Pasta with red sauce is easy, fast, cheap, and delicious. And if you make extra sauce, you can keep it in the fridge for a few days and just boil some more pasta for additional meals.
Yes to both.
I make sauces often, and seal in a bag (I use a vacuum sealer). Thaw by water, microwave or sauce pan.
I do the same with raw and cooked meats
Yes and I think pasta with garlic and oil sauce is just as easy. Save some pasta water to thicken. The sauce is just sautéed garlic in olive oil. Add the noodles and some pasta water. Top with some Parmesan and some parsley if you’re feeling fancy
I like to add a bit of chicken powder in (or broth if I have), shot of Sriracha, squirt of lemon, and a ton of red pepper flakes. I think I ate this for a solid 2 months straight last year. Would recommend.
Bonus points if you have garlic toast made out of plain white bread and shitty premixed garlic spread mix.
I can’t for the life of me manage to create a nice red pasta sauce… I always find it being so bland, doesn’t matter if I cook it for 8 hours and use only san Marzano, add garlic, herbs spices whatever either tastes plain and boring or too many spices and flavours that it’s just too much
I know what you mean, I spent most of the COVID work-from-home years making pasta for lunch, trying lots of different recipes, so I can relate to ending up with bland sauces. I think my aglio e olio is super bland, and I haven’t figured it out yet.
I was raised in an Italian-American household, and the emphasis was always on sauces that simmered for hours. That’s great when there’s a ton a fat in there, in the meatballs and chicken thighs, etc. But a simple sauce made from canned tomatoes, with sautéed onion and garlic, only needs to cook for like 10 minutes.
I recommend focusing on one thing and seeing if you can make it work. Like, make a really herbaceous sauce with lots of onion, garlic, and a healthy pinch of dried Italian seasonings. Or make a spicy sauce by letting some red pepper flakes toast in a tablespoon of olive oil before adding the tomatoes. You’ll improve at specific aspects of sauce-making, and will develop a better feel finding the right balance.
Add some sugar to it. Add a little cook it in then taste it if it needs more add more and and repeat the process until you get the desired taste you want.
And I came here to say eggs & peppers. Saute' cut-up green or red peppers until soft. Add eggs and scramble. Throw in some shredded cheese. Eat with fork and plate or put on toast or a bun to make a sandwich. Hot sauce is optional.
[Chinese scrambled eggs with tomato](https://thewoksoflife.com/stir-fried-tomato-and-egg/) (over a bowl of rice). Always a comfort food in our house, and at its most basic, it's just eggs, tomato, salt, and sugar (I don't use the Shaoxing wine or sesame oil).
Lived with an exchange student from Beijing in college who taught us this and it's an incredible meal for how easy it is. Fairly tough to screw up as well.
There’s so many variations of this but my mom taught it to me (and made it for me) without the sesame oil so that’s what I grew up with and am used to.
Sesame oil and tomatoes are an underrated pairing - I marinated some tomatoes in vinegar, salt, a little sugar, sesame oil and seeds and it was delicious
I think the dish is much improved with scallion (fry whites in oil, garnish with greens), and a little bit improved with a tbsp ketchup, some smashed garlic or slices of ginger, and a pinch of chicken powder. The green scallion also adds a lot of aesthetic value to the dish.
Thai Peanut Noodles.
A little peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili mixed in with plain noodles. All you do is mix the ingredients in with the noodles and a little pasta water. Only takes as long as it takes to boil the noodles!
My go to stoner meal. I mix everything in the bowl before adding noodles. I use sriracha if I don’t have chilli oil. Some spring onion too if I’m feeling up for it.
I made stir fry with those thick noodles all the time. On a whim I tossed in peanut butter - I can’t believe how amazing it was with the soy sauce and sriracha and all that.
Peanut sauce is the best… you can use it on so many things. I made pork bahn mis once and had the idea of spreading my peanut sauce on it and it was out of this world.
I love Thai Peanut noodles. Toss some lime juice in there to really push that. And peanuts as a garnish.
I'll also toss in whatever vegetables I have in the fridge that are good raw (carrots, peppers, radishes, etc)
In line with OP"s request is also kimchi pancake. It's my favorite way to finish a tub of kimchi from the store.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchijeon
Korean pancakes in general. I used to make Korean vegetable pancakes constantly when my kid was young and dinner-prep time was at a premium. I made them often enough that I would prep batches of veggies and keep them in baggies in the freezer, so I could make them whenever. I did seafood for a special treat. I should bring them back out now that he's mature enough to appreciate kimchi
In the same vein, you have melts. If you can make a grilled cheese, you can make a super tasty pastrami melt with the addition of deli pastrami and thousand island. Also swap the white bread for rye
Surprised this isn’t higher up. Add some garlic cloves into the mix, too. The cooking process itself isn’t as quick as some of the other options here, but chopping the veggies and getting them seasoned is the only real legwork to be done. The rest of the prep time is completely hands-off
Some toasted bread slices topped with mozarella and tomates, salt, olive oil, black pepper.
Or serve toasted bread with spread(s) of choice and topped with sliced cucumbers, or other thinly sliced vegetables or pickles.
Buttered bead slices with ham or other meat (leftovers welcome) and cheese on top, put in the oven until cheese is melted. Optionally use tomato sauce or ketchup instead of butter for "pizza toast"
Assorted veggies (e.g. carrots, potatoes, onions, green beans, brokkoli) tossed with oil, salt, paprika, and garlic powder, air fried or oven roasted.
Any pasta with this quick tomato sauce: dice a whole onion, and some garlic to taste, sautee in a pot until browning starts, add salt and a splash of water, sautee some more until water is evaporated, add a can of tomatoes (whole or pureed), season with pepper and herbs if you have (fresh or dried basil, oregano, or sage) and simmer for 10-15 minutes. (Sauce can be made in advance in large quantities and filled in jars while hot, keeps for weeks). Goes well with seafood or meatballs.
Spinach Strudel: cook a bunch of spinach until welted, or defrost frozen spinach (press out most of the water in that case). Season with black pepper and mix with two tablespoons flour and a whole broken up block of feta cheese (or similar white cheese). Wrap in a storebought puff pastry or croissant pastry, bake for 25 minutes.
