Edit. Misread above question... So have some tasty cheap food instead.
Alright, new question: good, not-that-difficult food that I can make while not being constrained to a budget?
Tomato soup?
1 large/2 regular cans of crushed tomatoes ($2-3)
1 brown onion (50c ?)
4 or so cloves garlic (50c)
1 stick of celery (a bunch is like $2 at most, and you can freeze what you don't use, so maybe 20c)
1-2 tsp dry chicken stock (10c?)
1 bay leaf (<5c)
A sprig or two of rosemary/thyme/woody herb of choice (I have a bush, so I haven't bout the stuff in years, but the dried form is cheap and lasts well, so probably a few C worth)
A few tbsp of olive oil. Or canola if you wanna be cheap, but olive ain't bad bought in bulk.
Salt, pepper.
Bacon is an optional and recommended extra, but will push up the price. Similarly, smoked paprika, cumin, chilli flakes, capsicum, and the like can all make it tastier, but are not necessary.
Prices are AusD.
Fry off onion/garlic/celery (all fine diced) in olive oil. If using bacon, this too, but add the bacon fat to the oil first, cooking for 4-5 mins to render it before adding the other ingredients. Adding a pinch of salt at this stage will help draw out the liquid, letting you cook down faster.
Once onion is clear and starting to brown (maybe 5-10 mins) add tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, herbs, and about the volume of the tomatoes in water.
Heat to a gentle simmer, and cook for about an hour or so (though longer is tastier), stirring every 20mins or so. As long as you set a timer, you don't need to actually watch it.
Just before serving, hit it with a stick blender to puree it, add water/salt/pepper to taste, and serve with toasted crusty bread (I can get day old baguettes on clearance for around $1.50).
Makes at least 4 serves, for a per meal price of <$1.50.
Further, it's adaptable. Bored of soup? Cook it for an extra hour til it thickens, and you have a killer tomato sauce for pasta. Swap the chicken stock for vegetable and it's vegan. Stir through browned beef mince and you have a poor man's ragu, or spread on pizza dough for a great pizza sauce.
Also, fresh bread is dead easy.
Mix 300g flour, 1+ tsp yeast, 1tsp salt, 1 tbsp olive oil, 200 ml of water.
Add each ingredient in order, mixing with each addition.
Put in big bowl with cling film over the top. Leave for one hour (if room is warmish, say >20 C... Colder equals longer). Knead for 5 mins by hand. Put onto buttered baking tray (YouTube will show you how to knead and shape a loaf, or you can just pour it all into a tin and call it a day).
Preheat oven to 250 C for 15 minutes, then put loaf in, drop temp to 220, and leave for 30-45 mins. Test if bread is ready (slide a butter knife in and out of the center; if cooked it will come out clean), if not 10 more mins at 180.
Done right, you will find bread can cost you <30c a loaf, and can be made at the same time as the above soup.