Here are some things that I like to do, Tanis!

I always keep some boxes of rice on hand. I'm talking about the flavored kinds, such as Spanish rice, broccoli au gratin, even red beans and rice. Many times these can stand up as a meal on their own. Many times, they have recipe suggestions of or recommend things to add to them.

I also like to have the bags of frozen veggies with pasta and sauce. You can add hamburger of chicken to these and make a quick and inexpensive meal.

I always have a jar of pasta sauce, canned clams, and noodles to make a fast clam pasta with red sauce. This could be my favorite cheap and fast dish!

One of the above postings mentions keeping cans of soup on hand. I do this too. It is so easy to throw some pork chops or chicken in a crock pot, a can of some sort of "cream of..." soup, some sour cream, sliced mushrooms, season it with pepper (toss in a 1/2 c. of white wine if you have some) and let it simmer on low. Kick it off in the morning, and you'll have dinner waiting for you when you come home from work!

Good luck! I hope some of these ideas inspire you!