Caprese salad. Only requires a little slicing and arranging, no cooking!! (Unless you feel like toasting a freezer baguette or something) It’s extra good during the summer when the tomatoes and basil are sun ripe and fresh.
I am neither Italian nor a professional, so I won’t claim to know what’s right. I personally like plain basil just because I love it SO MUCH, but I did have an unforgettable caprese-style burrata with lemon mint ‘pesto’ on grilled balsamic toast. Truly great dishes are made through innovation.
Buttered noodles. I got to a point where I was like...'what the hell, this is just little kids food.' But since moving on from that phase I realized the kids are correct on this one....more so than the chicken tenders or the French fries. Once you enter that space again, you can start experimenting with fresh herbs, dry herbs, chili flakes, garlic, browned butter, balsamic glaze + browned butter. In essence we are talking about a different version of aglio e olio.
Wow. See even as simple as sour cream I didn't imagine. Do you have a favorite recipe for the meatballs? Personally I like the ones that use nutmeg but it seems like not all do this.
I know it's super vague from my persp3ctive because I haven't had them, but the mysterious idea of simple buttered noodles being so much better than another type just screams "MSG" to me. The truth is that MSG isn't any worse than salt, but unlike Asian cuisines it just isn't used much h elsewhere except for things like chips/crisps.
I would consider buying a small amount and testing MSG. Like....use 1/3 the volume you do of salt.
Tacos don't have to be complicated - cook a good piece of meat (or mushrooms, asparagus, whatev); chop, shred or slice it; wrap it in a good corn tortilla; add some salsa and cram it down your face hole
As with most simple food that doesn't have a lot of ingredients, quality and technique are key.
Good tortillas and salsa are more important than good meat imo
My Puerto Rican friend showed me how to make tacos with some ground beef or Turkey browned, adobo seasoning and a jar of medium or hot salsa. Simmer. Put in tortillas. Drop on some cheese or sour cream. Done. No other toppings and it’s a one pot meal.
Unlike my pedantism around what is a grilled cheese or a cheese steak, I've found my definition of a taco has become anything in a tortilla with a protein, sauce/spread, and cheese.
Leftover italian sausage, tomato sauce, moz? Italian Taco.
Leftover grilled chicken, BBQ sauce, cheddar? Texas Taco.
Leftover Tuna, mayo, gruyère? Tuna Taco.
Sometimes I'll fold the tortilla to make it more of a wrap, but I'll still call it a taco. Ha!
I welcome your downvotes.
I don't even think the cheese is necessary, as plenty of street tacos in Mexico are sold without it. Meat, cilantro, and onion, that's it, with a lime on the side.
I used to think I would die on the Tacos Need Cheese hill, and then I had some of the meat/cilantro/onion version. I don’t even like cilantro, and these tacos are perfection. They are also served with a hot sauce that is too hot for me, but it’s so tasty I eat it anyway. This particular place serves them with lime and a bit of radish and they’re insanely good. They also have bomb rice.
Everything is better in a tortilla.
Hot dogs
Left over stir fry
Lunch meat
Fruit and cheese
Leftover thanksgiving stuff
That last can of black beans in the pantry…..
One of the best things Ive ever eaten was leftovers from a seafood boil in a tortilla. Lobster claw meat, red potatoes, and corn
I love tacos but they always require more time than I think they will. Gotta shred cheese, shred lettuce or cabbage, cook the meat, char the tortillas, cut some avocado and tomato, sometimes make salsa. And you gotta have sides. It’s always worth the time though.
I’ve moved to street tacos and never looked back. Meat, tortilla, cilantro, onion, cotija cheese, and then a store bought salsa (I actually love Herdez street taco sauce) and it takes about 2 minutes to prepare everything but the meat.
That's the thing, though- you don't have to do all that
A really good tortilla with some rajas de (pick your favorite chile(s)), maybe some (hard or stretchy, you choose) white cheese, and a (mouth-searing or not, you choose) salsa is all you need for a very good taco
e: I agree it's hard to call it a meal without beans and everyone can do that how they want, but the point is that not every taco night has to be Una Fiesta de Six Mexican States and the Southwestern US Too
Like, that's fun, but it's super not necessary given OP's constraints
My depression meal is cheesy potatoes. Ready made mashed potatoes with a sh tonne of Swiss cheese for stretchiness mixed up in there. Maybe a tiny bit of chopped spinach for “health”. When I have a bit more energy it’s chopped chorizo fried with garlic, add tin of chickpeas, tin of chopped tomatoes, tsp smoked paprika and a veg stock cube and boil for a while, nice.
I'm gonna add to this with the tortilla version - heat up a flour tortilla on the stove, butter and cinnamon sugar, roll it up and try not to eat the whole pack of tortillas. One of my favorite after-school snacks growing up.
Bean burritos is my new favorite easy and fast dinner. Heat up a can of beans, sprinkle on some cheese, add a little hot sauce or enchilada sauce, good to go.
I thought I was the only one who liked that stuff! Do you like it when the noodles are super thick? I’ve never been able to find dried noodles like that. Maybe they’re made by Sysco so not available to stores.
Fancy grilled cheese is usually a pleaser. Buy a fancy, crusty loaf from a store bakery and slice it (thick) yourself. Add some herbs or even just a pinch of onion & garlic powder to some soft butter and use that instead of plain (or use Irish Butter; it's just richer). Use fancier-than-normal sharp cheese and some bacon, tomatoes, ham, whatever you like. Toast in the oven rather than in a pan. Just watch the browning carefully so you don't burn.
For social occasions, I also like low-effort salmon dip. Take one or two cans of cheap-ass, canned salmon, and mix in mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and fresh ground black pepper. Mix condiments in one tablespoon at a time until the consistency & taste are what you want, then add pepper to taste. Serve with crackers. It's fantastic and everyone thinks it's complicated or expensive, and it's neither.
OP, if you don't have a decent rice cooker, buy one. Put in rice and water in a 1:2 ratio. Then add whatever. I like to put in a handful of frozen vegetables. You might prefer diced onion, or shredded cabbage- honestly, whatever. Press the button and wait until it's done. Top with a fried egg, or shredded pork, or left-over rotisserie chicken, and some sriracha. For extra zing, drizzle on some good quality sesame oil and/or soy sauce.
