Balsamic glazed chicken-liver ravioli: 73 cents/serving

Thanks to the lack of cheese and expensive meat, these are the most inexpensive ravioli I’ve ever made. They also happen to be some of the best ravioli I’ve ever made. (If you like pâté, that is.) Intensely flavored, with a bit of crunch from some fried sage, these are at their best if you make your own pasta, which is actually extremely simple, but you can also use prepackaged gyoza wrappers (usually housed near either the tofu or the mushrooms at the grocery store) if you’re in a pinch. I don’t like to use them both because of the cost and because I think they’re too thin and flaccid and don’t absorb sauce flavors very well, but I’ve done it before and can attest that it works.

Steak & chard ravioli with sage-butter sauce: $2.43/serving

This is bordering on a splurge, I know, but the rest of our meals for the day consisted of bread and coffee, so we’re still on budget. This is not a quick weeknight meal by any means, but I assure you the returns on your time investment will be exponential. I’ve been on somewhat of a ravioli kick since tasting the pumpkin-chanterelle ravioli at Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco (which cost almost a week’s worth of groceries), and while this is nowhere near that, it’s heads and shoulders beyond any ravioli you’d buy at the store or eat in a neighborhood restaurant. And it’s healthier, too.

Roasted carrot ravioli: $1.43/person

This meal is one of my favorite kinds to make—born completely of what we happened to have on hand. I use carrots a lot in place of squash or sweet potatoes; they’re much cheaper at 89 cents for a 2-pound bag, and when roasted taste quite similar. I found the gyoza wrappers while cleaning out the freezer, and I had half a container of thawed cheese broth in the fridge that was wearing out its welcome. Ta-da! Dinner.