Hi Tanis,
No recipes, because my list of economy meals is endless. but I do have some suggestions that work - if she's living alone or with one other person...
1. Buy a big package of ground beef and measure about 1/4 cup (if she has measuring cups with handles she doesn't even have to touch the meat) and put one scoop in each (cheap) baggie, smash down...and VOILA...a pattie..freeze them on a tray, bag them all up..then she can "thaw" one pattie, (or even pan-fry it frozen, or "nuke" it for a few seconds, and she has a burger (she won't have to stop on the way home from work--if she's starving!!) another thing about the individual patties is - - you can "break up" the meat and add a little chopped onion, bell pepper, spices, tomato sauce, and put on top of english muffins with a little sprinkle of cheses for mini pizzas. (I hope she has a toaster oven) Or...one serving chili...just fry up her meat with onions and open a can of "chili style" beans, stir in a little chili powder...get out the "saltines"...this list could be endless, but you get the idea, for quick really quick meals...
My mom eats "pasta" every day...(we're Italian), and the older she gets, the more she just wants those "foods from her childhood", anyway, she boils up a whole pound of mostaccioli, or elbows, or whatever...(not thin or long pastas),
cooks them al dente, rinses slightly...shakes vigorously in colander, then she bags in a large gallon bag, and keeps in refrigerator for several days of pasta meals...sometimes she opens a small can of tomato sauce, adds basil, canned peas, thinly sliced onions, and pours it over the pasta and rewarms it..of course, she tops it with ricotta salada (a semi-hard ricotta) or parmigiana cheese...she also keeps ricotta on hand stirs in a little cream or milk some garlic powder, and produces fettucini alfredo...peasant style...anyway...just some simple ideas for ground beef and pasta/noodles..P.S. I do big bags of egg noodles all the time and put in fridge...cause my grandkids love Nana's quick fettucini....