How about mac&cheese or lasagna from scratch, and also teach them how to make a salad dressing from scratch to serve along side?

Also, pretty much anything from More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre.

Recipes with eggs, that would include vegetables such as frittata. Also, thai curries, great source of vegetables and you never miss the meat.

What a wonderful idea. I cringe everytime I'm in line behind someone who pays for a cartful of prepared foods with food stamps. This is NOT a moral judgement on my part, since I have no way of knowing another's circumstances--just an awareness that they could be getting much more nutrition for their money if they were able to cook from scratch. I know that one of the issues can be lack of knowledge, & your classes will help with that. Another is lack of time at home, especially for those working 2 or more minimum-wage jobs. Would it be possible to scour thrift shops for slow cookers or get some donated? Many of the cheapest things to eat, like beans, have a short prep time & a long cooking time, that are not do-able if they can't be left to cook themselves.
All the best to you.

How about a black bean soup? http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/black_bean_soup.php

Or maybe a frittatta recipe? This one is a basic and can be adapted to what people have.
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-frittata-170717

Maybe a bean chili?
http://www.dietitians.ca/Downloadable-Content/Public/Recipe-Crowd-Pleasing-Vegetarian-Chili.aspx

And to top it off, some great tips for cooking on a budget.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/cooking_on_a_budget/

Tuna noodle casserole is also a good option...

Lately I've been cubing root vegetables and roasting them at 450 for about 15 minutes--makes them totally crisp and wonderful, and for only a few bucks for a big serving. You can use any amount/combination of the veggies you want, and just toss in olive oil, salt, and pep before laying out out on the parchment or aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet. I usually do potatoes (sweet or regular), carrots, onion, butternut squash, and whole garlic cloves. With a bit of cheese they'd be great to fill an omelete, too. Save whatever doesn't fit on the baking sheet, and you can roast it up the next night/in a few days.

Good luck with the class!

This Barefoot Contessa (as featured on Smitten Kitchen) lentil recipe is pretty amazing. You could add sausage if you wanted some meat.

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2006/10/queens-and-contessas/

This is fantastic, I wish more people would do this!!

Since this is a beginner class for low income people with varying levels of interest, I would stick with approachable classics that use cheaper cuts of meat and familiar ingredients, like chili, beans flavored with ham hocks. Maybe do a class on how to recycle a whole roasted chicken into a few days worth of recipes? Perhaps something on making easy/reheatable breakfasts, like frozen burritos or steel cut oats.

You might get some practical inspiration by visiting a grocery store in a low income area and see what they have there -- what are easily accessible ingredients to the more fortunate may not even be in stock at a low income food chain.

Simply recipes has some good ideas for cooking on a budget: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/cooking_on_a_budget/

And she has also added a category of budget-friendly recipes:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/type/budget/

http://www.food.com/recipe/guinness-stew-pressure-cooker-412415 - This is a great stew recipe that can be done in a slow cooker or just on the stove as well. Most men like cooking with beer right? :) You can easily use pre-cut stew meat that is usually fairly inexpensive and readily available.

Any sort of chili would be great too. I always have beans and ground beef on hand and canned beans make it quick and pretty cheap... They could put beer in the Chili too!

Skinnytaste.com has some great, quick easy and healthy meals that could be right up your ally as well.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/turkey-chili-taco-soup.html
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/07/summer-vegetables-with-sausage-and.html
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/02/chicken-and-broccoli-noodle-casserole.html

It sounds like a great class and good luck :)

Seriously, awesome idea for a class. Soups, stews, chili, & anything made with whole grains that can be purchased in bulk. One good topic to cover would be prepping a lot of food at once so that after a long day of work they know there's food waiting for them at home (I know this helps me from stopping for takeout). Even something like a bolognese that they can freeze in individual portions. Or a big pan of roasted root veggies that can be warmed up and eaten with a fried egg (or mixed into a frittata).