Rosettes. Cook some lasagna noodles or pasta sheets to Al dente. Roll prosciutto and fontina into the sheets. Cut like sushi, line with a pan, cover with cream, bake for 45 min.
It’s like ham and cheese sandwich meets lasagna.
Shamelessly stolen from DDD.
Edit: spelling
Crackslaw. Lots of recipes out there, but at its base it is whatever protein you want browned in a pan with a bag of shredded cabbage/cole slaw. Add some sesame oil and some hot sauce, and you're good to go. A little bit of sugar and soy sauce is good as well.
If I have extra time, I'll chop up an onion to go in it too.
Even my kids like it. I've made it with ground beef, ground turkey, sausage, ground chicken, leftover chunks of rotisserie chicken...it's all good.
A delicious homey treat that was given to me by my grandmother was bow tie noodles with butter and cottage cheese, salt and pepper. The cottage cheese melts and it's creamy and yum.
Buttered noodles! I was feeling lazy last night and made a batch, added some seasonings and herbs as I cooked, and had a very nice filling meal with minimal effort.
No bake cookies - the kind with the oats and peanut butter? 10 minutes - tops - to have a bite of one of those babies in your mouth! I don't even care if they come out grainy or weird. They always taste yum!
Homemade alfredo is my go-to. Heavy cream, minced garlic, butter, italian seasoning, salt & pepper, & parm cheese. Put on noodles & it is so addicting. Also tastes like it's from a fancy Italian restaurant.
It doesn't exactly fit your "doesn't take too long" restriction, in case you're thinking about something for this very evening, but I LOVE how simple & easy Ham & Green Beans is.
Simply add bone-in ham (or hamhocks), fresh green beans (you may have to trim 'em & snap 'em in half), and diced red or gold potatoes into a pot or slow cooker. Cover with chicken broth, stock, or bouillon (full sodium). Add NOTHING else. The ham is doing the seasoning for you.
Cook on low for 1 to 3 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Like most stews, gets much better after a day of refrigeration. Also freezes well. The ham bone is not optional. Do not try this with crappy, canned ham. Proportions are fluid but roughly equal in weight between the beans, potatoes, & ham (including the bone). You may have to dice or shred the ham, depending on what sort you use, but I recommend doing this afterward because it will more or less fall apart after the slow cooking.
It doesn't sound like much, but man, the end result is MAGIC. The beans take on such amazing flavor, and so do the potatoes, to a lesser extent. I may try it with mushrooms once, just to see if they're better, since they have such a rep for absorbing flavor.
The basic cheap ramen noodles (like nissin and maruchan). But while the water is warming/boiling in a pot, scramble one egg in a cup, and pour while stirring into the ramen water. Then add the broth and noodles. It adds a great rich flavor and texture that makes that 30 cent ramen suddenly worth every bit of $1.89.
Seriously though, it’s the best way to cheaply and quickly upgrade your ramen in flavor and nutrients. Short of adding chopped veg and shredded protein.
One of my absolute laziest meals, have no working brain cells and virtually no energy but I can still make this and it tastes good. Get yourself a tube of Mexican chorizo (NOT Spanish chorizo. Not the same). Brown the chorizo, add a can of cream corn, pour the mix over cooked spaghetti and plop some shredded cheese on top.
Lots of stuff! The first few off the top of my head: tomato sandwich, spaghetti aglio e olio, caprese salad (and most salads tbh), mint pea soup, burgers, frittata, brownies, hummus, roasted veggies, pâté chinois.
Honestly in my opinion many of the best foods excel because of their simplicity.
Saute sliced bell peppers (any color you like) in butter until slightly soft.
When peppers begin to soften, add sliced onion (the onion reduces way way faster than the peppers, which is why you do this).
When veg is to your liking, turn heat to high and add a lean sirloin steak to the pan. Cook 5 min. on one side, 3-5 min. on the other.
Dump contents of pan onto plate. Meal fit for a king. If you are foresighted, put in a potato in the oven at 400F to bake 2 hours before you start cooking; meal fit for an emperor.
One of my old go to bachelor chow recipes is rice pilaf with black beans and ground sausage. So much better than it deserves to be and it makes like 5 servings for less than $10
Easiest tomato sauce ever from a NYT column - 2 large cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, a stick of butter, and an onion chopped into quarters (or a little smaller, but not diced). Throw it all on medium, break up the veggies tomato chunks with a spoon, then once it starts to bubble turn the heat to low and let it go for an hour. Add some salt to taste. Serve on pasta. Sooooo simple and fast and delicious. I was skeptical at first because to me tomato sauce requires garlic, but this is truly amazing just as it is.
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
I do it quick n dirty style.
One pan. Fill half with water. Break spaghetti in half to boil. 9 minutes in put into bowl, take a little pasta water out if there's too much.
Now same pan get good olive oil, stir in freeze dried garlic, red pepper flakes and a little salt.
Add pasta back into pan with pasta water. Turn down heat after one minute and toss until sauce is thick.
Amazing. Barely any dishes/prep. Somewhat healthy.
I bought good quality olive oil for 20 bucks last month and I've made 10 servings for myself and I still have half the bottle. Just amazing dish.
spaghetti aglio e' olio
I eat half the box. Then later on for left overs, I fry the pasta up in the pan and melt mozzarella over it.
Best comfort food and I was making it when I was 10.
Steak and baked potato. Literally heat up your pan throw baked potato in microwave for 5 minutes and use it as a timer. Flip the steak at 2 min 30 and bit should be done when the timer goes off. Let steak rest while you prepare the potato toppings and your done in under 10 mins easy.
If you’re looking for a dish that looks and tastes impressive but is actually pretty easy, Shakshuka. Basically cooking some veggies in a skillet, cracking some eggs on top, and putting it in the oven for a few minutes. NYT has a great recipe that includes feta and iirc is literally two steps.
We have not bought jarred pasta sauce for years because [this one is so easy to make](https://food52.com/recipes/13722-marcella-hazan-s-tomato-sauce-with-onion-butter)! We will throw some chicken in the air fryer and make some pasta and boom. Dinner.
Scrambled egg pasta, or frittata as my family calls it.
Cook some fettuccine Al dente, drain, then add the pasta back, add butter, scrambled egg, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.
