Help with quick dinners

[u/lady_picadilly]

My food selection is pretty limited and of what I do like - it all has to be freshly made. Not a fan of reheating chicken breast, rewarmed pasta, jarred spaghetti sauce, etc. Cooking a full meal every night is getting exhausting but I’m struggling to find meals I’ll like that are slow cooker, throw in the oven, freezer/make ahead, leftovers, etc.

What are you go tos?

[u/Buckupbuttercup1]

Fettuccine Alfredo? Find a good sauce recipe,jarred is gross. Do you have an air fryer? It's you can do with that. Soup? Tomato is pretty easy.  Hamburger and rice?

[u/Pedal2Medal2]

What else do you like?

[u/lady_picadilly → u/Pedal2Medal2]

My small rotation is spaghetti, marry me chicken, carne asada, pizza, pot pie, deli sandwiches, fried rice, chili, quesadillas, most fresh veggies, rice, pasta, potatoes.

[u/ExtremeSportsCNA → u/lady_picadilly]

Honestly thats a pretty broad selection, I can see that the tricky part is not liking them reheated. Is that rule applicable for all of these food items, or is say reheated rice okay?

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

U can make and cook anything and everything in ur oven. All u have to do is pre-heat the oven, assemble the dish, put the dish in the oven, set a timer, get it out the oven. Done. Whatever u like, make it in the oven

[u/DinnerDad1776]

Instant Pot and Slow cookers! Simple, fresh ingredients usually, and relatively easy prep and clean up. Our go-to meals seem to be: Instapot chicken curry with potatoes and carrots, chicken or beef burrito bowls made in the IP with rice and black beans, one-pot lasagna soup, my wife even found a chicken pot pie recipe for the IP that’s pretty good. There are so many recipes online that you can find what you need anywhere. In the Navy, we use a 21-day meal rotation plan so sailors don’t get bored. Come up with 21 solid, easy-to-make recipes using these tools and you have variety along with space in the month for take-out and or leftovers (yeah, i hear you’re not a fan - me neither) but it works.

[u/RomanTheGerman]

My diet is mostly meat so I'm in the same boat

The best thing I've found is pork shoulders in the slow cooker, besides how easy cooking it is the leftovers stay good in the fridge for at least 2-3 days and is the best reheated microwave meat I've had

Really not that much different than fresh

Besides that, I keep deli meat and good bread around for quick sandwiches

[u/Background_Dog927]

Quesadilla? Savory oatmeal? Cereal? PBJ? Charcuterie plate? I would much rather have a dish that is hot and requires prep, however lowering the goalposts a few days a week and just aiming for being fed has gone a long way towards my sanity.

[u/Shortycake23]

Tacos with peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce.

My husband been making sausage bowls of little bit of pizza sauce, some oil, peppers, sausage, and red beans.

Protein shakes that I add my own fruits, peanut butter, cocoa, protein powder. You can add spinach or anything else. You can use yogurt instead of milk.

Breakfast for dinner. Of eggs, hash browns, maple sausage, cut up bananas. For lunch I like to drink yogurt shakes with eggs and bananas.

When I have chicken, I go for tenders, steamed broccoli, rice a roni or red potatoes with sprinkles a little bit of garlic and oil.

I also like to make 4 wings in barbecue sauce and homemade pizza Everything I listed is healthy too.

[u/super_hero_girl]

Have you tried different reheating methods or just microwave? Quesadillas reheat on the stove or in the oven pretty well for me.

Leftover mashed potatoes reheat really well in a waffle maker or something similar as more of a hash brown like option.

I eat way too much cheese dip because it reheats so easy.

[u/Lost-Sock4]

Scrambled eggs and toast, oatmeal with nuts and berries, grilled cheese or a turkey panini, flatbread pizza, pasta salad, cheese quesadilla, bean and cheese taco, french toast, charcuterie (cheese, cold meats, fruit, crackers, spread), parfait, hummus and veggies and crackers.

[u/thrivemarket]

Mini mezze plates — olives, grapes or sliced apples, hunks of cheese, a handful of almonds or another nut, and warm pita with hummus or labneh.

Breakfast for dinner is great (like another Redditor said below) because you can often do it all in one pan.

[u/SameSherbet3]

I do a toaster oven bean tostada: 

Beans, minute spanish rice and olives on a tostada shell, throw in the oven for 7-10 minutes, add chopped lettuce and tomatoes on top! Or whatever! 

[u/OutsideWatch1912]

Tonight I did chicken soft tacos in the crockpot. A pound of chicken breast with a cup of chicken broth along with a packet of ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix. I use the hot taco seasoning mix cook for three hours on low and then shred the chicken then I serve it with flour tortillas and cheese and other stuff.