Some people buy in bulk online from say Sam's Club or Costco or Walmart or Amazon. A ten pound bag of rice, or dried beans, chick peas, lentils, all that. Make sure to store them in an airtight, strong, container, such as "snapware". Those containers are available in many stores, and online.

You need a mesh strainer. You will be rinsing rice and beans before cooking. That is necessary.

You can put a little oil in, and some garlic powder to cut the earth taste. See what spices you can get in bulk. Keep them out of the light and well closed, but not in the fridge. Have some black pepper around. Some use instant soup powder as a seasoning.

When you get the hang of a stew, you will be the most popular person in the neighborhood.

An electric rice cooker is a fine thing to have.

Many prefer brown rice. That takes 45 minutes. You need two volumes of fresh drawn cold water to one volume of rice.

White rice is much faster but not as good for you. Many love it though, I am not criticizing it.

A stew will have a jar of spaghetti sauce in it, perhaps, or a box of tomato puree.

A five pound bag of potatoes is good. Scrub, trim, cut in half, but don't peel them. Put a little oil in the water.

A sprinkle of turmeric will give rice, pasta, and potatoes an attractive yellow color.

Pasta is a good and not expensive food. You will need a colander to drain it, probably.

Celery is cheap and good for you, raw and cooked.

The magic trio is: celery, carrot, onion. Memorize that. Garlic brings up everything, in modest amounts. Most soups need black pepper.

Don't use an extension cord. Make sure it isn't near anything. Fill with water but leave one thumb-knuckle of empty space to the top, so it doesn't boil over. That's not terrible, but it's messy.

For your first attempt, put the crock pot up in the morning, and stay home. Then, you can put it up and leave the house all day, or put it up before bedtime.

If you just want some beans, rinse them well, put them up before bedtime with a little oil and some seasoning, and in the morning you will have cooked beans, no effort at all.