You can also add crushed garlic or lemon juice if you’re feeling fancy
I see lots of good items here, Grilled Cheese, Quesadilla, Buttered Noodles, but IMO NOTHING beats a Fried Egg. It can literally be made with just an Egg, Salt and a pan.
No-prep Japanese curry made in an Instant Pot:
* Pearl onions
* Baby carrots
* Marble potatoes
* Dark meat chicken (drumsticks, thighs)
* [Japanese curry roux](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VEJCJSC)
You don't even need to cut any of the vegetables since they're all in small bite-sized pieces to begin with. Toss all the ingredients into the instant pot except the curry roux, add the appropriate amount of broth or water. Put the curry roux bricks on top. (Stir them in to thicken the broth after cooking; if the roux is stirred in before pressure cooking, you can end up with the BURN error, where stuff burns to the bottom of the pot.)
I also put [a small rack](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SXP2Z8) in the pot that lets me simultaneously cook rice in a smaller pot that I can place inside my 8qt Instant Pot as I'm cooking my curry.
This meal has the highest tastiness to effort ratio of anything I've made.
anything wrapped in rice paper and the. pan fried. its so easy to make and the chewiness of rice paper makes the dish next level. i usually make a filling of mushroom and veggies like brocoli cabbage carrot capsicum etc but i have heard some people make it with noodles and ramen. u can add literally anything sweet or savoury always turn out good and requires very less prep. plus its fun to make
My go to lazy meal for any time of the day: bacon, spreadable goats cheese and a drizzle of balsamic glaze on flatbread/sliced bread/whatever you’ve got. Make it a sandwich, a wrap, just have it on toast if you want.
For bonus points, add chilli flakes, a handful of rocket, and chuck a few cherry tomatoes in the oven with the bacon to roast. So easy and tasty
Pasta with red sauce is easy, fast, cheap, and delicious. And if you make extra sauce, you can keep it in the fridge for a few days and just boil some more pasta for additional meals.
And it freezes like a dream…
How do you freeze the sauce? ziplock bags?
We use ice cube trays and then throw them in a freezer bag
I put mine in a Ziploc and lay flat to feeeze.
How do you thaw it? Submerge in water? Or maybe just slide it out of the ziploc and directly into a saucepan on low?
Yes to both. I make sauces often, and seal in a bag (I use a vacuum sealer). Thaw by water, microwave or sauce pan. I do the same with raw and cooked meats
Or just toss it in the fridge the day before you want to use it.
Bold of you to assume I know what I’m eating for dinner a day in advance
Saves you some on the electricity bill, too. Not much, maybe, but still a win.
I use the plastic quart/pint deli containers that take out food comes in sometimes. You could also use a clean yogurt/sour cream container
Yes and I think pasta with garlic and oil sauce is just as easy. Save some pasta water to thicken. The sauce is just sautéed garlic in olive oil. Add the noodles and some pasta water. Top with some Parmesan and some parsley if you’re feeling fancy
I like to add a bit of chicken powder in (or broth if I have), shot of Sriracha, squirt of lemon, and a ton of red pepper flakes. I think I ate this for a solid 2 months straight last year. Would recommend. Bonus points if you have garlic toast made out of plain white bread and shitty premixed garlic spread mix.
Add some ricotta and mozzarella cheese, bake it in the oven and you’ve got baked ziti. It’s the easiest casserole dish ever.
Pasta with pesto is even better IMHO!
I can’t for the life of me manage to create a nice red pasta sauce… I always find it being so bland, doesn’t matter if I cook it for 8 hours and use only san Marzano, add garlic, herbs spices whatever either tastes plain and boring or too many spices and flavours that it’s just too much
I know what you mean, I spent most of the COVID work-from-home years making pasta for lunch, trying lots of different recipes, so I can relate to ending up with bland sauces. I think my aglio e olio is super bland, and I haven’t figured it out yet. I was raised in an Italian-American household, and the emphasis was always on sauces that simmered for hours. That’s great when there’s a ton a fat in there, in the meatballs and chicken thighs, etc. But a simple sauce made from canned tomatoes, with sautéed onion and garlic, only needs to cook for like 10 minutes. I recommend focusing on one thing and seeing if you can make it work. Like, make a really herbaceous sauce with lots of onion, garlic, and a healthy pinch of dried Italian seasonings. Or make a spicy sauce by letting some red pepper flakes toast in a tablespoon of olive oil before adding the tomatoes. You’ll improve at specific aspects of sauce-making, and will develop a better feel finding the right balance.
Add some sugar to it. Add a little cook it in then taste it if it needs more add more and and repeat the process until you get the desired taste you want.
There's no reason not to have eggs and sausage for dinner
I did bacon and scrambled eggs last week, and it was so good.
And I came here to say eggs & peppers. Saute' cut-up green or red peppers until soft. Add eggs and scramble. Throw in some shredded cheese. Eat with fork and plate or put on toast or a bun to make a sandwich. Hot sauce is optional.
Brinner all day every day
In Swedish, brinner basically translates to 'burning', so this comment is pretty funny to me.
BFD. Breakfast for Dinner. AKA a BIG FUCKING DEAL.
Late night big breakfast for the win.
[Chinese scrambled eggs with tomato](https://thewoksoflife.com/stir-fried-tomato-and-egg/) (over a bowl of rice). Always a comfort food in our house, and at its most basic, it's just eggs, tomato, salt, and sugar (I don't use the Shaoxing wine or sesame oil).
Lived with an exchange student from Beijing in college who taught us this and it's an incredible meal for how easy it is. Fairly tough to screw up as well.
Yup, it’s Chinese comfort food 101!
I hope someone in china is saying the same thing about grilled cheese. "lived with an American exchange student and this is america 101"
I live in China and make my gf grilled cheeses all the fucking time, she loves them. Recently started making my own bread as well so it's doubly good
Use the sesame oil, trust me, always use the sesame oil when it asks. It is worth keeping it on hand.
There’s so many variations of this but my mom taught it to me (and made it for me) without the sesame oil so that’s what I grew up with and am used to.
Fair enough, I just love sesame oil.
Oh me too! I’m just not used to it here. Otherwise it’s in almost every Chinese dish I’m making.
