What shall I make for dinner?

[CultureAlienationBoredomandDespair]

I love cooking but have a cold coming and am feeling uninspired. DH will be working late-ish so I’d like to have dinner ready for when he gets in and I’ll be juggling it with DS2 and DS2months who will inevitably want feeding half way through.

I have:
Carrots that have seen better days
Leeks
Peppers
Onions
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Avocados
Spring onion
Garlic
Ginger
In the freezer there’s frozen mixed veg, green beans and peas.
A tin of sweetcorn

As well as potatoes there’s pasta, couscous, bulgar wheat, some instant polenta (the kind that’s already cooked and you can just boil in the bag or slice and fry) and rice.

For protein there’s tinned mackerel and sardines in tomato sauce, tuna (but I’m not a big fan), anchovies, a chorizo, cheddar cheese (there’s chicken thighs and drumsticks in the freezer but I’d rather save these for another day).

I’ve also got tinned tomatoes, baked beans, coconut milk, a wide selection of dried herbs and spices (but I used up our curry powder and Garam masala yesterday), lots of condiments/ vinegars etc, olives, capers, yoghurt, flour and yeast.

There’s probably some other stuff I’ve forgotten but we’ve got most staples.

Please inspire me! If there’s no suggestions I’d probably make this minus the parsley https://amp.theguardian.com/food/2023/jan/30/yotam-ottolenghi-jacket-potatoes-egg-tonnato-sauce

You could make a fishy pasta. Either sauce on the stove to put on spaghetti, or shapes, or a pasta bake. Chop onions, garlic, a few veg if you like to make it go further, add the tuna, garlic, mixed herbs. Cook it all up & serve with grated cheddar if you’ve no Parmesan.

Thai curry or pho, or stir fry.
Or leek, potato and carrot soup with chilli and ginger and garlic.

Yeah I would do a veggie soup and spice it up.

If you’re feeling a bit rough I’d be frying off some chopped chorizo, peppers and garlic and maybe some chilli if you fancy in some olive oil. Cook spaghetti then stir in grated cheese and black pepper before mixing in the chorizo et al.

Tomato and spring onion salad on the side and job’s a good ‘un. Tasty and comforting and takes next to no time.

Pesto pasta here tonight. Everyone also not feeling 100%. It will have random veg from fridge added ( probably leek, onion), and peas to convince toddler to eat it . Low effort.

i would make either a veggie noodle broth or a tomato veggie pasta

I have a similar list of stuff and have just made a veggie sauce for pasta with a tin of tomatoes added in. I’ll add a tin of tuna and cooked pasta later. Boring but easy, uses up older veg and everyone will eat it (except dh but he is away).

Thank you, we have tomato based pasta at least once a week which is probably why I’m feeling a bit fed up with it atm.

We had curry yesterday (a baked celeriac with a coconut curry sauce, white fish and broccoli- it was delicious!) and don’t have any curry powder. I would have a Thai style one but we don’t have any curry paste (or lemongrass or lime to make one) and unusually we don’t have noodles.

I love the idea of a soup but cba to make bread and if I get DH to pick some up it will add 1/2hr onto his journey.

I think generally I’m feeling in a bit of a food rut and the cold is just adding to it today.

I have just made a batch of minestrone soup, lovely when you don’t feel well https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-minestrone-soup. If you don’t have cannellini beans any kidney or chick peas work ok, and I use spaghetti broken into small pieces if I don’t have any small soup pasta

I could do a carrot and lentil spiced soup and make flatbreads as they’re less faff.

I made this last week and it was lovely I added orzo and used chickpeas.

Chorizo and lentil soup/ stew. Maybe with some leeks and other veg.

Stir fry

Jacket potatoes with various fillings?

Fry assorted vegetables(bit of oil and garlic) blitz them, add back to the pan. Add washed rice, top up with enough water/stock/tomato sayce to cook rice, pfff eye ball it. If rice dry then its kind of favoured rice, if liquidy its hearty soup. Or swap rice with lentils. Play with your spices too while at it

spiced lentil soup, with soda bread (quick bread to make)

Or

Fried rice. Any veg fried up, with ginger and garlic. Add Chinese flavours if you have ie soy sauce. Chorizo or egg can be added if you fancy

If you're feeling rubbish, you want something ready for your DH getting in late and you need to juggle DC at dinnertime, I would opt for something quick and easy that can be prepared early and sit in the oven keeping warm without spoiling if needs be. Maybe macaroni cheese with chorizo, with a salad or roast vegetables? I would make the mac and cheese this afternoon whenever I had time, top with more cheese, pop it in the fridge to bake later. Not exciting but maybe today isn't the day to get out of your recipe rut if you are coming down with a cold.

If you pop the carrots in a tupperware filled with cold water in the fridge, they should perk up overnight.

Shakshuka, I'd put a bit of the chorizo in it too. You could put some grated cheese or even the avocado on top to serve depending how hungry you are.

You could do a Chinese style soup with grated carrot, leeks, peppers, onion, garlic, spring onion and ginger. It wouldn't take long to cook, and the ginger would be good for your cold.
If you have some frozen gyozas available put them in at the end of cooking, or poach or fry an egg per person to float on the soup.

Make a Buddha bowl with the couscous, tomatoes, avocado, some olives, and tinned sweetcorn, and top with the sardines or mackerel.

Thanks everyone, in reg end I went for a cheesy chorizo pasta bake with jalapeños, leeks and tomatoes. Chilly for the cold, stodgy for comfort 💪.