Chicken and Dumplings

This is one of the cheapest meals out there. Pick up some frozen chicken meat - the cheapest tends to be thigh meat.

Cook chicken on low heat, in water with a dash of salt.
Then remove, and save that broth! The meat will fall off the bones.
Cut up the meat.
Put it back in a pan with some peas and diced carrots. (If you haven't any from your garden, buy some house brand in the freezer section.)
Add just a little bit of onion or onion powder.
Pour just enough broth to cover the ingredients, plus another half-inch. (Put any remaining in a tightly sealed container, and freeze it for later.)
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make up a batch of bisquit mix.
Spoon the dough on top of the chicken-vegetable-broth in your pan, one tablespoon at a time until the entire mixture is covered in bisquit dough.

Bring to boil, watching carefully, then immediately turn down the heat to low. And allow to simmer gently for 8-10 minutes without a lid.

Check to see that the dumplings are tightening (sort of drying, taking on a kind of skin, sort of?) on the edges a bit, and if they are, it's time to put on the lid, and allow the chicken-vegetable mixture to simmer for another 8-10 minutes.

The shallower the pan, the more dumplings per serving. The broth will take on some of the dough, and be creamy rather than clear. This is normal.

I've also spooned bisquit mix over beef stew (after adding extra beef broth or gravy). And I've done this to stretch vegetables. I've added veggies to chicken broth with extra butter.