Pork and noodles in coconut-tamarind sauce: $1.52/serving

As a frozen bag of chipotle chiles in adobo (just empty out the can into a Ziploc) is to Mexican cooking, a frozen bag of tamarind paste is to Thai cooking: indispensable. It’s extremely versatile (you can use tamarind in place of lime juice) and you can always be sure you have some on hand. Tamarind paste can be found in brick form in pretty much any Asian market, and frozen, it lasts pretty much forever. I’ve probably had the same block in my freezer for almost two years, and I’m just now getting to the last little chunk. It’s great for any kind of curry or pad Thai, desserts, and thrown-together weeknight dishes like this one that could benefit from a little sweet tanginess.

Red beans and rice: 62 cents/serving

Because of red beans and rice’s highly desirable price-to-tastiness ratio, I’ve been experimenting with it for years, and let me tell you: Despite the seemingly simple lineup of ingredients, there are many, many opportunities for things to go wrong (slow cooker vs. stovetop, red beans vs. kidney beans, rice cooked in-pot vs. separate, ham hock, no ham hock, different kinds of sausage…). This recipe, in my opinion, is both the most authentic and the best-tasting. It eschews the slow-cooker; uses small red beans, which cook up creamier than kidney beans; includes ham hocks and sausage; and has the beans served over the rice, which is the only way I’ve ever seen it in Louisiana. Don’t be afraid to make up a double batch—it tastes better the longer it sits.

Chinese takeout-style pork lo mein: $1.86/serving

Given the popularity of last month’s orange chicken and sesame noodles, I thought it’d be worth taking another crack at some Chinese “takeout” for under $2 a serving. (It should be noted that although it’s a smaller serving than what you’d receive at a restaurant, it’s not dramatically smaller.) Employing the help of Cook’s Illustrated, I think I was able to pull off a version that’s pretty dang close to the real thing. In fact, not only was it about three times as flavorful, it was missing about three times the amount of grease. As I recommend in the actual recipe, it’s worth investing in a large bag of dried shiitake mushrooms (available at all Asian markets) for this and other meals that call for shiitakes; they’re about one-third the price of fresh, and the liquid left over from reconstituting them makes an amazing mushroom stock or soup broth you can freeze for later.

Carnitas tacos: $1.40/serving

It’s been a very long time since I’ve found a pork roast for less than $3 a pound anywhere except Winco, but I happened to be walking by at the precise moment the Fred Meyer butcher came out with the markdown cart, and snatched this one up before anyone else could even glance at it. It’s not a fabulous deal, but it’s within budget. To celebrate, I’m breaking one of the tenet rules of the $35 a Week Plan: Don’t meat the centerpiece of the meal. This meal is pretty much all meat (save for the tortillas, pickled onions and cilantro), but since I only do it once or twice a year, I’m only slightly repentant. Besides, if you’re going to go all out with pork, carnitas is the way to do it.

Spaghetti with sausage ragù: $1.45/serving

If you’re lucky enough to have access to a Grocery Outlet (I believe they’re only ubiquitous in California, Oregon and Washington, although other regions of the U.S. probably have something comparable), here’s a tip for you: Check the frozen-foods aisle for sausage. They have it in the regular meat area, but it’s nowhere near as cheap as the frozen stuff—several times now I was able to find Johnsonville Italian sausage for $1.79 a pound. At this rate it’s cheaper than beef or pork, and it makes a superb pasta sauce. It’s not quite as quick and easy as the bacon and tomato cream sauce I posted a few days ago, but it’s amazingly flavorful and allows you to stretch less than $2 worth of sausage into almost 6 servings.

Baked bean, apple & sausage strata: $1.13/serving

Because I don’t like eggs by themselves (scrambled, fried, deviled…they all taste overwhelmingly of farts to me), brunch can be a frustrating meal. If a non-egg option even exists on the menu, which it often doesn’t, it’s either something disgustingly sweet, like powdered sugar with a side of French toast, or gut-bombingly fatty, like biscuits and gravy. (Nothing against biscuits and gravy, mind you—I would probably eat this happily every day, right up until I had to buy a new pair of pants.) This strata is a great solution for people like me: a brunch dish that’s egg-free yet flavorful, inexpensive, and a little easier on the waistline. It’s also great for dinner, or as a side dish at barbecues or potlucks.

Mini cheese ’n’ cracker meatloaves: 60 cents each

As occasionally happens when you buy meat in bulk, you end up with odd bits and pieces in the freezer that are too small to use but too large to throw away—half a pork rib, perhaps, or just a few ounces’ worth of roast. Thankfully, this is what meatloaf is for. (Or originally was for, anyway; it seems most people these days go out of their way to purchase ingredients for it, rather than use it as a vehicle for scraps and leftovers.) To stretch those last few dollars even further, I like to divide the meatloaf mixture among the muffin cups in a muffin tin; that way portion control is easy (two or three with a garden salad is a perfect meal), and the rest become easy, freezable grab-and-go lunches to eat whole or slice up for a sandwich.

Bacon jam: $1.69/jar

If you’re concerned about the presence of what’s essentially a novelty condiment in the $35-a-week plan, rest assured this was a host gift for my father-in-law’s Easter dinner, à la the jars of custom barbecue sauce I made for Christmas. I wanted something that was complementary to the meal being served (barbecued ribs) yet also unique and inexpensive, so I brought a couple jars of this “jam” along with a large homemade boule. I’ve made bacon jam before (Sur La Table sells it for $9.95 a jar, so it’s not that far out of left field), and while I wasn’t 100% happy with how it turned out this time, no one seemed to notice or care, so I’m recommending a couple of different methods here based on your personal limits of time and patience. It’s great on bread, peanut butter sandwiches, pizza, crostini, biscuits, a spoon…you get the idea.

BLT salad rolls: $1.44/serving

The idea for this somewhat abominable (but oh so refreshing and delicious!) fusion project comes from White on Rice Couple, by way of The Kitchn. (They call them “spring rolls,” but in our house—correct or not—spring rolls are fried and salad rolls are fresh, so that’s what I’m calling them here.) They’re gluten-free, low carb, quick to make, and ideal for lunch or dinner. I even concocted an appropriate soy-Dijon fusion dipping sauce to go with them.

Asian Spam and noodles: 94 cents/serving

It’s been documented on these pages that I have nothing against Spam. I know it’s essentially a can of preservative-laden, heavily salted pig buttholes, but Hormel spent generations’ worth of time and money to engineer the stuff to taste good, and it worked. It’s also super-simple: Just pop open a can and you’re good to go. It’s always around $2.50, you can buy it everywhere from 7-Eleven to Walgreens, and if you happen to have pasta—any kind of pasta—and a few pantry essentials, you can transform it into a quick, delicious dinner that pretty much anyone with half a tastebud is going to love.