Cheap meal ideas needed!

[JudgyMcJudgypants]

So my husband and I need to have an ultra frugal three or four weeks. We're both accountants, not massively extravagant but have had quite a few unexpected outgoing a this month and need to tighten our belts.

I cook all our meals and I will admit that I do overspend on food/meals.

What are your cheap go-to meals?

On my list are;
Beans on toast
Sausage, eggs, chips and beans.
Cereal and toast (I actually can't wait for that - who doesn't love breakfast for dinner!)

Soups
Vegetarian curries with lentils and veg etc.
Bigger quantities batch cooked and frozen works out cheaper than different meals each day
I can't imagine anything worse than cold cereal for dinner, sorry!

(I think my cereal addiction during pregnancy has spilled over!)

Assuming you are not planning to go vegetarian then ensuring your protein is cheap will bring in meals cheaply. Then add plenty of veggies and/pulses for bulk.

Chicken thighs are great for casseroles, curries and kebabs.

Smoked gammon boiled then glazed and oven cooked will give a gammon meal and you can make pea and ham soup with the stock.

Sausages are nice in sausage casserole and stovies.

Fish pie mixed fish can be pretty cheap.

Jacket potatoes and cheese/tuna/ coleslaw etc
Corned beef hash
Spaghetti mozzarella bake
Egg and chips
Lentil curry

Make a huge batch of tomato sauce (tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic) freeze in portions and then have with pasta with whatever you want to add - bacon, olives.

Fritatta is my go to use up whatever needs to go meal and therefore works out cheap. Do you have lots of random tins, jars, random bits in the freezer? When I moved I needed to use up all my odd and sods and was amazed at how long it took to use up stuff that I already had, it just seemed to go on for ever!
Home made pizza is really cheap and again uses up lots of odds and ends.
Tuna pasta, pasta arabiata, spaghetti with garlic mushrooms.
If you are keen on meat I often find a smoked pork loin Like a small gammon joint really good value.
Check out Jack Monroe's recipes they are really tasty and as cheap as they come, I'd recommend her carrot and kidney bean burgers
And I have to mention my student favourite pasta, beans and cheese with liberal amounts of cracked black pepper and worstershire sauce

Lentil Dahl is one of my favourite cheap meals
Frittatas as someone else mentioned
Buy a large chicken and you can get a few meals out of that - roast, sandwiches, risotto