I recently figured out a cheap meal from stuff I can pick up at the Target at the end of my road. They've got no produce section, but they carry all sorts of canned goods/pastas/etc. Anyway,in one frying pan, combine: one box of frozen spinach (thawed first is best, though I often toss it in the pan completely frozen), one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (I get the basil, garlic, and oregano variety) - not drained, one 15.5 oz can of either cannellini (white kidney) beans or great northern beans (drained and rinsed), one to two tbsp olive oil (optional), salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste (have also done this with fresh garlic). Heat until warmed through. It's very good alone, though I like to mix it in with pasta. If you do that, the smaller shapes work best (rotini, piccolini, bowtie). I've also added between half a cup to a cup of water and one can of tomato sauce (I like the roasted garlic variety, but I've seen an "Italian" variety that would work well) and made a soup. This makes enough for between two to four meals, depending on how hungry you are, whether you add pasta or not, and whether you make it into soup or not.

I know you said you don't have canned beans, but you could really use almost any bean in this and if you have him make beans ahead of time and freeze in one cup portions, this would work well. In that case, use one and a half or two cups of beans. 

As a busy bachelor with limited time and resources (although I’m a pretty rockin’ cook) I think I’d be able to help with this one.

Teach him how to cook rice and how to cook beans! These are two super cheap items that when combined make for an awesome burrito! Teach him some basic southwestern flavors too: garlic, onion, cayenne, cumin, lime etc.

When I’m in a pinch I always take my leftover rice (like you already taught him how to cook!) and I do a stir fry with some frozen vegetables. Did you have a sauce with the peanut satay? You can tell him to double the batch and then he’ll have it when he needs it.

Another super easy meal is to heat a can of tomato soup with a can of non-dairy milk and then cook some shell noodles to toss in with the tomato soup. It sounds boring, but it’s delicious. That’s probably one of the first things I learned how to cook when I was like 8 or something.

Oh, tofu scramble too! Everyone should know how to do tofu scramble.

My favorite ever quick, cheap meal is actually quite simple.

1 lb. bag of brown rice
1 lb. bag of beans/lentils of your choice.

Cook according to package directions, mix.
Add a jar of salsa or tomato sauce of your choice.
Add salt and pepper to taste, sometimes I will add a little taco seasoning or red pepper for more flavor.

This makes a TON, so I'll eat it a couple days and then freeze the rest.

LOL....yeah.  When I'm cooking, I'm at home and feeding 5.  Two growing adults, usually two athletes who eat a ton, and I'll usually eat it for about a week at a time.  Then I always have a ton of leftovers to freeze. 

Halving...or even quartering the recipe wouldn't hurt  8)

What kind of pot do you use to make a pound of rice?  Wow.  I'm impressed.

I never thought about freezing rice.  Does it taste okay when it's thawed?

It tastes the same, although I think the texture is just a tiny bit drier. However, if you're putting a sauce on it or throwing the rice into soup or a casserole, you'll never notice. I really like to freeze rice, too! I make up a big batch in my rice cooker (I love this thing!) and freeze in 2 cup containers. It's also already separated into grains, so it's ready to go for fried rice dishes with leftover veggies.