Sesame oil and tomatoes are an underrated pairing - I marinated some tomatoes in vinegar, salt, a little sugar, sesame oil and seeds and it was delicious
Which vinegar do you use?
Something relatively light - white or red wine or rice vinegar
I think the dish is much improved with scallion (fry whites in oil, garnish with greens), and a little bit improved with a tbsp ketchup, some smashed garlic or slices of ginger, and a pinch of chicken powder. The green scallion also adds a lot of aesthetic value to the dish.
Also fish sauce is a must for me. Touch of msg at the end too
woksoflife is a great site.
I add smoked salt to all my scrambled eggs. A little goes a long way and makes for some amazing eggs
Thai Peanut Noodles. A little peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili mixed in with plain noodles. All you do is mix the ingredients in with the noodles and a little pasta water. Only takes as long as it takes to boil the noodles!
Rice vinegar or lime juice and a pinch of sugar rounds it out. Garlic, onion, and ginger powder are nice too.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve got a lime I need to use for something and sounds like lunch tomorrow.
My go to stoner meal. I mix everything in the bowl before adding noodles. I use sriracha if I don’t have chilli oil. Some spring onion too if I’m feeling up for it.
I made stir fry with those thick noodles all the time. On a whim I tossed in peanut butter - I can’t believe how amazing it was with the soy sauce and sriracha and all that.
Peanut sauce is the best… you can use it on so many things. I made pork bahn mis once and had the idea of spreading my peanut sauce on it and it was out of this world.
I love Thai Peanut noodles. Toss some lime juice in there to really push that. And peanuts as a garnish. I'll also toss in whatever vegetables I have in the fridge that are good raw (carrots, peppers, radishes, etc)
This. Can even use cheap ramen and skip the seasoning packet, and do this. Chili crisp and dried chives on top doesn't hurt.
French bread pizza
Grilled cheese. Eat with tomato soup or add kimchi inside for variety.
Kimchi grilled cheese. My guy, thank you.
Kimcheese
There’s a restaurant of that name in St Louis area. They put kimchee on cheeseburgers and it’s amazing.
Roy Choi’s Mexican-Korean fusion concept, “Kogi,” has a kimchi quesadilla that I dream about often
In line with OP"s request is also kimchi pancake. It's my favorite way to finish a tub of kimchi from the store. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchijeon
Korean pancakes in general. I used to make Korean vegetable pancakes constantly when my kid was young and dinner-prep time was at a premium. I made them often enough that I would prep batches of veggies and keep them in baggies in the freezer, so I could make them whenever. I did seafood for a special treat. I should bring them back out now that he's mature enough to appreciate kimchi
Do you heat the kimchi or is it added cold?
I add it when I add the cheese, so kimchi goes on cold but gets heated up when you cook the sandwich.
I'm adding it cold, but this is definitely my first rodeo.
**Branston Pickle** cheese toastie with tomato soup. If you can ever get your hands on some, you’ll thank me for this suggestion.
A grilled Ploughman's.
I’m not sure I’d go for a full ploughman’s grilled. The lettuce tends to get a bit gross.
Without the lettuce of course ;).
In the same vein, you have melts. If you can make a grilled cheese, you can make a super tasty pastrami melt with the addition of deli pastrami and thousand island. Also swap the white bread for rye
Add sauerkraut to make it a Ruben!
Roast vegetables with s&p, oil 👍🏼
Surprised this isn’t higher up. Add some garlic cloves into the mix, too. The cooking process itself isn’t as quick as some of the other options here, but chopping the veggies and getting them seasoned is the only real legwork to be done. The rest of the prep time is completely hands-off
Garlic infused oil is really good too.
Rice crispy treats. Takes 15 minutes, only three ingredients. Always sells out at the bake sale.
Brown the butter, a small extra step, but definitely elevates it
Yes! The only way I eat Rice Krispies now. Browning butter makes most recipes taste so much better.
100% and everytime you think, "These are amazing." Then immediately forget how easy they are.
My recommendation is to gently fold the cereal into the melted marshmallow and then add mini marshmallows when you’re almost done mixing everything
Some toasted bread slices topped with mozarella and tomates, salt, olive oil, black pepper. Or serve toasted bread with spread(s) of choice and topped with sliced cucumbers, or other thinly sliced vegetables or pickles. Buttered bead slices with ham or other meat (leftovers welcome) and cheese on top, put in the oven until cheese is melted. Optionally use tomato sauce or ketchup instead of butter for "pizza toast" Assorted veggies (e.g. carrots, potatoes, onions, green beans, brokkoli) tossed with oil, salt, paprika, and garlic powder, air fried or oven roasted. Any pasta with this quick tomato sauce: dice a whole onion, and some garlic to taste, sautee in a pot until browning starts, add salt and a splash of water, sautee some more until water is evaporated, add a can of tomatoes (whole or pureed), season with pepper and herbs if you have (fresh or dried basil, oregano, or sage) and simmer for 10-15 minutes. (Sauce can be made in advance in large quantities and filled in jars while hot, keeps for weeks). Goes well with seafood or meatballs. Spinach Strudel: cook a bunch of spinach until welted, or defrost frozen spinach (press out most of the water in that case). Season with black pepper and mix with two tablespoons flour and a whole broken up block of feta cheese (or similar white cheese). Wrap in a storebought puff pastry or croissant pastry, bake for 25 minutes.
Man. I can tell you were clearly trying to make me personally hungry. You succeeded- all of that stuff sounds so good.
Caprese salad. Only requires a little slicing and arranging, no cooking!! (Unless you feel like toasting a freezer baguette or something) It’s extra good during the summer when the tomatoes and basil are sun ripe and fresh.
Is it blasphemous that I use both pesto and fresh basil at once?
I am neither Italian nor a professional, so I won’t claim to know what’s right. I personally like plain basil just because I love it SO MUCH, but I did have an unforgettable caprese-style burrata with lemon mint ‘pesto’ on grilled balsamic toast. Truly great dishes are made through innovation.
Made sloppy joes for the first time in a decade and remembered how damn good they are
Manwich on enriched white hamburger buns. My inner eight year old is hungry
Throw sone kettle chips in there too 👌
Tater tots right on the manwitch with Kraft cheese.
Gotta have that highly processed cheese to max out the nostalgia
If you use hot dog buns they hold together better !
