Gumbo is a southern dish. This recipe is seasoned in a very Italian (?) way. I'm sure it tastes fine, but one will be very disappointed tasting this expecting gumbo. Quick rule of thumb for any gumbo recipe is if it calls for tomatoes, it's not going to taste anything like gumbo.
Edit: To add, you can probably follow most of this recipe but: *Dice the onions as small as you can and brown them before adding to the pot *Dice the peppers as small as you can as well (not sure why the author expects people to want to bite into a big chunk of boiled vegetables) *No tomatoes. Some poor memaw dies every time someone adds tomatoes to gumbo *Replace the next 5 lines of seasonings with https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Chacheres-Original-Seasoning-Shakers/dp/B00161FSZY *wtf @ lime juice
Note: Tony Chacheres also makes some really good roux, if you don't want to make your own!
Brussels sprouts!! Cauliflower is another good one.
I usually just do olive oil, sea salt and fresh black pepper, but I often reach for Tony Chacheres when i want to kick it up. It's so good!
Find someone to teach you the basics of preparing food. Mom, dad, grandma whoever. Tell them you need to learn the basics. How to know when stuffs done, how to cut up the food etc.
A simple, easy meal to make is to just cut up a bunch of veggies, put them in a skillet with some meat and fry it up. Just the other day I made a meal by chopping up some potatoes, red peppers, onions and bratwurst. Seasoned it with a bit of this stuff and it came out great. Easy and fairly quick.
Another good option is eggs. I know you said you aren't in to breakfast, but there's no reason you can't have eggs for dinner. Learn to make scrambled eggs, add in some minced peppers or onions and cheese for flavor.
Canned soup is a good one too.
I will note though. Almost any time you fry something in a skillet you need to have some kind of oil on the skillet (butter, vegetable oil etc.), keeps the food from sticking and burning at the bottom.
Seasoning might seem like an unnecessary expense to someone like you with such a small budget, but trust me, a little bit of seasoning can make a mediocre meal a great one, and if you are conservative with it a small amount can last for a long time. Salt and pepper are oblivious but that stuff I linked too up there is great imo and you can put it on almost anything, Mac and cheese, burgers, eggs, pasta pretty much anything you might put salt and pepper on, it's a good option for a beginner.
It doesn't get much easier than this. I got a little olive oil going in a small frying pan, and when it was hot I tossed in some leftover plain macaroni (from my daughter's mac 'n cheese dinner) along with a veggie burger which I defrosted in the microwave and cut into cubes. Fried it up for 3 or 4 minutes till it was sizzling, and sprinkled on a little Creole seasoning. Yum.
It's a type of seasoning salt, more or less.
Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, 8 Ounce Shakers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00161FSZY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_e5f7Cb97200DQ
Seconded, also adding Tony Chachere's, which i put on basically everything. also some spice humor.
https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Chacheres-Original-Seasoning-Shakers/dp/B00161FSZY
I've been obsessed with this stuff for years. I keep it at home and I keep it at my office. I put it on almost everything at this point lol.
This has become my goto seasoning to add to dishes at dinner.
Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, 8 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00161FSZY/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_7PCGCQ8ZSZW84QSMRWEM
https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Chacheres-Original-Seasoning-Shakers/dp/B00161FSZY
Tony's
Everyone has this in their kitchens. Put it on anything. Baked potato with cheese, ranch and Tony's.
This is Tony's. It's a general purpose creole seasoning. Comes in a few varieties. Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, 8 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00161FSZY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_R33GPDY7F18DAQRM3CZR
I like Slap Ya Mama though.
Did this video get you to pick up a jar of Tony Chachere's?
he's right, its good.
https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Chacheres-Original-Seasoning-Shakers/dp/B00161FSZY
Idk if that's what Five Guys uses, but it's what we all use in South Louisiana. Pronounced "Sah-shur-ee's." You could try Slap Ya Mamma seasoning, too.
I have a deep fryer. Pro-tip: deep fry in coconut oil and season with https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Chacheres-Original-Seasoning-Shakers/dp/B00161FSZY
Mhmmmmm