Wash a pound of rice, throw it in a big oven proof dish. Add a ton of cumin, paprika, chilli, pepper and a generous dose of salt. Always err on the side of too much spice. If you ever go past the limit, you'll know for next time, but if you only ever season carefully, you'll never reach that "just right" point. Big splash of olive oil, mix it all up so the rice is well coated in oil and spice. 2 cans of beans (I like kidney, but any bean will work I reckon), a can (or two, if you are so inclined) of corn. Add 500 ml tomato purée and 500 ml chicken stock (that's 2 cups each for the Americans). Even it all out, wrap tightly in foil so the steam can't escape - in the oven at 380F (190°C) for 80 minutes. Total prep time ~10 minutes, which is perfect because that's roundabout the time the oven needs to get to the right temp.
Makes 6-7 portions for me, total cost around 4-5$ (meaning less than a dollar per serving), toppings included. Refrigerates well for 5 days, easily warms up in a microwave within 3 minutes whenever you need a quick meal - also great if you have an insulated food jar for on the go, keeps warm in mine for at least 5 hours. Grate over some cheddar or other cheese if you feel like it, scallions are nice too. Add some peanuts and you have a really filling meal that contains everything the body needs (and peanuts and rice go really well together in general). Fry an egg if you have the time, a nice runny yolk elevates this meal to a completely new level. I find that I can go an entire day with two portions (morning and evening) of this and a snack inbetween (usually some mozzarella cheese, few dried tomatoes, little vinegar, little olive oil. Both dirt cheap where I usually live).
And since being too emotionally drained to cook was brought up - cooking can be a genuine source of enjoyment if approached as an opportunity to create and continuously improve an arsenal of meals that is capable of making people happy. A simple but well cooked meal can make just about anyone the world over happy.