I taught a similar class recently and found this to be a great resource: http://www.ewg.org/goodfood/. The menu in my class was Mexican-inspired Chicken salad and Chicken & Veggie-fried brown rice; chicken totally optional in both those recipes. We used a store bought rotisserie chicken due to time constraints but teaching them how to roast a chicken would've been ideal. Good luck! I had so much fun doing this!

It involves the investment of a slow cooker, but cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker is easy and very inexpensive. One onion, salt, pepper, garlic, or whatever other seasoning you enjoy, a chicken, and 8 hours of paying no attention to it while it cooks away: http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-whole-chicken-33671

How about chili with red beans, sweet potatoes, kale and pumpkin ale?
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2012/11/08/power-and-hurricane-chili-with-sweet-potatoes-red-beans-kale-and-pumpkin-ale/

Very delicious and satisfying, and it contains everything you need for a meal!

Or black bean and broccoli tacos. Very easy, and fun to eat.
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2012/05/14/black-bean-and-broccoli-tacos/

What a wonderful idea...and one we've been thinking about, as well. What a great way to share the love of food. I'm convinced that cultivating an appreciation for food, and the gift that it is, will lead to better nutrition.

How about a good potato soup?

I've made this one recently, but I'm sure you have a favorite.



Merry Christmas & Happy Holiday!

Ben

If there is one semi-involving recipe that should be taught it would be roast chicken. When my husband was a grad student and we were on a strict budget, a roast chicken would get us through a few days. The first day would seem like a feast. Then the following days we would have chicken casserole or chicken sandwiches followed by chicken soup. Another food that helped get us through the tough times are rice and beans. You can season your beans any way you want. I add onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper, etc. Finally, it's important to learn how to make one special thing. I learned how to make cutout cookies. The ingredients aren't expensive and no store bought cookie can beat homemade. Just because you are poor doesn't mean that you shouldn't celebrate and do special things.

Check out Cooking Matters! It's a national program that teaches adults and kids how to cook healthfully on a budget: http://cookingmatters.org/what-we-do/tips-and-recipes/

I would also focus on a basic dish with many variations, like stir-fry. That way they can learn to experiment and gain confidence in their cooking.

Great sounding class. Maybe some 'free-form' pasta dishes with lots of veggies, little meat. Have a look at the budget bytes site, I've been finding quite a bit of inspiration for low cost, fast meals there. The black bean and corn quesadillas are in regular rotation. http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/04/top-10-freezer-meals.html

What you're doing is positively brilliant!
Channel your inner Alton Brown (Good Eats) and you'll be amazing!

BTW -- Please do include the sales section in your grocery store & how to use marked-down items. Until it was pointed out to me - I passed it by.

No specific recipes, but do consider teaching recipes that use a variety of cooking techniques. Some people might have access to a hot plate, but no oven. Or just a microwave and hot pot. Lack of adequate cooking facilities is an issue in some areas. The suggestion of trying to get slow cookers for the students is a great one.

In addition to lack of cooking facilities, time is also an issue. For people working two or three jobs, grabbing fast food in a drive-through is sometimes all they have time for. And they may not want to spend their one day off a week cooking the whole day. So simple, non-time-consuming recipes would be good. The recipe can take a long time to make, as long as most of the time isn't spent chopping and stirring, but just letting the dish cook.

And a recipe that makes several servings so they can cook one, eat several times would be wonderful, time-wise.

I think if you are mostly cooking toward MEN you need to start with really familiar ingredients. These low income men are more likely to have been eating mostly junk food for a large portion of their lives. Teaching them how to cook something SIMILAR from scratch would be a good idea. Like spaghetti with whole wheat noodles and a homemade (quick) sauce. I know there are lots of people who are anti cans but use a lot of cans. Why? Because people can get lots of canned veggies and beans from the local food pantry. Tour the area, the food pantry for what they have available and like someone else suggested the grocery store. You may find out that these men don't have the resources for ANY fresh veggies or fruits and you're going to have to teach them how to cook as wholesome as possible from cans and boxes. And maybe I'm being judgmental but even some of my upper income friends wouldn't go near a butternut squash (too intimidating!) so I think you should start with really familiar 'comfortable' items and branch out from there.

