Well I live on my own (with a VERY tight budget) so I'll try to give you a few hints.
I buy supermarket 'value' mince, which typically costs £1.50 for 500g. I divide it into 100g portions which I put in the freezer (wrapped in cling film). 100g of meat per meal is actually quite generous, as many supermarket 'ready meals' only contain around 40 or 50g of meat.
I'll defrost a portion of mince and heat a small amount of butter (or vegetable oil, or olive oil) in a frying pan. Then I'll fry the mince until its browned. Then I start adding whatever takes my fancy. Typically I'll throw in a splash of boiling water and add one or two beef stock cubes (19p for 10 in Tesco's value range). Then I'll add a reasonably generous squirt of tomato purée from one of the 'toothpaste tubes' of the stuff, that all supermarkets sell.
Up until then I might not even know what the end product will be! I could add some chilli powder (and serve the resultant product with boiled rice) or I could just throw in a few dried mixed herbs and serve with a buttered jacket potato. Alternatively I could throw in some curry powder and (just before serving) a quarter of a can of garden peas - and perhaps a few sultanas - to make a nice curry to serve with rice.
Still starting with the fried mince portions as above, adding half a jar of supermarket 'value' pasta sauce (and perhaps some dried mixed herbs or freshly ground black pepper) will give you an Italian style meal to be served with pasta.
The same mince portions can also be casseroled with sliced carrots, onions and any other veg you deem appropriate. For the liquid you can use
(a) half a jar of Asda's 'Smart Price' casserole sauce ;
(b) beef stock + tomato purée (and perhaps a few herbs) ;
(c) half a jar of supermarket 'value' pasta sauce (plus some beef stock) ; or
(d) beef stock + tomato purée.
Serve with mash or a buttered jacket potato.
(Casserole for around an hour at Gas Mark 4 / 180C)
Asda and Tesco (and possibly other supermarkets) sell 'bacon pieces' at even less than their beef mince. (It typically works out at around 20p to 25p for a 100g portion, frozen & defrosted as above). A portion can be casseroled in (for example) leek and potato soup ('cup soups' are cheap and ideal for the purposes). Add some sliced leeks and perhaps some mixed herbs and black pepper. Serve with a buttered jacket potato.
Sausages are good for casseroling. (I buy 3 packs of 8 and then freeze them as 8 lots of 3). Most recipe books suggest browning them (under a grill or in a frying pan) first but it's not really necessary. They can be casseroled like the mince above or you can use half a can of baked beans (perhaps with some red kidney beans as well) as the basis of your casserole sauce. (Just add some beef stock and perhaps some tomato purée as well).
Fresh fish can be expensive but it's worth looking out for the special offers. (Asda often have whole sea bass on half price offer, at £2). All of the supermarket fishmonger's counters can provide you with leaflets that tell you how to cook their fish. (Or just ask the fishmonger).
You don't need recipes to cook. Experimenting is much more fun! but it help to know how to make a simple Roux:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/...hebasicwhitesau_13035
Once you've got that you can add (for example) some crumbled blue cheese to make a really tasty sauce. Pour it over some pasta (cooked as per the instructions on the packet) and serve with several rashers of fried (or grilled) smoked bacon.
Lastly, my really easy Pilchard Bake is well worth a try!
http://www.theanswerb...k/Question655723.html
Chris