Looking for cheap lunch recipe

12 oz cans of chicken breast (2) or a 20 oz package of smoked sausage
1/2 - 2/3 head of cabbage
2 cans diced tomatoes
Carrots(3)/Celery(2)/Onion(1)/Bell pepper(1)/Any veggies that need used
3-4 tsp chicken/vegetable stock base or bouillon cubes x 3
optional: envelope onion mushroom soup mix
Seasonings to your taste - I usually use pepper, salt, basil (1 Tbsp), oregano (1 Tbsp), garlic/garlic powder
Enough water to cover all your veggies - about 8 cups

Chop up all the veggies. Throw your ingredients minus the meat into a pot, stir to combine, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 30-45 minutes, until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Check seasonings. Add more if necessary.
Throw your meat in and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Done!
This makes a HUGE batch of soup - about 14 2-cup servings - and is between 150-200 calories per serving, depending on the protein you use. Tons of nutrition and fiber. Package a week's worth and freeze the rest for later in the month.

I love doing this because it takes very little time to pull together, and the ingredients are cheap and usually on-hand. You can adapt this to add whatever veggie needs to be used; I often throw in chopped zucchini that's starting to get soft or the dregs of frozen veggie bags, like cauliflower or broccoli.

These are great ideas! Thank you for sharing I also enjoy brown rice with ground turkey or chicken or turkey sausage links with veggies and a little soy sauce. Super filling!

Another idea...one of our local grocery stores has bags of almost expired produce for $1. For example, the other day I picked up five zucchini/$1, three red/yellow bell peppers/$1, etc. I have never seen any that have gone bad, they are just ready to eat so do not have as much shelf life left (can't sit at home for another two weeks probably) but since i am buying them to eat that is not an issue!
I get almost all of my veggies this way but it is not my usual grocery store. I decided to suggest it to the store i usually go to and they were happy to do the same. it saves them from throwing things away. Might be worth a shot, and it saves me a lot of money on produce!

I usually
Buy in bulk any kind of chicken boil and shred goes great for
Salads , with 1/4 cup white rice rice cause sum times brown rice is expensive, chicken wraps.
Buy frozen greens , can green beans fresh veggies wen on sale..
Extra lean Hamburger paties turned in to salbury stakes