Great ideas! Maybe focus on an ingredient when it's on sale & for stocking up, then show a variety of dishes that can be made. Ex. BACON:
bacon + rice + veggies = stir fry
bacon + spaghetti + eggs + cheese = carbonara
bacon + rice + black-eyed peas, BLTs, etc.

I cook things like greens with a little onion/ garlic spices and use as a vase for eggs in the morning, and sometimes will throw a can of garbanzos and rice (or a baked yam) for dinner.

I'd recommend showing how to include veggies/ meat to rice or pasta!

How to sauté fish in butter. (Not margarine)

And how to make a salad or side dishes to what they already make?

I think the Environmental Working Group's pamphlet/website "Good Food on a Tight Budget" is an excellent launching point: http://www.ewg.org/goodfood/tips.php
It uses SNAP funds as a frame of reference, so the ingredients are not out of reach.

LOL - ok, I should read through all of the comments before I post... looks like someone else also mentioned the EWG site (it really is a great resource!).

There are a lot of wonderful suggestions in here, as well as a common thread that hasn't been pulled out: planning to eat is a skill. I think it would be a good idea to go over quick meal planning based on schedule (and the local grocery sale flier!) that includes using and re-using ingredients and leftovers through the week....

Love, Love, LOVE that you're doing this! Very cool!!

A couple additional things I'd urge you to consider - health and cultural issues. It sounds like you have healthful food already in mind - things that are healthful, but not so healthful as to be unappealing for your audience, who may not be ready for the uber-healthy.

Also consider race and ethnicity. Is this a group that has a common cultural tradition you can tap into, in a healthful way - perhaps giving a somewhat more healthful and less expensive twist to a traditional dish? Alternatively, is this a group who may not be familiar with ingredients commonly found in US American grocery stores. ((A group I'm associated with shared a story of donating fresh produce to a group of immigrants, who did what they considered the polite thing - graciously accepting. However, the recipients weren't familiar enough with the specific foodstuffs involved to know how to prepare it, so they ended up tossing it.)) Finally, if there is a significant cultural divide between you and the group, consider team teaching with someone positioned to help bridge that divide.

Again, very cool! Best of luck, and I hope you'll let us know how it goes!!

Distressing that healthy food is considered only for the rich. Cut out all the chips soda cany bars and cheap meat and you have plenty of money for organic food. Teach them to cook a good roasted veggie plate from scratch, with a small side of humane certified meat. Fry the leftover veggies in a pan with eggs for breakfast and that's pretty much all we eat each day except for maybe a salad and fruit salad.

Caitlin - my answer is in the form of a question: HOW DID YOU GET THIS AWESOME JOB?! Is it your vocation or your avocation? And if it is the former, how can I grow up to be you? ;)

Moros Y Cristianos is cheap, satisfying (and can be made spicy to satisfy machismo) can be made in the slow cooker or on the stovetop and is a complete meal.

I'd also suggest meals you can make with canned fish over pasta: linguine with clam sauce, pasta with sardines, tuna picatta over pasta, salmon with peas and cream sauce.

Complete meals are important for novice cooks.

Don't forget GRITS! Stone ground grits are super cheap, incredibly filling, and easy. Plus, you can throw in stuff you have on hand...frozen or roasted veggies are delicious.

This is an amazing idea!

People have been giving good suggestions, but I would suggest waiting until a later class to tackle eggs. The techniques for cooking eggs on their own, I'm thinking scrambled, fried, and poached, are sometimes hard to "get right," and if someone makes runny eggs or they stick to the pan really bad, it might turn them off to cooking eggs and a whole range of other things. I still have eggs stick to pans on a regular basis, even using high-quality cookware.

I am vegetarian, and when I was a student, my go-to budget/fresh meals were centered around noodles or pasta with some kind of sauce, cooked vegetable and veg meat/protein. Boxed pasta can be a bargain if you stock up when there's a sale, and a fresh sauce can be made with a little bit of oil/butter, lemon juice or vinegar and cooked down tomatoes if you have them. Adding onion and garlic always helps, too. Sometimes we skip the tomatoes and have "lemony pasta" with leftover cheese sprinkled or shredded on top, but then you have less veggies in your meal.

