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This is kind of sad...but there are a lot of days when I come home feeling EXACTLY like that and the only thing I want to make/eat is a big bowl of peas & carrots. Sometimes I thrown in some corn or kale if I have it. All veggies start frozen, are microwaved and then I throw in a big hunk of butter and some garlic powder. Sometimes, if I'm feeling a little more motivated and can stand to wait for water to boil, I'll make some pasta, throw in the peas & carrots towards the end and then mix the whole thing with pesto & cheese.

During the summer, I like to grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket and make a big salad with romaine and veggies.

Also, I don't know if this will help, but I find that I get motivated by watching cooking shows - maybe you could listen to food podcasts on your way home?

The rotisserie chicken sound like a delicious option.

On those all-too frequent occasions when I realise 'my god, it's 20.00, and we haven't eaten dinner...' I go with interesting, top-notch ravioli, tortellini, and other filled pastas. They pair wonderfully with so many things: chicken broth, sauces, vegetables. They also can be mixed with various leftovers (e.g. the shredded remnants of the previous night's rotisserie chicken).

Making stock is probably not an option, now, but you can still get something quite good if you doctor--with pepper, some diced scallions, various herbs, a bit of tomato puree, whatever--the best pre-fabricated chicken (or other) broth you can get your hands on.
A very good tomato sauce can be made in almost no time flat by quickly heating a tin of crushed tomatoes (get a good brand, it's worth it), taking it off the heat, and adding salt, pepper, a few drops of olive oil, and some fresh torn or chopped basil.
Vegetables? Peas can be very good even if they're frozen; otherwise, roughly diced bell peppers, baby asparagus tips, basically, anything small or chopped into smallish pieces can be stir-fried or sauteed in a tiny bit of oil for about 2 or three minutes and be tasty and ready to go (this goes for the frozen peas, too). I usually toss any herbs or spices I use into the oil for a few seconds before adding the vegetables. A bit of tomato (or squash, or both) puree binds the vegetables to the pasta; a simple cream sauce would probably work too but I have no about those, since I don't like them a bit!

@crazyspice - You have no idea how resentful I am that I have been robbed of the pleasure I usually derive from cooking! I'm not really hassled and rushed, just sad and brain-sucked. I know, I know... I don't need a therapist to tell me I'm not loving the job. But until I can get past the new job adjustment curve, I need...... uh... I don't know what I need. Maybe a hug?

Thanks for your suggestions. xoxo

Sorry to hear you are going through such a hard time! I know nothing written here will truly make it better, but just somehow reading (or talking!) that someone understands and has been there too seems to help me. So, I wanted to leave you a note that I have been there very recently and I do understand. My stress affected me exactly as you have described and I was really (I was going to write angry, but your word resentful hit the nail on the head) resentful that my one true "escape" was taken away and I was really worried I wasn't going to find it again! I don't know if it was time or a certain food or the combination of both...but the dishes that eventually started to bring things around have already been mentioned. Meals of little effort but huge rewards. Slow roasted chicken with roasted brussel sprouts, carrots, baby red potatoes. Spaghetti sauce that has been simmering all afternoon, filling the house with the comforting smells of garlic, tomatos, onions, basil...served with angel hair pasta and fresh warm bread. Tender pork tenderloin, steamed broccoli and creamy mashed potatoes. This too will pass, try some simple dishes that pack a punch of comfort and I hope that you very soon get your passion and appetite back for all that you love and enjoy!

I didn't realize you were in Michigan, me too! Whereabouts are you? I am just outside Detroit in Harper Woods.
Virtual hug from all of us here at SE!

frederika, if you do make something in the stew-y comfort food category, it would have the advantage of there probably being enough to take into work the next day; might give lunch-time an extra dimension of, well... comfort.
I really hope this stressful period settles out soon for you.

