What is the most cost-effective meal to make?

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Beans and rice! I like red beans, in the US they’re literally called red beans, not kidney beans or other name beans that are red. But I make black beans and rice now and again.

The only thing you really need to make it good is a cheap, big jar of spice mix, doesn’t matter what, but I like Tony Chacherie’s. Use it like salt. It’s pennies per meal if you keep it that simple. It’s super easy to make in a crock pot if you have one. Just put the beans in, cover with water, mix in your spices and let it cook. Add like a half cup of oil if you have it. Can also just cook low and slow on the stove in a big pot. If you have a blender, take like a quarter of the cooked beans and juice out and blend them and add them back to thicken the liquid into more of a stew-like sauce. Make rice and mix cooked beans with rice and you’re ready to go!

But if you have a little more money to spend, the first thing you want to add is whatever cheap smoked meat you can find. Ham hocks are often only a couple of bucks and they add so much flavor. Sausage, bacon, smoked turkey leg. You can even use giblets or organ meat, just chop them or smash them so they cook down into the beans.

You can also add fresh veggies, chop up some onions and peppers, fry in a pan with a little oil, then add to the pot with the beans. You can experiment all kinds of ways, it’s not a finicky dish.