I've certainly been in a temporary cash crisis (does two years in college still count as "temporary"?) where I had to reach into the very back of my cupboard to find that old package of lentils and spent my last pennies on a carrot to spice it up a bit. The Hillbilly Housewife has evidently been there, and back, and lived to make pdf's about it.

Her $45 "emergency menu" [via metafilter] purports to feed a family of four to six who has nothing in the pantry to begin with. She gives you a shopping list with staples like flour, a variety of beans including my fave, lentils, lots of peanut butter, greens, spinach and even pancake syrup and tea. She provides a menu with recipes for refried bean burritos, hot dog & veggie stir fry, and creamed tuna and peas over rice. She's even provided a chart telling you what to do, when.

The adults drink tea for almost every meal and the children drink milk, and she provides ideas for snacks - cinnamon toast, peanut butter tortillas. It's a very content-rich sustenance proposal.

I'm certain that I've lived on similar budgets (although my children, thus far, are pretty cheap to maintain given that one is still primarily breast milk fed). As my tastes tend toward the buttery and leafy-green-vegetable-rich, I'd probably cut out the weiner stir fry and substitute something like this.

cheap-o rotini with collard greens, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and domestic asiago gilbert

shopping list
extra-virgin olive oil
TJ's rotini
garbanzo beans
one bunch collard greens
one 22-ounce can whole tomatoes
domestic Asiago cheese
carrots
garlic
salt
cumin

recipe
Prepare garbanzo beans ahead: bring several cups water to a boil with the ends from two carrots ($0.02) (reserve carrots for another use) and a clove of garlic ($0.03). Add two cups dried garbanzo beans ($0.35). Cook at a simmer about an hour and add a teaspoon of salt ($0.005) (or to taste). Continue simmering until beans are just tender (al dente).

Prepare collard greens ahead: heat a tablespoon of olive oil ($0.10) over medium heat. Rinse and pat dry one bunch of collards ($1.49 maybe?) and slice into ribbons. Slice two cloves garlic ($0.06) and add to pan along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and one teaspoon cumin ($0.05). Add collards, stir to coat with oil and cover pot, cooking gently, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Prepare rotini ($0.69) according to package directions. Drain and return to pot along with another tablespoon of olive oil ($0.10), half of the collard greens, a cupful of prepared garbanzo beans, 1/3 of the can of tomatoes ($0.21), coarsely chopped (and including juices), and a couple more cloves of garlic ($0.06), minced. Mix and bring to warm over low heat. Test for seasoning and serve with a generous handful of Asiago cheese ($0.40).

So there you are. $3.565 (or so) for generous servings for four people, and you have about $0.50 in prepared ingredients left over for other uses, or for seconds. What would you cook, being broke?