As college kids get ready to return to campus this fall, many of them are packing up for their first apartment and brushing up on their cooking skills.

Along with the Tupperware and the frying pan, grab  a copy of “$5 A Meal College Cookbook: Good Cheap Food For When You Need To Eat” by Rhonda Lauret Parkinson and B. E. Horton (Adams Media, 2010)

The soft-cover cookbook costs just $9.95 and offers more than 300 money-saving meals, plus a handy check list of kitchen tools and pantry staples.

Starving students in my college days often survived on English muffins topped with tuna fish salad and cheese, browned under the broiler. It was a simple but satisfying meal, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  The new cookbook includes a version of this frugal dish, and at just 55 cents a serving, it’s still hard to beat.

 Broiled English Muffins

Serves 6

6 English muffins

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

½ cup canned tuna, drained

½ cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Split the English muffins in half and place in toaster.

While the muffins are toasting, stir the garlic powder, lemon juice and mayonnaise into the tuna in a small bowl. Stir in the shredded cheese and the Worcestershire sauce.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the mixture onto each toasted muffin half. Broil briefly in the oven until the cheese is melted and the tuna is heated through. Store the unused portion of the tuna and cheese mixture in a sealed container in the refrigerator. (It will last for 2 to 3 days.)