I agree with the posters who say that roasted vegetables are a good idea. Roasting with small amounts of oil and salt gives you a huge amount of flavor for a short prep commitment. As long as you have an oven that works, you should be good to go. That way, you can buy fresh veggies on sale and in season and use them before they go bad. Roasted veggies keep well in the fridge for a few days, so you can have components for several more meals with one cooking session.

What an incredible class! Many good vibes your way! My Grandmother always does Clam Linguine as her go-to cheap and easy (and delicious!) dinner! Just get a can of clams, garlic (1-2 cloves), butter and linguine. Saute the Garlic in the butter for about 5 minutes, add the clams and clam juice and serve over linguine. They get protein and carbohydrates and it is quite a filling meal. That served with a simple veggie and greens salad and they are good to go :)

Not sure where you are in the country, but if the weather is amenable don't forget it's easy to grow some tomatoes or herbs in a container on a fire escape, stoop, or sunny window! There's something about watching your food grow that can be very satisfying and empowering -- for everyone, not just those on a limited income! Not to mention, fresh herbs can really brighten up a meal with just a few snips!

The other thing i would include is how to store food, like what can be frozen or kept in a fridge for a few days. I have just learnt after cooking for many years that you can freeze home cooked rice and home cooked beans.
Also ratios are something else that is useful. Like doughs, batters, sauces and stocks.
If you know the ratios you can adapt a wide range of recipes to suit what you have.
Whatever recipes you teach include substitutions and alternatives.
Good luck.

Wings! guys generally love wings. teach them how to prepare a healthier baked version and ways to change up the flavorings for them. Rice, millet, quinoa, barley etc are all cheap grains that are easy to cook. I know everyone espouses the virtues of fresh over frozen vegetables, but if they're on a budget and low on time, frozen vegetables keep longer, cost less and are usually better in nutrients than fresh.

As a single guy, i generally prefer meals that can come together in a pan in about 15 minutes or something i can pop in the oven and do other stuff while its cooking.

Please include a shopping trip to a real grocery store with tips on how to shop for one (or two.)

Also, a session on how to use the freezer for raw and cooked foods, including how to wrap or containerize, how to rotate stock and how to use all of this to take advantage of sales.

Favorite bachelor meals: Make big pot of chili and use cast iron skillet for Jiffy Mix Cornbread. Freeze leftover chili in portions to nuke for dinner on other days.

Ragu spaghetti sauce with browned sausage, ground beef, or even leftover chicken on any pasta available.

Baked chicken parts in the toaster oven with two veggies in the microwave.

I will echo that this is a wonderful class and gift that you're giving to your students! After 7 years of inner-city teaching, I'm painfully aware of what happens to children (and adults) with limited resources and limited education or motivation. Cup O Noodles and beef jerky is not a proper meal!

Ranting aside, baked potatoes (jacket potatoes) are a fantastic starting point for a very inexpensive, satisfying meal. They and their fillings can be made in microwaves, ovens, toaster ovens, or crockpots. Potatoes are also a non-threatening ingredient - many of the men in my life will happily eat turkey chili spooned over a baked potato, but if I spoon the same turkey chili over brown rice or lentils, forget it.

Also, it is worth noting that one can usually find working crockpots at Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul stores for a few bucks. I bought two crock pots last year for $10 total.

Happy teaching!

I have a bunch of one-pot wonder recipes on my blog...which happen to be baby-friendly as well!

Pulled pork in a pot or slow cooker - a really cheap cut of pork cooked for a long time. Certainly in your class you won't be able to do the whole thing front to back, but you can show how to prep it, get it started and how to disassemble it after it's cooked for half a day.

I would also recommend asking what the class participants are particularly interested in learning how to cook, and then trying to adapt their desires to an affordable and healthy option. I taught a similar class and we made pizza! Done right, it can be healthy, affordable, and delicious. Tacos, chili, and stir fry are good options. Really emphasize ways to get more veggies and the versatility of recipes. Best wishes!

