I'm working a lot of OT lately and not feeling like being in the kitchen much. Since I knew this was coming, I made up a spreadsheet - 1 tab with "easy meal" ideas, 1 tab with a grid of the next 6 weeks and ideas for what will be eaten those nights. This isn't supposed to be strict, I'll cook something else if I feel like it - it's to avoid the "duh, what even is food?" when my brain can't seem to figure out dinner.
Brain sucking? Oh, look the spreadsheet says "Thai pork mango curry" > go to the easy meals tab > ingredients: frozen green mango I sliced a while ago, roast pork I chunked and froze a few weeks ago, frozen sliced bell pepper I sliced up last week, jarred curry paste, can of coconut milk, rice. Because I pre-prepped all the components, that is basically a "dump meal", but way tastier than with processed junk.
These recipes are on that list:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/ - made last night with pearl barley. Amazingly tasty for like 4 ingredients. I stirred in some homemade pesto at the end.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/10/quick-pasta-and-chickpeas-pasta-e-ceci/ - made this last week, will make again next week. I cooked and froze 2lbs of chickpeas a few weeks back. (Based on reader comments, I doubled the pasta and kept all other measurements the same - this was perfect and made 4 servings for us.)
https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/09/pizza-beans-cookbook-preview/Melts of all kinds: tuna, chicken, ham, pick a deli meat are all basic. I found veggie melts surprisingly filling also:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/02/broccoli-melts/, she has a lot of others, but you can use this to riff. I've done roasted eggplant, roasted cauli/broccoli together, sauteed mushroom, sauteed spinach - optional egg on top of any of these.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_ground_turkey_and_peppers/ Really basic, 4 ingredient recipe. I would serve with rice. My BF is making this tonight to pour over roasted sweet potatoes.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/salmon_patties/Baked potato/sweet potato: Bake it, prep toppings, call it a meal. Can use sour cream and cheese, bacon and scallions, beans and corn, chili, whatever you like. If you cut them in half and roast them cut side down on a baking sheet it cuts cooking time in half.
Naan pizza - Aldi sells large naan in a 4 pack that are the perfect size for a personal pizza. They also sell "red pesto" made with sundried tomatoes that I use as a pizza sauce.
Quesadillas - flour tortillas, cheese, maybe beans, maybe a veg (made acorn squash ones last week), served with salsa for dipping.
Cream of veggie soups - I made 3 of these the week before I started OT and froze them. Veg barely covered with water to cook, puree, add salt, pepper, and cream. I made broccoli, corn (didn't puree smoothly, I didn't care), and tomato. Now you have something to go alongside a basic sandwich or melt that feels slightly healthier.