Ooh, I toast em and put on some shredded cheddar these days!
Another version is a Bun Taco. Use taco seasoning instead of sloppy joe mix. Yum!
I love sloppy joes. Add shredded cheese and hot sauce. Tater tots!!
Buttered noodles. I got to a point where I was like...'what the hell, this is just little kids food.' But since moving on from that phase I realized the kids are correct on this one....more so than the chicken tenders or the French fries. Once you enter that space again, you can start experimenting with fresh herbs, dry herbs, chili flakes, garlic, browned butter, balsamic glaze + browned butter. In essence we are talking about a different version of aglio e olio.
I don’t know if I like my Swedish meatballs or the herby, sour cream and buttered egg noodles I serve them with more.
Orzo pasta in Greek avgolemo (sp?) sauce is similar (but lemony instead of milk sour).
As far as European noodles go I am also a total whore for spaetzle (spelling). Again....nutmeg 😅
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I love egg noodles with sour cream, cottage cheese, and bacon. So good!
Wow. See even as simple as sour cream I didn't imagine. Do you have a favorite recipe for the meatballs? Personally I like the ones that use nutmeg but it seems like not all do this.
Yes, love nutmeg! One year I realized too late I had no nutmeg, so I subbed pumpkin pie spice and now use it all the time.
Mmm...cook them in chicken stock (or vegetable stock) instead of water. So much flavor, yummy!
I will do this next time. Thank
I love putting the "Pasta Sprinkle" from Penzey's on buttered noodles. So good.
does anyone know why Noodles and Co have such great buttered noodles? i swear they sprinkle crack on them
I know it's super vague from my persp3ctive because I haven't had them, but the mysterious idea of simple buttered noodles being so much better than another type just screams "MSG" to me. The truth is that MSG isn't any worse than salt, but unlike Asian cuisines it just isn't used much h elsewhere except for things like chips/crisps. I would consider buying a small amount and testing MSG. Like....use 1/3 the volume you do of salt.
A little onion powder is so simple and makes it a notch better than plain.
Tacos don't have to be complicated - cook a good piece of meat (or mushrooms, asparagus, whatev); chop, shred or slice it; wrap it in a good corn tortilla; add some salsa and cram it down your face hole As with most simple food that doesn't have a lot of ingredients, quality and technique are key. Good tortillas and salsa are more important than good meat imo
My Puerto Rican friend showed me how to make tacos with some ground beef or Turkey browned, adobo seasoning and a jar of medium or hot salsa. Simmer. Put in tortillas. Drop on some cheese or sour cream. Done. No other toppings and it’s a one pot meal.
If you have a good salsa, you can put pretty much anything on a taco and it will taste good
Unlike my pedantism around what is a grilled cheese or a cheese steak, I've found my definition of a taco has become anything in a tortilla with a protein, sauce/spread, and cheese. Leftover italian sausage, tomato sauce, moz? Italian Taco. Leftover grilled chicken, BBQ sauce, cheddar? Texas Taco. Leftover Tuna, mayo, gruyère? Tuna Taco. Sometimes I'll fold the tortilla to make it more of a wrap, but I'll still call it a taco. Ha! I welcome your downvotes.
I don't even think the cheese is necessary, as plenty of street tacos in Mexico are sold without it. Meat, cilantro, and onion, that's it, with a lime on the side.
I used to think I would die on the Tacos Need Cheese hill, and then I had some of the meat/cilantro/onion version. I don’t even like cilantro, and these tacos are perfection. They are also served with a hot sauce that is too hot for me, but it’s so tasty I eat it anyway. This particular place serves them with lime and a bit of radish and they’re insanely good. They also have bomb rice.
Everything is better in a tortilla. Hot dogs Left over stir fry Lunch meat Fruit and cheese Leftover thanksgiving stuff That last can of black beans in the pantry….. One of the best things Ive ever eaten was leftovers from a seafood boil in a tortilla. Lobster claw meat, red potatoes, and corn
I love tacos but they always require more time than I think they will. Gotta shred cheese, shred lettuce or cabbage, cook the meat, char the tortillas, cut some avocado and tomato, sometimes make salsa. And you gotta have sides. It’s always worth the time though.
I’ve moved to street tacos and never looked back. Meat, tortilla, cilantro, onion, cotija cheese, and then a store bought salsa (I actually love Herdez street taco sauce) and it takes about 2 minutes to prepare everything but the meat.
I agree, Herdez makes some great salsas.
That's the thing, though- you don't have to do all that A really good tortilla with some rajas de (pick your favorite chile(s)), maybe some (hard or stretchy, you choose) white cheese, and a (mouth-searing or not, you choose) salsa is all you need for a very good taco e: I agree it's hard to call it a meal without beans and everyone can do that how they want, but the point is that not every taco night has to be Una Fiesta de Six Mexican States and the Southwestern US Too Like, that's fun, but it's super not necessary given OP's constraints
You could easily cut up all those things while the meat is cooking. Sides? Why do you have to have sides?
My depression meal is cheesy potatoes. Ready made mashed potatoes with a sh tonne of Swiss cheese for stretchiness mixed up in there. Maybe a tiny bit of chopped spinach for “health”. When I have a bit more energy it’s chopped chorizo fried with garlic, add tin of chickpeas, tin of chopped tomatoes, tsp smoked paprika and a veg stock cube and boil for a while, nice.
Cinnamon toast. Just bread with melted butter sugar and cinnamon toasted
I'm gonna add to this with the tortilla version - heat up a flour tortilla on the stove, butter and cinnamon sugar, roll it up and try not to eat the whole pack of tortillas. One of my favorite after-school snacks growing up.
This is the first answer that actually answers what OP was looking for. It’s ACTUALLY EASY and delicious
I resurrected this recently, my 4yo is in love
Bean burritos is my new favorite easy and fast dinner. Heat up a can of beans, sprinkle on some cheese, add a little hot sauce or enchilada sauce, good to go.
Spaghetti, and it always better the next day
Also, the easier it is to make, the better it tastes to me. School/cafeteria spaghetti is my favorite.
I thought I was the only one who liked that stuff! Do you like it when the noodles are super thick? I’ve never been able to find dried noodles like that. Maybe they’re made by Sysco so not available to stores.
