After-School Stew! When our children were much younger and due home, noisy and hungry this was usually on the stove waiting. It quickly became a favorite. The original was made one day when I realized they would hit the door at any minute and all I had handy was a bit of leftover homemade spaghetti sauce and a freezer with a bit of anything and a lot of nothing.
Ground Beef, toss in pot and cook thoroughly, drain off any grease.
Add a can of Tomato Sauce (not paste! Homemade sauce is wonderful if you have it)
Cut up an onion, a couple of potatoes, and peek in freezer for a handful of various vegetables...corn, blackbeans, butterpeas, mixed vegetables, beans, hominy, anything goes! Add enough water to make it work. Season as you like best.
As a young family our financial status was rediculously nonexistant and I usually would drop a handful of whatever frozen veggies I was cooking into a ziploc bag. This way I "tithed" a small amount that was never missed until I had a good sized bag of stew goodies. I often make cornbread in one of my iron pans to go with the stew and I never have leftovers.
Now that the children are married and have their own children, they make this regularly. It warms the tummy and soul, it's inexpensive and healthy, it's fast and easy.