This a good thread about a complex issue. I have a handyman/yardman that is in the lower strata income-wise - his family has very, very little. I have tried to encourage him for a couple of years now to for him and his wife to do more cost efficient cooking. Sounds good? But there are many factors that go into the behavior of buying junk and relatively expensive products. Ignorance, lack of self-esteem, habit,... I have prepared food for them on occasion to demonstrate the principal - beans and rice with a side of steamed cabbage - super inexpensive - they thought it was great and ate every bite, yet the behavior persists. He drinks tea at my house sometimes, I make it from inexpensive, family size tea bags. He always wants more and yet continues to buy soft drinks at the grocery to take home. It breaks my heart to see him leave my house with so little money that he has worked hard for and know it will be wasted on junk. There are some of these behaviors that perhaps, cannot be changed. I believe that I have tried and failed.

I think if you are teaching men with varying degrees of interest, a crockpot is going to be key. I assume most of them work? Unless they are retired, in which case if they don't have a crockpot, you can usually do the same on the stovetop or in the oven all day.

A shopping expedition is key, as is teaching them basic knife skills/how to peel/chop vegetables.

As for recipes, things that have meat, but stretch it are good. Shepherd's pie, beans with meat (sausage, ham, pork, chicken, bacon, etc.) either with rice or as soup, thick stews (beef barley, chicken and dumpling, split pea with ham), slow-cooked meat (barbecue pulled pork, french dip beef), homemade pizza, and various types of tacos/quesadillas I think would all be popular. How to fry/scramble/hard boil eggs would also be important. Ditto making hash with leftovers (the fiance LOVES hash - corned beef, pork, fish, what have you).

Don't forget dessert! If these men are anything like my fiance, they have a serious sweet-tooth. So basic pancakes, muffins, cookies or brownies, and a simple cake might also be good. If they're up for it, pie might also be good. I know a lot of men who love pie.

Other things like how to properly boil rice on a stovetop, make biscuits, bake white and sweet potatoes, sautee onions, etc. would be very helpful, since I assume most of these men have next to no cooking skills.

How to cook fish might also be good - that can be very healthy and some men like fish more than chicken or pork.

@phoxx is right about including beverages. Soda is bad! Refrigerator tea is dead easy and if the men can stand it unsweetened, it's a much better alternative to soda or juice.

I think that asking them what they like to eat and then teaching them to make it from scratch is more important than giving them "healthy" recipes. People eat the way they eat for a variety of reasons, not just income, although that is a huge factor. You may also get people asking for the kinds of food their mothers or grandmothers made - which may or may not be intrinsically cheap and/or healthy, depending on time period and ethnicity. If they are making something already familiar to them, they are more likely to make it again at home.

I work with a similar population and spend a lot of time talking about healthy eating. In the community where I work, a big challenge is lack of cooking space. Many of my patients are in homeless shelters or halfway houses and only have access to a small kitchenette that only has a microwave. Living on a tiny food stamp budget and cooking in a shared microwave, often in a place where they can't store anything in a fridge where it will get stolen....nearly impossible. Many of these guys just got out of prison, have diabetes, hypertension. It all makes me want to pull my hair out. I try to get them to join a CSA sometimes or to shop at the farmers market (NYC has a good program where you earn $2 or 3 when you spend $5 in food stamps at greenmarkets). I send them to the nutritionist down the hall. Usually our biggest goal is just to help reduce sugary drinks. There are also booklets that have info on healthier options at fast food places so they can at keast make better choices there. It's like melting a glacier with a candle. These issues are so complicated; there need to be significant reforms on so many levels.
On a practical note though, 1. bean tacos are great and 2. Electric skillet or foreman-type grill for those that can afford one and don't have access to a stove.

