Found cheap-ish recipe alternatives in the New York Times.
Not sure if the link will stay working beyond a few days.

The best part? This is inadvertently vegan!  How cool!
And it used up a bag of carrots and 2 overripe bananas!

Ingredients
Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour two loaf pans OR line the pans with "release" aluminum foil
• Mix all ingredients thoroughly until well combined.  I used a food processor to combine carrots, raisins and applesauce.
  
• Bake about 1 hour or until top browns.

throw in soup pot:
6 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 quart milk
1 lb frozen hash browns (the shreddy kind not the cakes)
2 cans creamed corn
pepper to taste.  salt comes from the bacon.

Note: if you want to add veggies like onions or celery:
use a small onion and 2 celery ribs.
cook the bacon in the bottom of your soup pot
use bacon grease to cook onions and celery until onions are sort of translucent and no longer raw-oniony.

Simmer, stirring frequently (so milk doesn't scorch) until potatoes are cooked.
Put a little sherry in near the end.

Best if eating with 4-6 hungry friends as leftovers don't last too many days.  can be eaten over long weekend, though, and reheated on stove or microwave.

There's a bunch of recipes for one person in the current Australian WW magazine, and they all sound delicious!

( Lamb Souvlaki )

( Grilled Chicken with Pesto )

( Beef Stir-Fry )

( Fried Rice )

( Penne with Prawns and Feta )

Hey everyone, just a heads-up: The Kitchn blog is doing a round-up of its 2008 posts and it has a pretty good review of tips related to frugal cooking - see here.

x-posted a couple places

ETA: Link fixed! Sorry about that.

It's a time-consuming, but really simple recipe (with plenty of wiggle room and it's easy to size).

Latkas as a side dish for 6-8 people:
Ingredients:
5 lbs potatoes
2 onions
3 eggs
~1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper
oil for frying

1. Peel potatoes and onions. Keep them in a bowl of cold water so they don't oxidize.
2. Grate the potatoes and onions. (If you don't have a food processor with a grater attachment, this step sucks. If you do, it's a cinch!)
3. Squeeze the water out of the grated potatoes and onions. Mix them with the flour, eggs, salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap.
4. Fill a deep-sided pan with 1/2 inch or so of vegetable oil. Heat the oil until a shred of potato sizzles and bubbles when you throw it in.
5. Drop big spoonfuls of potato mix into the oil and flatten slightly. When the bottom starts to brown (~3-4 minutes), flip. When browned on both sides, remove and drain on paper towels. (You can keep them nice and crisp while you cook the rest by putting the tray or plate into a warm oven.)
6. Repeat step 5 until you run out of potatoes.
7. Enjoy! (Typically served with applesauce and sour cream; I like 'em plain.)

These don't keep terribly well; if you have to, refrigerate them between layers of paper towel then reheat them in a toaster oven. Don't even bother trying to freeze them; it's a waste.

I just bought a rosemary bush because it smelled pretty, was festive and tree shaped.

Anyone have favorite recipes using fresh rosemary?

5 or 6 figs, sliced in half
veg oil, smeared on cut sides of figs
a tablespoon or so of goat cheese

slice figs, smear oil on cut sides
place on baking tray of toaster oven
set on broil for about 5 minutes, at 400 or so

remove from oven, set in dish, dab goat cheese onto fig halves.

Eat.

This is from the Bazaar Breads website, which has a lot of great recipes. I made it tonight and it was delicious!

( Grilled lamb turkish with minted yoghurt )

My recent cook-for-one find is Sea Best Gold Imported Tilapia Fillets, which you can find at Walmart for really reasonable prices. They have a four-pound case of them which comes in the most awesome way possible for a single person - each fillet is in an individually sealed packet.

Thawing them takes about 5 minutes of sitting in a bowl of warm water. Each fillet is about 4 oz, so one is just enough and two isn't too much if you're a bit hungrier. It's so easy and a great way to introduce more fish into your diet; tilapia is very mild and not as fishy tasting as other species, so even if you're not a fish lover you might like these. I made some for my mother, who absolutely detests most fish, and even she loved it.

The recipe I've had the most success with is Gourmet Betty's Crispy Fillet of Fish:

4 fillets of Tilapia or Flounder
1 cup cream of wheat -- not instant
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper olive oil tartar sauce (optional)

Mix the cream of wheat with salt and peppers, place in a shallow dish (for coating fish)

Coat each fillet on both sides with cream of wheat mixture.

Cooking option 1: Pan-Fry fish in about 1/2" of olive oil until cooked through and golden brown. (about 3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the filet.)

Cooking option 2: Place coated files on Silpat, spray with olive oil and roast at 425 degrees until done (about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filet.) Note: none of my instructions call for "greasing the pan". The Silpat and Silicone Bakeware "Flexipan" molds which I use do not require additional grease. If you're using a traditional baking pan or sheet, you must 'grease the pan'.

