I still cruise the 'scratch 'n' dent' shelves in the supermarket to decide what would be on the menu.... sometimes there are 10 or 12 packages of mushrooms for a buck each (instead of $2.49 or more!), which can be cooked up en masse and stashed in the freezer in baggies of assorted sizes.
I also freeze leftover veggies, and then throw them into soup/stew/pasta. Or else just stash 'em in the fridge to add to the next day's salad.
It's cheaper to just use regular pasta and add 'broth' - you can get 'gravy starter' in several different flavors and add as desired. Or freeze leftover gravy to toss in.
And then there's the all-purpose easy meal: Glop. Thing-in-a bowl. There are many many variations of this, but the basic idea is some kind of meat with some kind of veggies in some kind of sauce over some kind of starch. It could be a pound of boneless chicken strips, a package of mixed veggies and a jar/can/packet of gravy, served over rice or potatoes. Or pasta with meat sauce. Or 'Sloppy Janes' - which is ground turkey with the sauce AND half a bag of diced onions and peppers added, on buns.
I also freeze leftover veggies, and then throw them into soup/stew/pasta. Or else just stash 'em in the fridge to add to the next day's salad.
It's cheaper to just use regular pasta and add 'broth' - you can get 'gravy starter' in several different flavors and add as desired. Or freeze leftover gravy to toss in.
And then there's the all-purpose easy meal: Glop. Thing-in-a bowl. There are many many variations of this, but the basic idea is some kind of meat with some kind of veggies in some kind of sauce over some kind of starch. It could be a pound of boneless chicken strips, a package of mixed veggies and a jar/can/packet of gravy, served over rice or potatoes. Or pasta with meat sauce. Or 'Sloppy Janes' - which is ground turkey with the sauce AND half a bag of diced onions and peppers added, on buns.