I think one of the most valuable things you can teach people is how not to waste the food that they've already purchased/cooked. Leftovers are okay, and even useful. They mean you don't have to start from square one to make a great meal. For example consider making a pasta dish one night and having extra noodles. Save those for the next day, and half the work for making a casserole is already done! Bread that has gone dry and isn't great for sandwiches anymore is still valuable if you turn it into croutons or, even better, make bread soup by adding it some onions/leeks/celery/fennel and broth, etc. If the soup has leftovers, they tend to get really thick and you can turn them into fritters for another salvaged meal. Cooking this way makes each individual meal less time consuming, and usually means you can throw a pretty good meal together with just a few odds and ends. Tamar Adler's excellent book, An Everlasting Meal, is a great source of inspiration in this approach to food.

Although I think learning to roast a chicken is vital to personal development, I've found that I can buy one already cooked for the cheaper than a fresh chicken. Not as magically delicious, but time is money, people!

My advice would be try to teach basic cooking skills and apply them to economical recipes. Once you know how to soak and cook beans, you can make soups, chili, stews, dal, casseroles and so much more. Other ingredients that pack bang for the buck include cabbage, ground turkey, eggs, boneless skinless chicken thighs, and pasta. After learning the basics of cooking (reading and following a recipe, knife skills, meat temps. how to cook eggs and pasta) I would maybe see if you could take them on a field trip to the grocery store to see the cost-effectiveness of buying whole, seasonal ingredients. Maybe some menu planning as well. Having been on a fixed income I cannot stress the importance of learning how to shop sales and stock up the pantry and freezer while you have money.

I would love to see this class in more areas, not just low-income. Moderate income level areas have just as many issues with low-quality cooking and cooking skills, especially since affording fast and restaurant food becomes easier, the time and desire to learn and cook quality food goes down. Or as is my impression with my moderate income neighborhood I live in.

I would suggest my favorite, easy cooking method - poaching a whole chicken. However, good quality meat is needed for this method, and if you are sticking with chicken that can be easily purchased at a low-income grocery store, then like everyone else is saying - low and slow: Pulled pork is always a winner with men.

Emmi, in many places those "junk" foods are far less expensive than organic foods and much more accessible. The urban poor often live in food deserts and may not even have access to much fresh food at all. Please do some more research before you are so judgmental.

I agree with the other comments who mention checking out area grocery stores, as prices and availability will depend heavily on where you are in the US. If your class members do not have easy, quick access to an actual grocery store (many people do not and have to rely on convenience stores), then it will change your recipe options. Kudos for starting this class!

People who live in this particular economic niche have frequently learned what they CAN buy. Sometimes it helps to learn what can be afforded on a 300 dollar monthly budget. Whole chickens in this niche are expensive. Chicken Thighs and leg quarters are more affordable. The Marked-Down meat section has a number of good bargains IF you have refrigeration. Less expensive meats, such as Corn King's pressed ham product, are affordable where Shank Half hams are unreachable. Many times these folks rummage the dented cans and other marked down merchandise. If they aren't doing this, they may be missing a lot of good nutritional bargains.
Here's one of my favorite low cost meals:

Ham Fried Rice
a 1/2 inch slice of Corn King Ham, diced approx 1 cup
2 cups Rice
1/2 an onion
1 grated carrot
2 stalks of celery
1/4 of a bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
3 tsp of chicken bouillon powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg, beaten and scrambled
Sautee the veggies and ham til the veggies are just wilting and the ham is barely browning, set aside
add rice to the pan without deglazing, and 4 cups water,
bring to a boil, add the chicken boullion, then simmer for 20 min.
Fluff the rice with a fork and fold in the ham and veggies, scatter the egg across the top
Serve with toast and soy sauce
Serves 4, this is an easy one skillet dinner

If you haven't thought of it already, teach them how to make homemade stock from leftover chicken bones from a roast chicken. That way they're getting the most out of that chicken and it freezes wonderfully.

$300 monthly budget? Livin' high on the hog, are we?

Fantastic idea.
Lentils go a along way and a complete protein when paired with rice. But I am HUGE fan of lentiil soups
http://www.veggiebelly.com/2012/04/arabic-lentil-soup-recipe.html

Gratins are great too because they use root veggies and cabbage in some cases. You can omit the cheese or use veggie broth for flavor as opposed to cream or milk if too pricey.

