What's your go-to 'can't think' dinner or tea?

[BabyLlamaZen]

Would love some more ideas especially when I've had a day of it and baby brain.

Mine are:

• Jar of pesto and pasta (with salad if have any leftover in fridge)
• Baked potato with beans and/or cheese (again some salad)
• Dig out some leftovers from the freezer e.g. batch cooked curry
• Quorn escalopes with some frozen veg

Noodle soup (packet of precooked udon noodles in veg stock, with Chinese dumplings from the freezer, and any old veg)

Pitta pizzas (toast whole meal pittas, put on tray, add some chopped toms from a tin, lots of cheese, maybe some olives or chilliest)

Fried rice: fry rice with a bit of onion/ garlic in vegetable oil, add Peas and whisked eggs In corner of the pan, add soy sauce and white pepper. Extra yummy if you add a chopped leek instead of the onion.

Sorry if I've missed it, I've skim read and have to ask now or will forget: how would I actually make a puttanesca pls? I'm crap at cooking but trying to improve and all these ideas look achievable. Especially beans on toast ha ha.

Chips and cheese. Maybe with baked beans if i feel guilty for the lack of veg.

Maybe leftover frozen portions of stuff.

At the moment I've got a lovely lady who delivers frozen home cooked meals, so that's what I know i can turn to. It's great.

I do pasta and pesto like you, OP. I sometimes stir in peas or bagged salad for veg.

If/when DC2 goes to university. I'll be tucking into a buttered fruit scone and a glass of tomato juice when I can't be arsed. DH can sort himself out. Fruit or something.

Fajitas. Mainly because it tells you on the Old El Paso box what ingredients you need to buy

Omelettes with cheese and whatever bits I have in the fridge.

Wraps with houmous and whatever veg is rattling around the drawer.

Toasties with cheese and whatever veg is rattling around the drawer.

Spaghetti with onion and anchovy sauce (basically, sweat a large onion, bung in a can of anchovies and a glug of wine, stir in cooked spaghetti)
Spag carb
Tinned tomatoes on toast + halloumi cheese
Avocado on toast
Cheese on toast
Toast

Spaghetti marinara (onion, garlic, tinned tomatoes, olives, capers, herbs), chilli (onion, garlic, chilli from a jar in the fridge, tinned tomatoes, tinned kidney beans, herbs), fish fingers and baked beans and potato waffles

@PolloDePrimavera - can't promise this is a proper puttanesca recipe but I finely chop an onion a fresh red chilli and lots of garlic cloves, fry in olive oil in a pan until they are translucent, add a tin of chopped tomatoes, some passata or wine, a tin of anchovies, a spoonful of capers and some herbs - usually fresh thyme or dried oregano or just mixed herbs if that's all I have. Let it bubble and reduce. I add black olives towards the end. Pinch of salt and pepper. Stir into cooked spaghetti.

Assuming I have them in cupboard/freezer - I usually do, specifically for those CBA days.....

Tin of tuna, flaked, mixed with tin of condensed mushroom soup (undiluted) warmed together and mixed with cooked pasta, served with frozen peas.
Much nicer than it sounds.

Mac and cheese with some kind of veg!:)

Big bag of crisps and a bottle of wine while I think about it.

When I wake up on the sofa at 2:00 a.m. just go to bed.

Porridge in the morning.

@doadeer

Wrap in a dry fry pan warm it, flip it, add pizza ingredients of choice and plenty stringy mozzarella - another wrap on top. Cook til slightly crispy. Flip to cook other side.

Yummy.

Trick is to not overfill. We smidge of tomato sauce, sliced pepperoni and mozzarella is enough 😁

pasta with garlic mushrooms, or bacon, or spinach, or all 3!

Something tinned on toast or omelette, pancakes as finally after 20 odd years I am able to make them edible

Frittata using leftover roast potatoes or veggies, ham etc. Or chicken wrapped in bacon with roast veggies and sauté potatoes

Kofte kebabs (Iceland frozen ones are quite good) with micro rice, wraps and salad or frozen veg.
Micro rice also makes amazing egg fried rice, you can add cooked chicken or ham and frozen peas.

Fajitas 🙈

@CatSmith

Beans on toast.

DH is vegetarian so it’s suit for him and we always really enjoy it.

Obviously I have a scrape of marmite on mine because that makes an awesome meal phenomenal. If I’m feeling flush, I grate a bit of cheese on top too!

Such an underrated dinner.

Lovely. You do know that vegetarians can eat Marmite, don't you?

@WhoWouldHaveThoughtThat

Big bag of crisps and a bottle of wine while I think about it.

When I wake up on the sofa at 2:00 a.m. just go to bed.

Porridge in the morning.

I like your style.

Takeaway or something out the freezer like breaded fish.

monkeyonthetable Good puttanesca recipe (from an Italian) You can also do it with tuna instead of anchovies to make it less salty for DC.

My lazy dinner is also pesto pasta - with added cream cheese and veg (usually brocolli and peppers)
Or gnocchi with crispy sage and butter - my parents have a massive sage bush to nick twigs off

Baked bean gnocchi.

Throw some gnocchi in an oven dish with a little bit of oil and salt if you use it, shake it about and roast at 220° for about half an hour. Stir some baked beans through and top with grated cheese (any kind but mozzarella is good) then put back in for about ten minutes until the cheese is melty and golden. It's honestly the most delicious and comforting thing to eat.

You can change it up by using mixed chilli beans (or chilli con carne/veggie chilli) instead of baked beans. We also like to put jalapenos on the top with the cheese.

Baked gnocchi is so versatile - the other night on a whim I made some then stirred through some veggie haggis and rocket and it was fabulous.

Really cheap too - you can get it for about 60p a packet, but the fresh is nicest and costs about £1.50 a pack.

I always aim to have batch cooked chilli con carne in the freezer.