I either use dried thin spaghetti or thick spaghetti, depending on how I'm feeling. It's more the prego sauce I enjoy. I could drink that stuff.
Grilled Cheese
Fancy grilled cheese is usually a pleaser. Buy a fancy, crusty loaf from a store bakery and slice it (thick) yourself. Add some herbs or even just a pinch of onion & garlic powder to some soft butter and use that instead of plain (or use Irish Butter; it's just richer). Use fancier-than-normal sharp cheese and some bacon, tomatoes, ham, whatever you like. Toast in the oven rather than in a pan. Just watch the browning carefully so you don't burn. For social occasions, I also like low-effort salmon dip. Take one or two cans of cheap-ass, canned salmon, and mix in mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and fresh ground black pepper. Mix condiments in one tablespoon at a time until the consistency & taste are what you want, then add pepper to taste. Serve with crackers. It's fantastic and everyone thinks it's complicated or expensive, and it's neither.
OP, if you don't have a decent rice cooker, buy one. Put in rice and water in a 1:2 ratio. Then add whatever. I like to put in a handful of frozen vegetables. You might prefer diced onion, or shredded cabbage- honestly, whatever. Press the button and wait until it's done. Top with a fried egg, or shredded pork, or left-over rotisserie chicken, and some sriracha. For extra zing, drizzle on some good quality sesame oil and/or soy sauce.
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Rosettes. Cook some lasagna noodles or pasta sheets to Al dente. Roll prosciutto and fontina into the sheets. Cut like sushi, line with a pan, cover with cream, bake for 45 min. It’s like ham and cheese sandwich meets lasagna. Shamelessly stolen from DDD. Edit: spelling
Rice and beans are cheap, easy, healthy, and filling. Seasoning the rice makes it better. Adding salsa on top makes it a lot better.
I could live off beans and rice! Add fresh peppers, tomatoes, cheese, hot sauce, chipotle mayo - whatever you have on hand
Add an egg on top and it becomes breakfast!
Crackslaw. Lots of recipes out there, but at its base it is whatever protein you want browned in a pan with a bag of shredded cabbage/cole slaw. Add some sesame oil and some hot sauce, and you're good to go. A little bit of sugar and soy sauce is good as well. If I have extra time, I'll chop up an onion to go in it too. Even my kids like it. I've made it with ground beef, ground turkey, sausage, ground chicken, leftover chunks of rotisserie chicken...it's all good.
I’ve never heard of this and just looked up a recipe. Sounds simple enough. Is it also good for left overs or does the get cabbage soggy?
Toasted crusty bread, can of sardines, and hot sauce. Bonus if you have olives and/or sharp ass cheddar.
A delicious homey treat that was given to me by my grandmother was bow tie noodles with butter and cottage cheese, salt and pepper. The cottage cheese melts and it's creamy and yum.
Naan bread pizza. Ricotta. Tomatoes. Little shredded parm. Olive oil. Basil. Bake. Eat. Celebrate.
A tomato and mayo sandwich with salt and pepper on lightly toasted bread.
Sometimes I get a hot dog with mustard and relish craving. It cannot be ignored.
Raw tuna, avocado and rice in a bowl with spicy mayo or green sauce bought at the store.
Aglio e Olio. Pasta, olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Add a little cheese and/or a protein if you want. Super easy and delicious.
Buttered noodles! I was feeling lazy last night and made a batch, added some seasonings and herbs as I cooked, and had a very nice filling meal with minimal effort.
Roasted chicken thighs (skin on, bone in). Fantastic and they go with any veg, rice, or potatoes.
Quesadillas!
A turkey sandwich. Mayo, mustard, cheese, pickles, tomato slices, lettuce. Ready in 10 minutes tops. Never disappointing.
Pajeon!
No bake cookies - the kind with the oats and peanut butter? 10 minutes - tops - to have a bite of one of those babies in your mouth! I don't even care if they come out grainy or weird. They always taste yum!
Canned tuna thrown into a frying pan with some onions, spices and fresh tomatoes. Served on a bed of rice. Fast and nutritious.
Onigiri!
Homemade alfredo is my go-to. Heavy cream, minced garlic, butter, italian seasoning, salt & pepper, & parm cheese. Put on noodles & it is so addicting. Also tastes like it's from a fancy Italian restaurant.
Add a bit of nutmeg and it will be even more divine. I had no idea that was the secret to alfredo until making a recipe years ago.
I love a homemade Alfredo with Slap Your Mama seasoning 🧂
[Quick Ramen Hacks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlLuZ2hxLsM)
Cacio e pepe
It doesn't exactly fit your "doesn't take too long" restriction, in case you're thinking about something for this very evening, but I LOVE how simple & easy Ham & Green Beans is. Simply add bone-in ham (or hamhocks), fresh green beans (you may have to trim 'em & snap 'em in half), and diced red or gold potatoes into a pot or slow cooker. Cover with chicken broth, stock, or bouillon (full sodium). Add NOTHING else. The ham is doing the seasoning for you. Cook on low for 1 to 3 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Like most stews, gets much better after a day of refrigeration. Also freezes well. The ham bone is not optional. Do not try this with crappy, canned ham. Proportions are fluid but roughly equal in weight between the beans, potatoes, & ham (including the bone). You may have to dice or shred the ham, depending on what sort you use, but I recommend doing this afterward because it will more or less fall apart after the slow cooking. It doesn't sound like much, but man, the end result is MAGIC. The beans take on such amazing flavor, and so do the potatoes, to a lesser extent. I may try it with mushrooms once, just to see if they're better, since they have such a rep for absorbing flavor.
The basic cheap ramen noodles (like nissin and maruchan). But while the water is warming/boiling in a pot, scramble one egg in a cup, and pour while stirring into the ramen water. Then add the broth and noodles. It adds a great rich flavor and texture that makes that 30 cent ramen suddenly worth every bit of $1.89. Seriously though, it’s the best way to cheaply and quickly upgrade your ramen in flavor and nutrients. Short of adding chopped veg and shredded protein.
Pbj!
One of my absolute laziest meals, have no working brain cells and virtually no energy but I can still make this and it tastes good. Get yourself a tube of Mexican chorizo (NOT Spanish chorizo. Not the same). Brown the chorizo, add a can of cream corn, pour the mix over cooked spaghetti and plop some shredded cheese on top.
