It would help to know what types of appliances, and storage options you have. Are you in a small dorm room with just a hot pot and a little cooler fridge? Or do you have access to a full size fridge, stove, pots and pans? I will assume you have access to a full size kitchen, because there is only so much you can do with a hot pot in a dorm room.
- Keep an eye out for when roasts are on sale, especially if they are buy one get one free - that's a no brainer. One of those can be cut up and portioned into stir fry meat, or meat for philly cheese steaks, stews and more. Granted, it's not going to be as melt in your mouth as a ribeye steak, but when cut and cooked properly, they can taste great too. I love making simple stir frys with just beef, oyster sauce, and frozen broccoli, then serve over steamed rice. Or shave some of it while it is still semi frozen into thin pieces, and make a steak sandwich with it by cooking it with some peppers and onions and melting a little cheese over the top. Often times pork shoulders will go on sale dirt cheap - simply slow roast them in your oven at 250 degrees covered for 6 hours or so (or cook it in a crock pot). You can make a ton of carnitas for filling in burritos or tacos for the next several days. I've seen pork shoulders go on sale for less than $3 sometimes.
- This is more of a personal thing, but when I am on a budget, I prefer to keep my pantry stocked with regular pasta and cans of crushed tomatoes, rather than Ramen Noodle packets. As long as you've got some basic ingredients on hand, such as fresh garlic, some olive oil or vegetable oil, and a few herbs and spices such as parsley, basil, and red pepper flakes - you can turn an inexpensive can of crushed tomatoes into a very fresh tasting sauce. Plus canned tomatoes cost much less than the jarred sauces.
- Farmers markets are a great way to save a lot on fresh vegetables. You can even ditch the seasoning packets, and simply add fresh veggies to your ramen noodles. Just stir fry them with some garlic and oil, then add a few splashes of soy sauce. Find out which veggies you eat regularly and get those at the farmers markets, and the ones you eat less regularly, just buy them frozen to have on hand. If they have red bell peppers real cheap for example, I'll get a big bag and broil a bunch of them then toss in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and make roasted red pepper sandwiches. Sometimes they will have 1lb sacks of potatoes on sale for 99 cents. I could have baked potatoes for days, or make home fries for breakfast, etc...
- I also like to keep some flour tortillas, instant rice, chicken base, black beans and salsa on hand to make bean and rice burritos. You mix the chicken base with enough water to form stock. Then use equal parts stock and salsa as the liquid to cook your instant rice in, which makes a great spanish rice in minutes. Then toss the black beans in a little salsa as well and heat them through too. Warm the tortillas in the microwave with a little cheese on them, then combine everything together into burritos. Much healthier than Taco Bell runs, and full of flavor.
- Eggs are super cheap. Learn how to make your own omelettes, poached eggs, etc... for breakfast. You can always use up leftover veggies or other stuff as the fillings for omelettes. A carton of eggs and a loaf of bread will cost you around $3 and can make breakfast for a week easily.