To have lost the will re quick food ideas?

[janeybumtum]

When you're out of freezer meals and feeling too tired and zombiefied to stand in the kitchen for long making something for one, what kinds of things do you have?

I've run out of ideas and am getting a bit sick of cheese on toast, tinned soup, toast or cereal.

Can people give me their ideas?! I'm drawing a blank!

Omelette with side salad
Kimchi udon
Pasta aglio olio, carbonara, or cacce peppi
Tuna melt sandwich
Black bean quesadilla
Zaru soba
Bread, cheese, and crudités
Rice, seasoned seaweed, kimchi, steamed omelette
Quick veg soup
Salad with fried sunny side up egg

Bread, to dip in olive oil and balsamic, hummus, olives.
Bought Spanish tortilla and cold meats.
Pasta with butter and grated Parmesan
Bagel, goats chess, onion chutney, grilled/heated.
Fresh pea and ham soup.

Not the cheapest option, but if it's time rather than economy that is the issue, any kind of grilled, pan fried or roast meat/fish with salad or steamed veg in the microwave requires little effort. You can cook a steak, poach or bake a salmon fillet, stick a chicken breast in the oven, with almost zero effort.

My absolute favourite at the moment is Pesto Pasta.

Chuck then past on to cook while you lounge on the sofa. Once it’s done, add in some cream cheese, green pesto and fresh tomatoes. I add crushed black pepper too 👌🏻 it’s delicious and easy!

Gyoza! I buy big bags of them frozen then just whack them in the microwave with some soy sauce and they're done in minutes!

pasta with pesto

Pasta with a quick tomato sauce (chopped up bacon and onion, tin of tomatoes, wine if there, bit of crushed red pepper) - takes about 10 mins to prep/make as the water boils and then simmers while the pasta cooks.

When the kids are all gone we will revert again to living on pasta with tomato sauce 5 nights out of 7.

Menemem (sort of Turkish omelet)

Omelet of any kind

Pesto pasta

Jacket potato with a choice of filling.

Vegetable pasta bake

French toast

Fish cakes, (tinned fish, microwave mash tattie, any left over veg) make into a Pattie and serve with vegetables/salad

Pita bread and dips.

Noodles in broth - chuck in some veg if you can be arsed.

Boiled Egg and Soldiers.

Sardines on Toast.

Look up one pot recipes- you basically shove loadsa ingredients in and leave to cook- yummy, healthy and hardly any washing up!

Some of our quick favourites are

1. Birdseye chicken chargrills with microwave rice & veg
2. Piece of salmon with sweet chilli sauce wrapped in foil and baked in the oven served with a quick salad
3. Pita bread pizza, pita breads topped with tomato purée or pesto and any other things you may have like ham/ sweet corn/ cheese, can do the same with a tortilla wrap and only takes 5 mins in the oven
4. Mushrooms and bacon fried with some lazy garlic add in some herby cream cheese and cooked pasta
5. Microwave jackets with a tin of chilli con carne and cheese
6. Tinned tuna or mackerel with microwave rice & veg
7. Mayflower curry sauce mix (can find in b&ms) make with some frozen peppers and pre cooked chicken breast slices served with Microwave rice

Tuna, pesto, pasta, pine nuts when done

Thank you everyone! That's been such a big help, I've written a list of ideas out and placed my online shop bearing them in mind! Don't know what I'd do without MN!

Pancakes

Mochi (rice cake) wrapped in bacon and grilled, with miso soup

@rabbitheadlights - Do! It’s a Gousto recipe and so good!
The big prawns can be a bit pricey so we sometimes do it with chicken, which can take a bit longer. Prawn crackers are lovely with it too!

@Charityconundrum - Where do you get your bags of Gyoza? I loooove them!

Thanks for this thread. I have a chronic illness and often find myself unable to stand in the kitchen for long, meaning I grab things like cereal bars and bananas instead of actual food. The ideas on here are really helpful.

@Dropitlikeitshot

Tesco and Waitrose do Itsu branded ones which are nice, but I normally get bigger, cheaper bags of AllGroo ones from Morrisons which taste better, if anything, and are half the price. We can only get them online though - I don't think I've ever seen them in store. Gyoza delivery day is always a happy one here!

This thread is pure joy. I've read it through twice just for pleasure.

Keeping some quick to cook staples in your store cupboard will help you put together a quick meal, so look out for sachets of rice of different flavours, lentils with tomato or herbs, mixed grains & beans, cous-cous with peppers or olives, packs of ready made gnocchi which cook in moments, blocks of polenta ready to fry.

Pasta for soup, such as tiny shells, orzo which is rice shaped pasta, will help you make quick meals too.

Grated carrot and humous sandwich or carrot sticks and humous.
Marmite or peanut butter sandwich, or cheese and tomato sandwich.

Big bag of crisps and cheddar cheese or apples and cheese. However these are some of the things I could happily live on anyway.

Hot food - a layer of tortilla chips in a bowl, dump a tin of ready made chilli on top, cover in lots of cheese and microwave for 3 -5 minutes until it is hot but not until the cheese vanishes. Serve with sour cream or thick yogurt.

Gnocchi with olive oil, garlic and either lazy chilli or throw in some frozen peas or broad beans while it is cooking. Also works with halved baby tomatoes added with the oil and garlic.

Both our local butcher and Aldi do really nice sizzle steaks. The butchers are marinaded in chilli, salt and pepper, garlic or black bean. They take 4 mins to fry. Bread roll with a bit of cheese and bam steak and cheese butty

My go to less than 5 minute meal is tin of potatoes heated on hob served with a tin of mackerel in tomato sauce and frozen sweet corn cooked in the microwave, I don’t think a quicker meal exists!

If you to tired to cook you too tired to eat

Leeks with ham trimmings, hard boiled egg and a can of chicken soup. Serve on toast.

Pasta with garlic, bacon, peas and Parmesan (plus some milk to make it saucier)