What are your go-to dinners when you have NO interest (729 views)

I hear you. I've been feeling funky lately, too. Toast and scrambled eggs was going to be my first suggestion Sometimes breakfast for dinner works for me. Or I turn back to meat, veg, starch. Frequently, sauteed pork chop, baked potato, steamed broccoli. Less than 10 minutes prep and active cooking. I also do stir-fry, but only protein and veg. No sauce, but soy at the table. Or I order a large pizza and eat it for days (haha!) and that kicks me out of the funk.

Today I whined about making soup--literally putting a chicken in a pan with water! Then I realized how ridiculous that was and put it on. But when it was done, I didn't eat the soup because I would have had to cook noodles. I just ate the chicken and veg--maybe tomorrow I'll boil noodles!

Just know you're not alone!

Grilled cheese and tomato soup. I've been buying Pacific brand roasted red pepper and tomato soup to keep in the pantry and we all really like it.

Pancakes or waffles are another default dinner.

Otherwise I go to Costco and buy what looks good. A rotisserie chicken, bag of salad and a baguette is a fabulous meal on those days that I don't feel like cooking.

I bought some tofu at Costco (organic and on sale!) and it reminded me of the wonderful stuff you can do with that too, if you like tofu.
I adore the creamy, custardy texture to it and you can add it to broth for a soup or you can pan fry it and just top it with a little soy sauce and a bed of veggies (frozen or microwaved spinach). The hardest thing is draining it, LOL.
You could also make a "scramble" with it.

Bean burritos or tostados - in fact I just finished having one for lunch. Used leftover canned refried beans (have to try those instant ones!), chopped cherry tomatoes, a little chopped onion, cheddar cheese, salsa, and lettuce wrapped in a toasted flour tortilla. YUMMY and it only took about 2 minutes to put together.

We also like tortilla pizzas - just a little sauce (I always have TJs pizza sauce on hand) and some thinly sliced onion and cheese. Pop it in the oven or under the broiler for a couple of minutes and you have a really quick and tasty little dinner.

And like Karen, I always have pouches of Indian food on hand and some rice in the freezer. I serve it with TJ's Garlic Nan and we're happy .

Other quick meals for us are (I think most have been mentioned):


- Spaghetti
- Scrambled eggs (DH will not eat them any other way except in egg salad sandwiches)
- Egg salad sandwiches
- Grilled cheese and tomato soup
- Chopped salad
- Clean out the fridge soup - tonight I'm making Zucchini soup and throwing in some frozen asparagus that I bought on a whim. And should anyone ask - don't bother buying TJ's frozen asparagus - it's not any good but I think putting it in a soup will be fine.

It depends what I have in the house. I prepare most of the dishes already mentioned using the pantry, freezer and fresh or frozen vegetables.

Lately I've been enjoying my little Wolfgang Puck rice cooker. I'll add ramen noodles, water or broth, veggies, any protein I might have on hand, like shrimp etcetera. Press the on button and walk away for about 15 or 20 minutes, and I have a whole ramen noodle dish/bowl. I can add an egg on top or whatever I have hanging around.

applecrisp, I had to laugh at your post regarding two chopped onions because I recognize myself Have long collected recipes with few ingredients. Even if I'm retired from the work force there are often "projects" sucking up all my time.

There is always "Home Alone Beans" from the old bulletin board. Kathryn Y's from The Grilling Encyclopedia:
1 - 16 ounce can of your favorite beans
1 - 10 ounce can of Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
Pour the beans into a sieve or colander. Rinse under cold water. Put rinsed beans, Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, chili powder and cumin into a saucepan. Bring beans to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow the beans to cook for 30 minutes or so. Stir every once in a while. Serve over rice, couscous, or wrap in tortillas. Makes 2-3 main dish servings. Top with shredded cheese if desired.
Robyn's version includes 1 can beans (prefer black but you do what you like), 1 can Rotel tomatoes, 1 can vacuum packed corn and lots of cumin. Serve with tortillas to scoop up.

Most of my own quick recipes are based on opening a can of chopped tomatoes and adding a good amount of Penzeys dried minced garlic (avoiding onion chopping). Heat until sauce thickens adding any spices you prefer. Crushed red pepper flakes, chopped olives, canned tuna or canned or leftover chopped chicken makes a Puttanesca sauce. A simplified version of Mark Bittman's Moroccan-Style Tomato Sauce includes 1/4 t ground ginger, 1 t ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/4 t lemon pepper per can of chopped tomatoes with tomato sauce (makes it thicker and saucier). Can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated, then serve with leftover meat of any kind.
I always try to keep skinless, boneless chicken breasts in the freezer. Have a number of recipes for mixtures with few ingredients to pour over chicken and then bake in the oven. Good with rice, couscous or pasta.
This couscous and chickpea salad saved me from cooking when I repainted the house a number of years ago. Make a big batch and keep in the fridge. Sure, you'll lack variety but you won't starve. The many ingredients are OK if it saves you from cooking all other days. Then there is always frozen pizza. DH once knew there was a quilt deadline if I pulled pizza from the freezer again and again. Now he's retired and offers to pick up fast food if the going gets tough.

But, applecrisp, the beauty is: if you use a frozen veg, no chopping!