Oh, that sucks. How could your bosses have been able to fire you (both!!) if you were sick with covid? That definitely doesn't sound right and it sounds like there's more to the story, but that's not the topic of your thread. You're asking for cheap recipes and ideas, so let's see if I can come up with some that are cheap/economical and varied in terms of nutrition...

• Cabbage sautee/stirfry comes immediately to mind.
  Directions: chop a head of cabbage in to bite sized pieces, about 1" (or use a bag of pre-chopped sauerkraut veggies). Sautee the cabbage in a large pan or wok, in oil, butter, or even water (or broth if you have it), stirring regularly for several minutes until it gets soft. You can eat it plain with s+p, or add a touch of soy/tamari sauce, or vinegar, or hot sauce, or something else to the mix to give it a little different flavor. It tastes better than it sounds and cabbage tends to be cheap.
  Option: add a thin-sliced or grated carrot or two and/or other veggies to the cabbage mix for more nutrition and color, making it more of a true stir-fry.
  Option: add garlic and/or ginger to the mix for more flavor.
  Option: If you have ground beef or some kind of sausage, sautee that in the pan first, remove, then sautee the cabbage and when done, add the meat back to the pan, mixing together and cooking for another minute or two. I would avoid the soy sauce on this variation but maybe you'd like it?
  
  
• Potatoes - mashed, baked with whatever topping or leftovers you might have around, or turned in to soup with onions/leek. Sweet potatoes if you can get them for the extra nutritional value. I often have sweet potatoes with a little olive oil (or butter) on top with salt and pepper as a meal. You can use potatoes as your "main" for a meal, using whatever leftovers you have as your "sides". Chop 'em up small and make hash browns on the stove, adding some chopped greens (spinach works well), onion and garlic if you have it, s+p, and an egg for a complete, versatile meal.
  
  
• Congee - this is a rice porridge type thing, common in Asian cultures. Basically, 1 cup of rice + ~6 cups of water or broth and you cook it until it becomes mushy. It has been a while since I've made it and I usually make it in an Instant Pot, so my % are probably off for however you'd be able to make it, so do a search and look at a couple recipes. Some recipes are pretty particular in what kind of rice you use, etc., but that's not needed, IMO, especially if you're just trying to eat. This is a versatile recipe - you can add all kinds of things on top/in to it, or keep it pretty plain. I usually make it with chicken broth for the nutritional boost and some leftover chicken, with a sliced scallion (if I have one around) & s+p on top. I have thrown a chicken leg (whole) in the pot with the rice too, to let it cook together (just be careful of bones/skin if you do this).
  Note: This recipe makes a decent amount of food and is quite filling. It can easily feed two of you for probably two meals each.
  Option: add a hard-boiled (or other style) egg on top.
  Option: add chicken or beef if you have it - shredded or in small pieces
  Option: cheese, if that's something you have and enjoy, for a little extra taste & nutrition
  
  
• Eggs however you like them, whenever you want them... 'nuff said.
  
  
• Beans & Bean Soup mixes - dried beans and bean mixes are cheap, versatile, nutritious, and filling. There are pre-bagged bean soup and chili mixes at the grocery store, with seasonings included. You will have to think ahead a little bit with dried beans, but it's not bad... and they are great to put in a crockpot in the morning.
  
  
• Kinpura: Usually made with burdock root, but celery, carrots, bell peppers, etc. can be sauteed with a little soy sauce/tamari and turned in Kinpura, which can be a nice add-on-top to rice, congee, eggs, etc. Or it can be eaten as a meal themselves. My guys fly through this when I make it, adding it to just about everything. If nothing else, this will add a little "excitement" to your meals, and a little nutrition.
  Directions, celery: cut in to "V" shape. Sautee in oil, high heat. Add celery and cook until crisp-tender. S+P, a little soy sauce if you want.
  Directions, Carrot: cut in to matchsticks or thin rounds, stir fry/sautee in oil until just soft. Add a little soy sauce, pepper to taste.
  Directions, bell pepper: thin strips, sauteed until just tender. Soy sauce if you want.
  
  
• Greens: spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, etc. They are relatively cheap and very nutritious. Add to almost any other stir fry or sautee that you might be doing. Sautee and add on top of that sweet potato you're having for lunch, or with that egg you're having for breakfast. Get creative.
  

Other Thoughts:

• Shop and buy real food if at all possible. Do not avoid grocery stores - look for BOGOs or near-to-expire sale items. Are there farm stands near you? Try them. Ask about "ugly" vegetables - they're just as nutritious as the "pretty" ones found on grocery shelves but often sell for less.
  
• Cook at home and meal plan.
  
• Make the most of the ingredients you do have. Cook one meal, turning the leftovers in to soups or something else that will fill your belly for another meal (or two... or three).
  
  For example... the other day, I saw that Walmart had rotisserie chicken for sale for $5. This one chicken could easily feed two of you as part of a meal one day, be turned in to a basic chicken soup the following day, with whatever leftovers from that turned in to or added to congee the following day, and the bones used to make bone broth that will provide nutrition for soups, etc., in the future. So... $5 chicken + rice + carrot + onion + celery = food for two for almost a week.
  
