Apricot Chicken is a popular and cheap meal over here. I haven’t made it for ages, but it always goes down well.
Chicken portions (Drumsticks are cheap here and are good for this one).
A tin of apricot nectar (you might need two tins for larger portions)
Packet of dried French Onion Soup (if using two tins of nectar, use two packets sauce).
Brown chicken in a frying pan.
Mix the soup and apricot nectar together.
Place browned chicken and sauce in a casserole dish and cook in oven for about
an hour at 180c.
You could add some vegies to this to make it a bit healthier. Even some frozen veg would be fine.
Serve with some plain rice.
I don’t know what the cost is but it is a cheap, cheerful, mid week meal. Tastes sort of sweet/soury.
Here is a link to a good recipe site that might provide some good options too. It has a budget category. Link
Frittata is always good too. You can throw in your leftover ham/chicken/cheese/vegies and serve with a nice salad. Healthy and economical.