The slow cooker was one of the best inventions for the student.  Put stuff in, in the morning and come back to amazing smelling apartment and amazing tasting food. It baffles me why more students don't utilize slow cooker technology.  You barely have to do anything and a marvelous dinner appears at the end of the day.  What more could you ask of a machine?!

But seriously, this is so easy it's stupid.

Stew Beef

1 Cup Mushrooms (your choice of type)

1 Onion

Butter

Beef Stock

Salt 

Pepper

Thyme

Sour Cream

Broad Egg Noodles

Start by dredging the beef in seasoned flour (see Beef Pie recipe for further info on this if necessary) then browning the beef in a frying pan with a bit of oil in the bottom. 

Once the meat is brown on all sides, add the roughly chopped onions and mushrooms along with some butter (maybe a few tablespoons)

Cook until the onions are translucent, then add a bit of beef stock to deglaze the pan (again see Beef Pie for more info on this)

Dump everything into a slow cooker set on low heat.  Add enough more beef stock (or even water) to cover the beef

Come back in about 6-8 hours

Beef is cooked, sauce should have thickened up (if not, take the excess liquid and reduce in a frying pan)

Then add reduced sauce back to slow cooker. 

Add a few teaspoons of thyme (to taste) and some sour cream.  Probably about a cup, although I must admit, I don't measure.  It really depend on how much I have at the time and how light I want the sauce.  This means the amount of sour cream is cooks discretion.

Boil some noodles of your choice (I prefer egg noodles for this)

Butter the noodles

Pour beef mixture over noodles

Total Cost (about 4-5 portions): $15-20 (Depends on how much beef and how many noodles you make)