Beans and rice, cannot say that enough and listen lots can be done with frozen vegges. Spinach pie is great. http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2008/04/silverbeetspinach-pie.html

Oh, and along with everyone else saying going to the grocery store, utilize the bulk section if they have one. and if there is an ethnic grocery store nearby, give that a go too. The prices on bulk lentils and rice are better in places like a Subzi Mandi (Indian grocer) than a Shop Rite.

Ask them! I'm assuming you're teaching this class through some kind of organization, so try asking some of their clients about their favorite foods. Then ask them where they shop and what kind of kitchen appliances they have access to. For people who aren't used to cooking you should try to make foods they are really excited about eating to encourage them try it on their own. I would also recommend giving them copies of each recipe with very explicit instructions and photos of each step.

In terms of specific foods, I would do a lot with beans - red beans and rice, chili, bean burritos, etc. I would also teach them how to brown ground beef because it is a great starter for lots of casseroles, pasta sauces, and soups. Ground beef is great because you'll get lots of meaty flavor but you can stretch a small amount for many meals.

One specific recipe to try would be taco soup. Brown ground beef in a stew pot, add taco seasoning (or just chili powder), add canned green beans, white beans and kidney beans with their liquid. You can also add frozen corn, and a chopped onion. Let simmer for 30min to an hour and you have a delicious meaty, spicy soup that was super easy to make. I know you're probably trying to avoid canned items, but they are readily available to most people and will make the cooking seem less intimidating and time consuming to new cooks.

I have 2 favorite poor grad student recipes, and both lean heavily on beans.

Chili-- ground turkey, 2 cans red beans (black works too), two cans chili-style diced tomatoes. I add cumin, paprika, chili powder and red pepper, but you could easily use a pre-made spice packet. I also like to add a splash of worshteshire when I'm browning the turkey, but its not necessary. Cook in a big pot till it tastes ready. Also excellent with homemade corn chips-- big packs of corn tortillas are so cheap, cut 'email into triangles, sprinkle with salt and oil, bake till done.

"Italian soup"-- 2 cans white beans, 2 cans Italian style diced tomatoes, I bulb fennel, thinly sliced. Cook till fennel is soft. I sometimes throw in fresh spinach or cooked chicken, and if you really want to be gourmet serve it over a couple pieces of toasted bread and top with a sunny side up egg. That's the best meal for your money I know how to make.

Migas--- shred some corn tortillas and toast them (you can also use leftover restaurant-style corn chips, if you have a server in the house bringing them home for free). Chop onions and saute. Chop tomatoes and add to the mix. Beat eggs. Throw in the tortilla strips. Salt to taste. Smells glorious, tastes amazing, and incredibly filling.

I don't have any specific ideas, but I wanted you to know that this is an awesome idea. Good luck!

This is good. There's no skill that makes being broke as endurable as being able to cook. Being able come up with a tasty, nourishing meal at the end of a hard day makes a HUGE difference in quality of life.
Two considerations:
1. Braising, as a technique. Takes tough, cheap cuts of meat and makes them delicious. In fact, foods that are cooked for long periods at relatively low temperatures (soups, stews, etc.) USUALLY favor cheap ingredients. [1] [2]
2. If you can teach these guys (or get them started so they can teach themselves) to cook eggs reliably--not just the way they like them, but the ways most people like them, plus home-fries, toast, bacon/ham/sausage and pancakes, they'll have most of the skill-set to work the breakfast shift in most diners.
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[1] Here's my trick: Bear in mind that if you BOIL your food in a container with a lid on it for at least two minutes or so, you knock out all the bacteria--it's like autoclaving it. That being said, what you do in the morning while you're getting ready for work (or maybe the night before--this works overnight, as well) is put together one of these long-cooked dishes. (I'm assuming none of these guys has a crock-pot.) Bring the liquid to a boil for a couple of minutes with the lid on, and put it in a REALLY hot (preheated) oven. Then turn the oven off. The residual heat will cook the food. The food won't go bad (no bacteria) and the oven isn't a danger (it's off).
[2] Homemade soup. Mostly water--the cheapest ingredient there is. With a nice hunk of bread, it's a dinner that a king wouldn't scorn. Moreover, it can be made with stuff you find when you clean out your vegetable bin at the end of the week (plus maybe an over-gnawed chicken carcass, etc.), which means it's close to free.

