I cook every day (it's pretty much a hobby) and almost always spend less than that per month for food. That includes cooking for other people at least once a week and odd recipe experiments. No shortage of meat either... I just finished off a package of chicken tonight that cost $4 and lasted five meals, including one with another person.
I'm having people over for tacos this weekend, pork butt was on sale for $1.50/lb today. One pound of meat makes quite a few tacos, they'll be cheaper than Taco Bell's. And carnitas rules, it will taste like a million bucks. I usually buy what's on sale as it's a good way to stay out of rut, I just make whatever works well with what I bought.
Now I could go buy a piece of kobe beef and spend the $150 in one trip, but for me it's more fun to come up with tasty meals from more basic (but yet good quality) ingredients. If I actually tried to spend as little as possible it could get really low and ramen wouldn't be involved.
I just bought 2 chicken breasts. Price on the package was Canadian $7.50. So say US $6 (guaranteed to be more in SF). That for me, was 2 meals for one, though obviously nice meals (the vegetables, spices, rice probably increased the price of each dinner to about $7-$8 US). So basically I just spent 1.5 days of my budget on 1 meal.
As I said, I usually buy what's on sale (it really is a good way to keep up variety). When chicken breast is on sale it's usually pretty good, in the $2-3.50/lb range which is about half off. Whole chicken is almost always economical. That said, there are a lot of other cuts of meat (pork chops, roasts, etc). After the holidays you'll be able to pick up turkey and ham really cheap. I got a ham last year and threw a party, it was ridiculously cheap and delicious. It's all about being flexible, if you're alright with going with the flow you can get away with spending much less than you'd think.
It's a fun challenge for me and I've come up with some fun recipes as a result. That said, I do splurge where it counts--good quality olive oil, parmesan, fresh herbs, etc. At the end of the day I'm in it for a tasty meal, not a cheap meal.
I'm having people over for tacos this weekend, pork butt was on sale for $1.50/lb today. One pound of meat makes quite a few tacos, they'll be cheaper than Taco Bell's. And carnitas rules, it will taste like a million bucks. I usually buy what's on sale as it's a good way to stay out of rut, I just make whatever works well with what I bought.
Now I could go buy a piece of kobe beef and spend the $150 in one trip, but for me it's more fun to come up with tasty meals from more basic (but yet good quality) ingredients. If I actually tried to spend as little as possible it could get really low and ramen wouldn't be involved.