Dinner Ideas… help?

[Rebeldream]

I’ll preface this with the fact that I haaaaaate cooking. Like, a lot. Not that I can’t because I totally can, I just despise it - the planning, the shopping, the prep, the act, the clean up, etc. Plus I’m coming out of a depressive episode and just can’t wrap my brain around anything more complicated than cereal most days.

So I’m looking for SUPER SIMPLE meal suggestions that require as few ingredients and as few dirty dishes as possible. I need to feed 4 people usually and one is a teenage boy who eats as much as the three of us combined. I no longer own a crock pot nor an Instant Pot because I found them too burdensome to clean. We do have an air fryer, though.

As an example - my current new find is boxed au gratin potatoes, kielbasa, frozen broccoli, and shredded cheese. All I have to do is slice the sausage, then everything gets dumped into a casserole dish & baked. Done. I use disposable tinfoil pans so really all I get dirty is a knife.

I tried making ravioli lasagna last night and it was only meh so I wouldn’t do it again. We have loaded baked potatoes as a meal pretty often because it’s so easy and chili, too.

Ideas? Suggestions? Commiseration?

 

[AzaleaArt]

Aw that sounds like a lot of stress, I hope things are looking up soon
I’m not much of a chef (I prefer to spend my kitchen time on baking) but I have a few easy meals that I make completely in the microwave if that’s something you’d be interested in I’d be happy to share. I use a medium sized corningware container but you might need a bigger one since I’m usually only feeding 2, so no dirty pans.

 

[Draco]

How about chicken with a side of rice a roni and a veggie in a steamable bag that can be microwaved? Shake N Bake chicken is easy to make

 

[Alstroemeria]

I make sweet and sour chicken in a dutch oven. Chicken, mixed stir-fry veggies tomato sauce, a can of chunk pineapple with some juice added, distilled white vinegar and soy sauce to taste. When it's near done, pull it out and mix in corn starch to thicken, and then put it back in for 5 minutes or so.

Have over rice or rice noodles.

You can actually modify a lot of meals to baking.

Plus make the teenagers help with dishes. The only way I manage heavier dishes and the crockpot is because my husband helps with dishes. I drop and break them..

 

[Neelah]

Here’s a few of my favorite easy one dish recipes - I also hate cooking, mostly because of the mess and the prep and how long it takes to cook vs how long it takes to eat!

Corn Casserole - 1 can of corn, 1 can of creamed corn, 1 egg, 8 oz sour cream, and half to a whole package of cubed ham (amount just varies on taste, I use half. I just buy the prepackaged, already cubed stuff). Stir it all up in a 9x13 baking dish, put it in the oven at 350 for an hour. Done! The texture is more like cake than cornbread. It’s my top comfort meal! Goes really well with a simple salad for a side

Another 9x13 baking dish meal - place chicken breasts down the center of the pan, open a can of green beans and dump it on one side, cut up a few potatoes (I think the smaller red potatoes cook best in this one) and put them on the other side. Cut a half stick of butter into little chunks and scatter them around over the whole thing. Then whatever seasonings you want over top (a packet of ranch mix is perfect!) Bake until chicken is done! I would do some extra potatoes on a baking dish at the same time for your son

A quick and easy one is to slice up some kielbasa, green pepper, and onion, and just stir fry it until the veggies are soft. Sometimes I throw a can of pineapple in too! Goes well served over rice to make it stretch longer/feed more people

Fajitas are also quick and easy - I buy packaged, pre-cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken to make it easy. Then sauté some bell pepper and onion, and follow the instructions on the packet of seasoning for the amount of water to add. Sour cream and/or shredded cheese optional!

I have more but I’d have to look them up later if you want more!

 

[Neelah]

Oh! Also, it’s worth investigating in a decent non-stick pan. Doesn’t have to be expensive, my favorites have been $20-$30 from Walmart and IKEA. But for things like the kielbasa and fajitas, that pan comes clean in about 20 seconds with a few quick swipes - no scrubbing or elbow grease needed! I use it more than anything else in my kitchen besides the coffee pot lol

 

[Sassarazzmadazzles]

There’s this thing I got at target for $16 and you just put it all in one pot and it’s done

I took a pick of what the bag included so I could replicate it later

 

[Cozytoyhoard]

Dang, that's a shame about the crock pot. I've made some great depression meals with mine. If you ever get another one I recommend one with a removable pot and investing in crock pot liners. It's way easier to get motivated to cook in it if you aren't having to think about scrubbing it without frying the electrical bits later lol.

I would also recommend parchment paper if you want to try some sheet pan meals for the same reason.

Here's an easy chicken and rice caserrole; sometimes I measure by the heart or add stuff I have on hand so feel free to mix it up. As long as the chicken is cooked all the way through you're good.

Chicken and Rice

• 11-12 frozen chicken tenders
• Cream of chicken
• Cream of mushroom
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 2 cups of instant rice
• 2-3 tbs of butter pats
• Salt/pepper/garlic powder/onion powder to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F
2. In separate bowl combine condensed soups, milk, sour cream, instant rice, and seasoning (or mix it in the caserrole dish, no one watching lol)
3. Place chicken tenders in large enough casserole dish that all sit at the bottom.
4. Cover tenders with soup mix.
5. Place pats of butter over top.
6. Cook for 1hour. Check halfway and flip the tenders to cook thoroughly. (If the casserole is getting to dry add more milk or butter to top. If the tenders look done sooner take it out.)
7. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
8. Enjoy!

Like I said, this is very flexible. Add fresh mushrooms for more mushroom goodness. Do two cans of cream of chicken for more chicken flavor. Substitute the condensed soup for chicken broth. If you're using fresh tenders or breasts my sister likes to cube hers first (you'll need to adjust the time for unfrozen chicken, just check it at 30 mins.)

Enjoy!