Reddit mentions of The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook

Learn to make seitan. It's quite easy and saves you a lot of money over buying it pre-made, and it can go in so many different recipes. You need vital wheat gluten, which you can buy on Amazon. (Don't be afraid to order some things, since they'll probably last you quite a while once they come. Nutritional yeast is another thing worth ordering; it comes up in a lot of recipes.) Here is one recipe, though there are many out there on the interwebs: http://www.theppk.com/2009/11/homemade-seitan/
It freezes well, so you can make it once a week or so and take out a portion every time you need to make a meal. It basically takes the place of meat in most recipes.

You need to eat legumes too—soy or other kinds of beans. I'm a big tofu eater myself. If you think you don't like tofu, make sure you're cooking it right, and that needs to start with pressing it. (To me, unpressed tofu tastes nasty and watery, and pressed tofu is totally dreamy.) There are as many ways to do that as there are cooks, but here's one guide: http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/04/how-to-press-tofu.html
Then marinade it and bake, or stir-fry with some kind of sauce. You can save money by making your own marinades or time by buying premade ones.

Normally I would recommend buying beans and grains from bulk bins, but it sounds like that may not be an option where you live. Beans are still hella cheap (especially if you buy them dry) and there's a reason rice and beans are a dietary staple for so many people. I loooove grains, but some of them (e.g. quinoa) are not all that affordable. But see what you can find: barley and couscous, for example, can be really satisfying.

If you like hummus, you can make your own in a blender and save money over buying it premade.

I am a big cookbook fan and learned to cook from vegan cookbooks. The Post Punk Kitchen is relatively simple and delicious. There are a lot of recipes on the web site (http://www.theppk.com/), and Isa has some fantastic cookbooks out as well, with my favorite being Vegan With a Vengeance. Vegan Yum Yum is a bit more advanced, but has some of the most delicious food I've ever eaten, and that too has both a book and a web site (http://veganyumyum.com/). Vegan Dad (http://vegandad.blogspot.com/) can get complicated but is singularly wonderful: try the hot wings some time! If all that is too much to get started with, don't worry, you'll feel better soon, and look for recipes aimed at teenagers and college students. My family has taken a lot of recipes from The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Teens-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Judy-Krizmanic/dp/0140385061), which offers vegan substitutions for all the recipes. I should reiterate that there are a huge number of recipes available online, if you don't want to drop cash on cookbooks!

I hope some of that was helpful. I've been transitioning away from premade foods myself, and also shopping on a budget, so let me know if you have any other questions. (I do have good grocery options, so my tips may falter on that front.) Good luck and enjoy!

Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook

I got this book from a friend in my early years of being vegetarian. There are easy recipes in here and lots of ideas to diversify your food. I'm 23 and I still use it!