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Since pasta and beans are so cheap try combining them. In a tablespoon of olive oil slightly cook about 3 cloves of garlic. Add one or two cans of pinto beans and chopped up broccoli and serve over a pound of short pasta (penne or rigatoni). As always puts some parmesean cheese on top. $4 total

Cook about 4 cloves of garlic and 2 or 3 whole pepperoncini (probably about 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes) in a half cup of olive oil, serve over pasta. $3 total

1 Onion cooked in half a stick of butter, add a can or 2 of tuna and serve over pasta. $5 total

3 cans of tomatoes (15 ounces each) cooked with either garlic or onions (not both), basil, salt, pepper, a dash of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar. $4 total

Throw some Edam or Gouda cheese in with pasta and nothing else. $5 total

Seconding Peregrine on the jambalaya. This recipe feeds two hungry people. We eat it about once a week.

8 oz raw chicken, cubed (can be breasts or thighs or whatever you prefer)
8 oz andouille sausage, sliced (andouille is best and traditional, but if you can't find it you can sub any spicy sausage that holds its shape when sliced)
1 cup rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 large onion, diced small
3 stalks celery, diced small
1 large bell pepper, diced small
6-8 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste. we usually do 1-2 small heads, which comes out to around 12 cloves or so, but that might be overdoing it for most people)
1 tbsp cayenne (or to taste, we like it spicy!)
1 tbsp Tony's (cajun seasoning mix)
1 tbsp red pepper flakes, divided
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp black pepper, divided
1 tsp kosher salt
1/8 cup fresh thyme

Heat Dutch Oven on medium till it smokes or till a drop of water evaporates immediately upon hitting the pan. Season chicken pieces with salt, 1 tsp of the pepper, and 1 tsp of the red pepper flakes. Put all chicken and sausage into the pan and cook until browned well on all sides. Remove meat from pan and set aside. Turn heat to medium low. Put onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic into the pan. These can be cut as large or as small as you like. Cook, stirring often, until all vegetables are softened, onions are translucent, and mixture has reduced a lot in size. If you browned the meat well, there should be brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Stir well, scraping the bottom, to incorporate all those bits back into the mixture. When the vegetables are cooked down, add the meat back into the pan and stir. Add the rice and stir well, making sure the rice is incorporated evenly through the pan. Add cayenne, Tony's, red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, dried oregano, and black pepper. Pour in chicken stock. If there is not enough liquid to cover, add more chicken stock or water to cover. Cover the pan with a lid. Stir every 5 minutes and let cook until all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Remove from heat and add fresh thyme. Recover the pot and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Jambalaya! The even heat of the dutch oven means less chance of having the rice on the bottom burn before the rest of the pot is done.

I'm late to your party...LOL. You have a great many suggestions already.

Pulled pork - start it on the grill and keep it there for one hour to get the smoky flavor. Put it in your dutch oven and cook overnight at 275 degrees, covered, with carrots, onions, poblano and a couple of plum tomatoes, cumin and chili powder, and white wine. Strain and reserve juices, defat them and use with the pork.

Caponata comes to mind.

Strawberry Jam and other summer jams. Can some Giardiniera!

You can make a huge vat of marinara sauce and can it so you'll have it on hand.

Enjoy your Dutch oven!

Thanks so much! A lot of these ideas sound really good...gotta say that pulled pork will be made very soon.

making cobblers was the only reason i used dutch ovens for anything, just get some cake mix and pie filling and some imagination; i'd make cobbler all the time as a boy scout. i eventually got bored with "normal" flavors like peach and cherry cobbler, and eventually tried making "pina colobbler," which turned out to be kind of tasty, though not as awesome as that name might entail.

Used a dutch oven to make pasta sauce the other day, and it did come out better than if done in a regular pan. Don't know exactly why, but I'll be doing it that way from now on.

attgig, I know what you mean, I don't know about tasting better...maybe? But where I can really tell is how it caramelizes stuff like onions or searing...you get a really nice fond. The way it cooks the food seems to really be different than a normal pot. Don't know if it's the heat retention? And I LOVE the clean up. I've never had anything stuck to the bottom of that thing, it is indestructible!

it seems like all the suggestions can be done with a regular pot... do they taste better on a dutch oven? honestly, i've had a dutch oven for a bit, but after the initial try of cornbread, the only other time i've taken it out is for some deep frying. Otherwise, I end up doing things in a regular pot or a slow cooker.

why the dutch oven?

I second the ratatouille suggestion. Eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers....you just can't get better ones than right now. Perfect for summer and perfect for a dutch oven. All you need is a good, crusty bread and a great bottle of wine to serve with it, and you have a simple, yet delicious meal.

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It's a tie: Thai or Japanese sushi. Both rate high around here!

I would love to learn how to make some really spicy Thai dishes.