Serve warm with a dollop of tarter sauce on the side. Perfect served with rice pilaf or brown rice and string beans.

My own variation: Instead of Cream of Wheat, I use wheat germ. It's a bit more expensive, but the addition fiber is excellent and it adds a nice nutty flavor to the fish that mixes wonderfully with the pepper. Prep takes only a minute or two, so this is about the fastest dinner in my recipe book. Best of all, the Sea Best packets make sure you can have fish on demand in your freezer and avoid soggy, icky leftovers that don't reheat well. Highly recommended.

This is a WW recipe I tried out tonight.

Grilled chicken with tomato and mint salsa
350 g tomato, (grape tomatoes), halved
1 whole fresh red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
1/2 medium spanish  onion, finely chopped
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs fresh mint, chopped
500 g skinless chicken breast, sliced into 8 pieces
1 spray Gold 'n' Canola Canola oil spray
1/2 medium lemon, cut into wedges

To prepare salsa: Combine the tomatoes, chilli, onion, vinegar and mint in a bowl. Toss well to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan or grill over high heat. Spray with oil.

Cook chicken in a single layer for 2 minutes each side, or until chicken turns white around the edges. Turn and cook for a further 1-2 minutes or until chicken is golden and cooked through.

Serve chicken with salsa and garnish with lemon wedges.

~~~
Serves 4.

Was thinking any left overs might be nice in a pita tomorrow for lunch.

Vegetarian One Pot Chili Mac

1/2 46 oz bottle of tomato juice
2 cups of water
1/2 box of elbow macaroni
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can Red Beans (drained)
1 can White Kidney Beans (drained)
several dashes of cumin
large palm full of Chipolte chili powder
several dashes of salt
several dashes of garlic salt
crackers (optional)
grated cheese mix (optional)

Bring tomato juice and water to a boil and then cook the macaroni to package directions, stirring semi-frequently--it likes to stick. Do not drain. Lower heat then stir in tomato sauce, red beans, white kidney beans, and the spices. Cook until some of the liquid absorbs.

This makes several servings. I like having leftovers.

I serve it with a lot of cheese and crushed crackers.

If you like meat, I don't see why you couldn't substitute the cooked ground meat of your choice for one or both cans of beans.

Warning: If you don't like spicy food, use less cumin and chili powder. This has a bite. If you want it more spicy, you can add your favorite hot sauce.

I've been perfecting this for quite awhile. I hope you enjoy.

Not sure this qualifies as cheap, per se, but the pork loin was on sale.  And I'll be set up eating variations of this for a while.  Yum!

Pork Loin Roast with "Mojito" pesto

Cooking the Pork Loin
1 lb pork loin
oil
spices-  I used dried orange peel, cumin, a little bit of cardamom and liquid smoke

rub oil over pork loin, rub with spices, put in metal pan, and cook in 450 degree oven for 25-30 mins, or until thick part of loin is beige, rather than pink.  I should invest in a meat thermometer one of these days.

While it is cooking, puree these in your food processor:
lime juice
mint leaves
basil leaves
(ratio of about 3:1 mint to basil)
3 cloves garlic
2 generous spoonfuls crushed ginger
a tiny bit of sugar

After loin cooks, let it rest.  Spoon some pesto over the roast before serving, and serve with black beans and rice.  And perhaps a glass of white wine

File under: "turning the oven on in a heat wave makes me a crazy person, but--- so yummy!"

Amish Baked Oatmeal

(4 servings)  

• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar  (wound up too sweet for me, BUT I have next-to-no sweet tooth)
  
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter (tastes like a lot- will use less next time)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 a teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used cut up dried apricots, and also fresh blueberries)
  

Mix all ingredients and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 30 minutes.

Add a little milk, and zap in microwave to reheat for breakfast!

1 c. chicken broth
1 c. instant brown rice

Microwave for 8 minutes

Mix in canned, diced tomatoes; sour cream; bacon bits.

This is called- I had to use up a bunch of yogurt and zucchini before going away for the weekend.  Found it on the Stonyfield Yogurt website.  Verdict: Delicious!

Still looking for more zucchini recipes, though.

I'm massively in love with dairy and I'm trying to basically eliminate all cow products from my diet, focusing on beans and poultry.  In particular, I'm especially interested in bean/lentil recipes, not including garbanzo, that are quick and easy, and include little or no tomato.  I love soups.  I've looked at some recipe books, but thought that some here might have some good ideas.

On vacation last week, I tried all manner of exciting new things. Learned some tips for homemade sushi and homemade pizza, learned that Ulu knives are not actually necessary for Alaskan chefs, and learned that salmon jerky is awesome (tastes like bacon, but made of healthy fish!). But the first thing I wanted to experiment with when I got home was recreating an onion soup that was good, but fell short of its potential.

( Onion Soup with Beef Ravioli and Dry Parmesan )