All my dinners taste the same!

A couple of recipes I remember from my hard up student days ( very long ago!).
Tinned meatballs in tomato sauce, heat with chopped sautéed onion and herbs. Serve on a bed of pasta.
Cauliflower cheese sprinkled with ham, or any other meat.
Quick tomato soup; a tin of tomatoes, 1/2 pint of veg stock, a handful of lentils. Herbs of choice. Simmer until the lentils are soft.

I made a salad with local cherries, feta and pistachios on a bed of lettuce and cucumber, simple dressing but added some pomegranate molasses and a big sprinkle of Zatar and a lot of chopped mint from the garden. It was delicious and took about 5 minutes to make. We live on salads for lunch in the summer and I just keep a good selection of nuts, spices, and herbs in stock which seem to cheer up the plainest meal.
A piece of fish smeared with jarred pesto or a herby butter, wrapped up in Serrano or any air dried ham, takes less than 10 minutes in my small air fryer is really tasty with rice, potatoes or a simple salad.

Top=tip, of course.

This is a top I could well take to heart myself:

Do you have shelves full of half used herbs and spices which you haven't used for ages? Just start experimenting with them. They may be last their sell by date and may have started to lose their oomph, but just put more in.

There are lots of recipes available on the internet, and you can search on topics like 'simple meals' or 'ready in 15 minutes', as well as on specific ingredients, like 'sausages' or 'potatoes'.

Sorry th hear about your bland, samey dinners. I can sympathise as most of my childhood meals tasted the same, as my mother was a terrible cook! We looked forward to when my father stepped-in as he wasn't quiet as batty! One was artistic, the other musical, so that explained a lot
I can cook easily but I'd rather have inherited my father's musical talent 🤫

Roasting peppers, courgettes, onion & tomato for this evening. I will then cook pasta, toss in butter, mix with the roasted veg and put grated cheese on top.

I made a crustless quiche at the weekend and it was delicious……..replaced the milk with cream for a special treat too! Served it hot with a huge side salad and finishing the leftovers tonight 😛

Magenta8

Chilli mushrooms are surprisingly nice on a baked potato with a bit of sour cream. I never cook jacket potatoes in a microwave as I think it makes them taste soapy. I spike them and cook them in the oven. The timing varies according to the size of the potato and the secret is not to under or over cook them.

The mild spiciness and aroma of mushrooms combined with the richness of potatoes create a simple yet profound dish. Our taste styles [url=https://poor-bunny.com]Poor Bunny[/url]
are quite similar.

Chilli mushrooms are surprisingly nice on a baked potato with a bit of sour cream. I never cook jacket potatoes in a microwave as I think it makes them taste soapy. I spike them and cook them in the oven. The timing varies according to the size of the potato and the secret is not to under or over cook them.

Dhal is cheap and easy, risotto a bit more time consuming but cheap and nutritious.
I always have some fresh pasta in the fridge so I can make an easy sauce this is usually with pancetta and mushrooms with cream etc.

Ah WW, what a life you lead!

I had bread, bread and more bread.

Need to make more effort.

Today for lunch quinoa with chopped onion, apple, pepper, tinned tuna and mayonnaise. Pear.

This evening

Haddock fillet in lemon, garlic and butter sauce. Broccoli and green beans

Strawberries and vanilla yogurt.

Nothing same-y about that, and dead easy to prepare. 😄

Breakfast was grapefruit followed by poached egg on toast

Stir fries, use all sorts of different mix up of veggies and a sachet of flavourings
Today was courgettes, potatoes, onion and curly kale (all off the allotment) a bit of Quorn mince half a tin of chick peas and thin cooked noodles with a korma curry flavouring all done in 10 minutes enough for two dinners and only one pan to wash
Quick cheerful and cheap

I love a sachet of French lentils (Aldi) served with a poached egg on top.
I add some chopped red pepper and grilled cherry tomatoes and mix through a portion of spinach ....buy frozen as they are in portion sizes....
It's meat free but full of protein and 3 of your 5 aday. I'm not sure if lentils count but the tomatoes, spinach and peppers would.

Baked potato scooped out and mashed with:
Corned beef and a bit of ketchup
Or
Tuna, mayo and grated cheese
Or
Beef mince and gravy
Then put back into the skins.

I never find baked potatoes dull. I pre cook them in the microwave then bathe them in olive oil and sprinkle salt on top. Then I put in the oven for half an hour. Serve with beans and cheese or tuna mayo, red onion and sweetcorn

I've just made a steak goulash with a bit of rump steak, onion, spices and mushrooms. I'll add frozen peppers shortly then some sour cream and serve with rice.. Apart from the steak, everything was in the fridge or freezer. It'll do me tomorrow night too