A lot of recipes call for onions, peppers, and tomatoes. This means buying those veggies, and they are all more expensive all the time. One pepper can cost well over $1! Next, it takes all that time spent chopping and cooking them.
Well, I've switched to using canned stewed tomatoes instead. I sometimes find them cheaper than plain canned tomatoes! The only chopping I do is chopping up the big pieces of tomato, and that takes a minute or less. I just use the same amount of stewed tomatoes as regular. When the recipe calls for tomatoes and hot peppers, a can of Rotel, or one of Rotel, and one of stewed does the job.
Another great conveniance is that you can have several cans on the shelf - no trips to the store just to buy the needed peppers, which don't last long in the fridge at all. This makes dinner prep cheaper, a lot easier, and a lot faster - Win win win!
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Instead of draining tomatoes and other canned foods in a strainer, which I then have to wash, I punch a hole in the top of the can with a church-key can opener. It's easy and efficient.
As expensive as canned vegetables have gotten, I find it better to buy one super large can and divide portions into small size zip bags for freezing.
I have accumulated many canned foods. There is a great variation in quality between brands and types of cans used (some with metal liners, some with white-coated liners).
When you open a can of tuna, vegetables or even fruits, empty the contents of the can into a strainer and rinse under running water for up to 5 minutes before adding them to a recipe. This cuts out lot of the salt and sugars added to canned foods.
I often find canned veggies too salty and canned baked beans too sweet, so I keep a medium-sized hand strainer near my sink and when I open them I pour them into the strainer and rinse them off thoroughly.
