (it might be too soupy).
Chicken Curry - Set some white rice up in a rice steamer (for convenience). Begin sauteeing a whole diced white onion. Get some chicken breasts and sautee them in a buttered frying pan. Add rosemary and garlic. Buy some dry curry powder that you can find at any Asian market (most cities have them even if major grocery stores don't carry them). Add maybe one or two spoons of the dry curry powder to the chicken, and cook for another minute or two. Dump in a can of diced tomatoes and 1/4 can of water. Cook for 40-45 minutes or until it's thick enough for your taste (I prefer thick curries, some prefer soupy curries). Serve over sticky white rice.
Oven steak + microwaved baked potato - Get a cast iron skillet, learn how to prepare cheap ribeyes and bake them in the oven on your skillet. Some swear by the salt osmosis method. I usually just lay on the garlic powder and pop them in. For the baked potato, I've always preferred using a microwave (faster and somehow more dleicious, I don't like crispy potato).
Wine, cheese and bread - Self-explanatory, it's a cheap and filling meal
Trader Joe's sells these little instant noodles boxes, I like the red one (Kung Pao I believe). They're vegan, too! The sauce looks a little gross, but it's delicious! They're $2 a piece here. Preparation time is maybe two minutes, it's not the most filling meal but it's certainly a good lunch.
I'm trying to learn how to make good Chicken Parmesan right now. I can't fry chicken to save my life...
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