  
• Look for recipes online and feel free to swap out or drop ingredients. If a recipe calls for broth or milk, you can usually get away with using water instead.
  
• Look at veggies as your "main" staple and try to think outside the box in how to use them.
  
• Consider buying that small package of chicken or beef strips if you can. If you use it right, it will go far and give you extra nutrition. For example, one small package of ~4 chicken legs could easily be split... half (or even one leg) added to the congee and the other half of the package used for something else (chicken soup?)
  
• Don't ignore basic nutrition - try to eat more than pasta and rice and get that piece of fruit in there :3
  

Feel free to PM or Ping me if you have questions on any of this, or with a recipe you find online...
Good luck. Hope this helps. :3

i always found making recipes can get expensive, but if you have a slow cooker, i have a white chicken chili that i found that's delicious and not too expensive. this is the link to the chili

Also, i do have a decent enchilada recipe which makes a decent amount.

Ingredients:

5 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened ( i use a whole brick)

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 of the large. cans of enchilada sauce, red or green (i like green)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for the top

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese, plus more for the top

2 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 can drained corn

4 oz. can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper

4 scallions, thinly sliced (optional, i usually skip them)

8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
In the bowl of your mixer cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.
In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, green chiles, and half of the scallions if you're adding them. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well.
Spread about half of the remaining enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish to basically just coat the bottom of the dish.
Spoon the filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla up, and place in the baking dish with the seam down i roll it a littlewhen i put it in to make sure it's seam is down. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the filled tortillas and sprinkle with a healthy amount of cheese, like a big handful of each kind. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve.


the filling is also fantastic on it's own and i'm sure you could make a cheesy casserole without the tortillas by just adding extra cheese and spreading it in a casserole dish. Also, any left over filling, my husband likes to just eat with chips or by its self because the chicken is fully cooked.

I was just eating congee all last week, hahaha. It's just a rice porridge and you can add whatever you want; a great way to stretch rice or just to eat when your stomach isn't feeling great.

If ramen is a staple, try stir-frying it with cabbage or changing up the broth. My partner and I will do a curry broth or I'll add a wad of peanut butter to make it feel richer. My own personal favorite is to make a chili oil and put that on everything; even rice feels jazzed up. If you do happen to get your hands on some cheese, pizza is pretty cheap to make, too. If you aren't buying the dough at a grocery store, then you can buy some yeast and make the dough yourself with water and flour. That same dough can be split to make cinnamon rolls (or another sweet bun).

Oatmeal is usually pretty cheap and filling, although with the carbs it can sometimes make you feel extra hungry later.

@milkshake:
Had a similar situation. But my fiance still had his job.
I come from a large family. 5 brother and 3 sister with both
our mom and dad. And being in a large family helped teach me
to spend little and get lots from it.

I hope anything I put in here helps/helped!

Buying in bulk sounds and seems expensive. But in the long shot, with
it being just the 2 of you and most packages being able to make more that
4 servings, it makes each of your meals cheap!
My dad just lost his job and he still has 7 of my siblings living at home.
My family is living on food stamps and there's 9 under their roof! Go to your DFCS site and apply! Both of you do it! You're not married, so you both can file!
If you have further questions, call your county's DFCS phone. I tried to sign up for them when I had
a job, but make too much. Like $2 too much. Which is dumb. But eh... But if I qualified, I would
have been able to get $170 in food stamps! And for the first 12 months, what you don't spend rolls
over into the next month. I am unsure if this qualifies for all states. Just ask them! You are in need of
financial help. They are meant to help! All you have to do is ask them. Tell them your situation. Answer their
questions. BE HONEST! False filings is a federal offence! So tell the Truth and Nothing But the TRUTH!!

Today I made a ham bake! It was a 8oz chunk of ham with, 1tbs season salt, 1tsp garlic powder, 1cup shredded cheddar, 2 cans cream of chicken, 1 can carrots, 1 can corn, 1 can peas, and 2cups cooked pasta! Leave half the liquid in the peas and carrots! Bix it all in one big mixing bowl, flop it into a casserole dish, bake
at 350*F for 20 minutes! You can add more cheese to the top along with bread crumbs! Add other
veggies if you don't care for one or some of these! Broccoli or cauliflower are also great in this
recipe! Experiment! Makes cooking more fun!
Searching few ingredient recipes helps!
Things with a long shelf life!
And here's the freezer life.

With these, you can make lots of things!
- cream chipped beef
- Rice Recipes [2 recipes linked]
- Mac N Cheese [3 recipes linked]
- Get a cheap 2-6 pack of chicken. Sprinkle a good amount of season salt on them, bake at 350*F for 22 minutes. The higher your temperature, the quicker it will dry out. So be careful!

Look up sale adds! Here are all the stores I know of.
If you don't have any of these stores, you know. Search your stores' name weekly ad.
You will have to put your area code in each of them. The sale ads aren't the same across the states.
You can also download Honey for free! It is a savings app for online shopping. So if you do a
pick up order at Walmart, Honey will find you a code/coupon(s). There isn't always a code or
coupon. But it still offers great help! Same with Racutan. Honey is my #1 though.

Walmart
Publix
Aldi
Ingle's
Whole Foods
GIANTS
Lucky