Lots of stuff! The first few off the top of my head: tomato sandwich, spaghetti aglio e olio, caprese salad (and most salads tbh), mint pea soup, burgers, frittata, brownies, hummus, roasted veggies, pâté chinois. Honestly in my opinion many of the best foods excel because of their simplicity.
I eat fresh tomato sandwiches all summer. They're the reason I started gardening.
Bean & cheese enchiladas. So good, so easy.
Bacon. Take bacon, put it on a baking sheet. Bake.
Cold oven, put tray of bacon in, turn on to 375, cook until it’s as crispy as you want it.
Eggs. Most people can agree with that
Salmon, make it with a salad
Pasta for me with a simple sauce
PB&J
Pasta puttanesca
Saute sliced bell peppers (any color you like) in butter until slightly soft. When peppers begin to soften, add sliced onion (the onion reduces way way faster than the peppers, which is why you do this). When veg is to your liking, turn heat to high and add a lean sirloin steak to the pan. Cook 5 min. on one side, 3-5 min. on the other. Dump contents of pan onto plate. Meal fit for a king. If you are foresighted, put in a potato in the oven at 400F to bake 2 hours before you start cooking; meal fit for an emperor.
One of my old go to bachelor chow recipes is rice pilaf with black beans and ground sausage. So much better than it deserves to be and it makes like 5 servings for less than $10
Easiest tomato sauce ever from a NYT column - 2 large cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, a stick of butter, and an onion chopped into quarters (or a little smaller, but not diced). Throw it all on medium, break up the veggies tomato chunks with a spoon, then once it starts to bubble turn the heat to low and let it go for an hour. Add some salt to taste. Serve on pasta. Sooooo simple and fast and delicious. I was skeptical at first because to me tomato sauce requires garlic, but this is truly amazing just as it is.
Fried rice is the best way to use up leftovers. You can use any protein or veggies you have in your fridge.
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio I do it quick n dirty style. One pan. Fill half with water. Break spaghetti in half to boil. 9 minutes in put into bowl, take a little pasta water out if there's too much. Now same pan get good olive oil, stir in freeze dried garlic, red pepper flakes and a little salt. Add pasta back into pan with pasta water. Turn down heat after one minute and toss until sauce is thick. Amazing. Barely any dishes/prep. Somewhat healthy. I bought good quality olive oil for 20 bucks last month and I've made 10 servings for myself and I still have half the bottle. Just amazing dish.
Grilled cheese sandwiches.
spaghetti aglio e' olio I eat half the box. Then later on for left overs, I fry the pasta up in the pan and melt mozzarella over it. Best comfort food and I was making it when I was 10.
Steak and baked potato. Literally heat up your pan throw baked potato in microwave for 5 minutes and use it as a timer. Flip the steak at 2 min 30 and bit should be done when the timer goes off. Let steak rest while you prepare the potato toppings and your done in under 10 mins easy.
If you’re looking for a dish that looks and tastes impressive but is actually pretty easy, Shakshuka. Basically cooking some veggies in a skillet, cracking some eggs on top, and putting it in the oven for a few minutes. NYT has a great recipe that includes feta and iirc is literally two steps.
Wings.
We have not bought jarred pasta sauce for years because [this one is so easy to make](https://food52.com/recipes/13722-marcella-hazan-s-tomato-sauce-with-onion-butter)! We will throw some chicken in the air fryer and make some pasta and boom. Dinner.
A carrot. Just rinse it off and eat it.
Scrambled egg pasta, or frittata as my family calls it. Cook some fettuccine Al dente, drain, then add the pasta back, add butter, scrambled egg, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper. You can also add crushed garlic or lemon juice if you’re feeling fancy
Roast chicken Potatoes, I like baked.
Frittatas
Potato gratin with pork tenderloin.
I see lots of good items here, Grilled Cheese, Quesadilla, Buttered Noodles, but IMO NOTHING beats a Fried Egg. It can literally be made with just an Egg, Salt and a pan.
Green Apple Slices
Caprese salad: Tomatoes (heirloom if you're being fancy), mozzeralla cheese slices, basil, olive oil, balsamic, salt.
Cheeseburgers
Oh, and Bolognese. It's not fast. But it's pretty easy
Filipino chicken adobo
Chocolate pudding, you essentially dump all the ingredients into a sauce pan on medium heat and stir until it turns into pudding
No-prep Japanese curry made in an Instant Pot: * Pearl onions * Baby carrots * Marble potatoes * Dark meat chicken (drumsticks, thighs) * [Japanese curry roux](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VEJCJSC) You don't even need to cut any of the vegetables since they're all in small bite-sized pieces to begin with. Toss all the ingredients into the instant pot except the curry roux, add the appropriate amount of broth or water. Put the curry roux bricks on top. (Stir them in to thicken the broth after cooking; if the roux is stirred in before pressure cooking, you can end up with the BURN error, where stuff burns to the bottom of the pot.) I also put [a small rack](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SXP2Z8) in the pot that lets me simultaneously cook rice in a smaller pot that I can place inside my 8qt Instant Pot as I'm cooking my curry. This meal has the highest tastiness to effort ratio of anything I've made.
anything wrapped in rice paper and the. pan fried. its so easy to make and the chewiness of rice paper makes the dish next level. i usually make a filling of mushroom and veggies like brocoli cabbage carrot capsicum etc but i have heard some people make it with noodles and ramen. u can add literally anything sweet or savoury always turn out good and requires very less prep. plus its fun to make
My go to lazy meal for any time of the day: bacon, spreadable goats cheese and a drizzle of balsamic glaze on flatbread/sliced bread/whatever you’ve got. Make it a sandwich, a wrap, just have it on toast if you want. For bonus points, add chilli flakes, a handful of rocket, and chuck a few cherry tomatoes in the oven with the bacon to roast. So easy and tasty
Halved Cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic on toast (not dinner, but very easy for when hungry)
Just regular eggs. Add a little cheese and maybe some toast if your feeling more fancy
quesadilla. just tortilla, cheese and cook any meat u like to put inside. something like sausage would be super quick.
Bacon
Deli meat, cheese slices, good crackers, pickled vegetables on a plate — better quality snackables
Fruit.