I'm tired and I've got the cooking blues.
I was talking to one of my friends the other day about how fresh food is superior; she loves cooking her own rice, her own beans, and her own everything. Meanwhile, I was thinking of all the lunches I had prepped this week and how most of them consisted of ready-to-go, packaged foods.
And yes, fresh food in terms of flavor may be superior, but when it comes down to time for prepping and cooking, the desire to cook after work, and having the willingness and patience to do it all from scratch, most days I’m out and prepped foods sound superb.
I wish all my meals were fresh, Instagram-worthy, colorful, and beautifully plated all the time, but that’s just not realistic. I’m tired, and when I’ve got the cooking blues I just want to be fed and go straight to bed.
5 quick and easy filling meals to make when you don’t feel like cooking:
*These are by no means recipes, and everything is pretty much fast, and cooked to taste*
Tofu stir fry:
Press your tofu to remove excess liquid (you can use a towel, paper towel, or a fancy tofu press that’s still on my Amazon cart).
Marinade in your choice of sauce (whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil and some cornstarch to thicken, or opt for any premade packaged sauce, that’s good too!)
Add any veggies you’d like to a wok or skillet (I usually have bell peppers and broccoli in my fridge or I have bagged stir-fry veggies) and sauté for a couple of minutes (2-4 maybe?)
Add the tofu once they’re a little more tender and cook until everything is as warm as you’d like, or until the sauce has thickened if you used some cornstarch.
Serve with some leftover rice or boil some noodles while everything else is cooking and ta-da!
Rotisserie chicken soup
Add your chicken to a big quart Zip Lock bag, and with care move it all around to get the meat out of the bones, easy-peasy shredding technique. (If the bones are a little poky, just wrap the bag with a tea towel and continue).
Add some oil to your pot and pre-cut mirepoix with garlic, season with salt/pepper, and sauté until tender.
Add in some broth with your now shredded rotisserie chicken and any seasonings you’d like (I try to add any herbs I have in my fridge like thyme or parsley, maybe some frozen ginger too).
Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add in any noodles/orzo/pasta and cook as per packaging.
Serve with a squeeze of lime and some parmesan cheese and all done!
Tuna salad
I am low-key not a fan of tuna salad, I think it’s my mom’s fault, she would send us tuna salad to school every Monday when she didn’t have any help at home, well, now I get why…
But it’s easy and versatile, and I usually don’t like mayo on it, so I’ll mix a can with some red onions/tomatoes/greens/kalamata olives/marinated artichokes, some lemon juice or red wine vinegar and a splash of the artichoke marinade, some olive oil, and add that to some sourdough with avocado and a sprinkle of feta on top (don’t hate it until you try it).
Pouched lentils and rice with a salad
This might just be the laziest of them all, but still packs a punch of flavor.
Microwave some pouched lentils and rice (I usually use Trader Joe’s frozen one because that’s usually a good easy option, and for lentils these Fillo ones are great or I’ll do Tasty Bites too).
Serve with any veggies or salads you have on hand and you’re done. If I’m very hungry, sometimes I’ll sneak in some of that rotisserie chicken too.
Pasta
A no-brainer. I like to throw some chicken sausages and any veggies I have (broccoli, zucchini, etc.) in the air fryer while my pasta is boiling, and then serve both with some Rao’s tomato basil sauce and sprinkle some cheese on top and that’s it!
I hope you have a little more energy than I do this week, and if not may these combos help you out!
Happy cookin’ and keep chewin’ :).