This sounds like a great opportunity for you!

When I was a nutrition student, I helped start a Community Kitchen on my college campus. Under the "Notes" section of the facebook page are dozens of recipes that we have used the past almost-two years at the various kitchen events - while not all of them have the pricing information, they are all quite affordable and pretty healthy, too. RD professors and nutrition students have selected the recipes based on taste, ease of preparation for large groups, and affordability. https://www.facebook.com/spukitchen. Google Community Kitchens of the Northwest for even more recipes!

I like the previous ideas on using canned goods (food pantry) & taking into account the students' ethnicities. I would strongly suggest asking THEM what they like to eat. You could come in with the best ideas of what you think they should eat, but if a dish isn't something they'd normally eat -- or even want to eat -- it's a waste of time. Ask them not only what they like to eat, but also what they WOULD like to eat if they had more money, or if they knew how to cook. Ask them if they prefer to cook something new every day or cooking 1-2x/wk & freezing leftovers. Ask them what kinds of fast/pre-packaged foods they normally eat (then think of homemade versions of those). Ask them what they grew up eating, what their female (& male!) relatives would cook for them. If they're not too responsive at first, ask then answer the questions yourself.
It may take a little patience on your part to draw out these answers, but their replies will inspire you, as well as maybe get the other students to think about food in new ways.

Good luck to you!

Will you be doing a needs assessment before you start the class? I don't know if you've planned courses before, but if you can send out a little questionnaire to the participants beforehand, you can get a few clues to what kind of things they want to learn. You've already received a lot of great tips on what to cook, but just thought I would mention this. Good luck :)

I definitely agree with everyone who suggested finding what the students currently eat or want to eat as well as what kind of challenges they may have to cope with (kitchen facilities, time, dietary restrictions, food preferences, etc). For people who haven't ever cooked, they may need you to start REALLY basic, literally how to boil water, how to scramble an egg, etc. Depending on how many classes you have with them and what cooking skills they already have, you might have to lower your expectations significantly, but that's ok. I don't teach cooking classes but I do teach other kinds of classes. Sometimes I want to just shove all this information at the students because I know it's so important, but people can't take that much info in at once. They need time to develop skills and process it all. Even if you only taught them 1 or 2 real meals, you'll be teaching them a hundred little skills along the way (what are you looking for when boiling water, what does a cooked egg look like, how can you tell if your baked potato is done, how do you chop an onion, what should you look for when buying a particular ingredient at the store, how do you safely store food, etc). You just have to give people a foundation and hope that they will continue building on it after they leave the class. Be ready to adjust based on student interest or any unexpected issues that come up along the way, and give the students notes/handouts so they will know what to do later. Best of luck!

How about rissotto? You can make a huge pan for just a few bucks. It's super filling, flexible, and very elegant.

This sounds like a fantastic idea! Kuddos to you for helping others.

One thing I would try to talk about are the most popular cuts of meat, what kind of cooking they are best for, and what can commonly be substituted for each other based on what's on sale at your store.

Also, info on buying larger packages and stretching it over many meal. For example, buy a larger package of boneless chicken breasts or thighs and dividing them up to use in different recipes like fajitas one night, chicken stir fry another (fajitas & stir fry could even use the same veggies), chicken parm with pasta the next, etc.

Plus, based on my experience, the fewer pots used to cook a dish the more likely a man is to make, so teaching some one-pot or one-skillet dishes (like stews, soups, and chicken & rice) will probably be good for the crowd you're teaching.

Good luck!!

Like many people said, culture is a major consideration. You didn't mention what area you're teaching in but definitely take demographics into consideration. For example, in Latino communities, grits are unknown but masa harina is common fare.

There is a thread here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1982973

with a variety of simple and cheap ideas. It's UK-based, so may not be to your class' liking, but the forum has all sorts of money-saving ideas.