When I just couldn't cook, I use to do as crazyspice suggests. On the weekend, there would be roasted chicken and/or salmon and grilled tri tip and/or swordfish (there was no guilt about sourcing in dinosaur days). Then during the week, depending on the weather, I'd make a composed salad (sounds more impressive than it perhaps was) or an improvised pasta dish. Every color of peppers, raw or roasted with garlic on the weekend and either pickled red onions or sauteed onions, shallots, leeks, and scallions saved the dinner. I would also add steamed vegetables left from the weekend, and there was frequently cheese, as appropriate - bits of a blue or fresh grated Pamesan. Tasty and colorful, which I think stimulates recovery from whatever is troubling me. We'll be thinking of you....

Here's a bunch of big ol' Hungarian hugs to you, sweetheart, from your sunny SoCal girlfriend... {{{{__}}}}

I've so totally been-there-done-that, you have no idea. Now, I'm lucky enough not to trek to an office job, but I still have days (or entire weeks?) where there is just nothing at all appealing about cooking. Then there are the days when I've just been so busy that dinnertime sneaks up on me and takes me completely by surprise, usually on a day when I'm already exhausted (this happens more often than I care to admit).

Soooooo...

One of my favorite stand-by items is Boca Burgers. Not for everyone, I know, but fortunately, all five of us like them (including 30-going-on-13 stepson, aka pickiest-eater-alive). I always have a Costco-size box of 'em in the freezer, along with a bag of good-quality buns or rolls. Throw them babies on a hot griddle, nuke some canned pinto beans mixed with bottled BBQ sauce, and we've got dinner in 15 minutes if need be.

Another quick comfort is the good old fashioned grilled cheese with tomato soup. Get yourself some Imagine-brand tomato soup (not homemade, but I promise it's tasty) and make a nice buttery grilled sandwich with your favorite cheese (white bread with American or Velveeta is perfectly acceptable in this case, owing to your state of mind).

Actually, you can just run with the sandwich theme. Tuna melts (do them open-faced on toast and run 'em under the broiler for a few minutes), cold cuts on hoagie rolls, sauteed chicken breasts... whatever.

Quesadillas. Casseroles, especially noodle-based. BSCBs (boneless skinless chix breasts) -- boring, perhaps, but hey! They work.

Do NOT forget your slow cooker! Too tired to brown the meat first? So what. Just throw it all in there as is before you leave the house in the AM. It'll still be good. Or do a bean soup.

Check out the quick items at Costco as they often have many decent choices that can be popped into the freezer. Around here, they have flautas, which are pretty tasty, and not too bad nutritionally. They're refrigerated, but freeze well, and go from frozen to eaten in less than an hour. They have all kinds of stuff like that.

Do wine cheese and fruit with a some crusty bread. Not exciting, but can be exceptionally satisfying.

Finally, forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but maybe hubby could help out here, too? It sounds like he beats you home. If so, does he cook? If so, ask him to take on a night or two. If not, ask him to make a take-out run. Or have HIM stop by the market on the way home -- one less obstacle for you to face when you get there.

Until things get better, just know that many of us come cook for you if we could... and THAT thought is SURE to make things better, right?
;-)

Frederika, I do feel for you. That's the worst feeling in the world. I was there a couple of years ago and I have to say, it was one of the toughest periods of my life. I'd go home and cry almost every night. It was awful. Ultimately, the job ended up working out really well, and now I just love it, but man, it was a rocky road getting there.

And yeah, what LoCo said. Well, maybe not the tuna melts and boca burgers, but you get the point. Easy, tasty food that requires very little from you. I rocked my slowcooker, not even bothering to brown. I'd dump in some kind of chuck roast, a cup of red wine, a cup of water, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, diced carrots, onions, celery. I did that for 3 weeks running and I'd just dump the chopped up roast on noodles or rice or bread. I got so of sick of it by then end that I couldn't eat meat for months afterwards, but that's what spurred me to get off my behind and start to try and take care of myself again.

What was, for me, a total lifesaver - the entire series of Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Which I would come home and watch every single night. There was something ridiculously empowering about watching Buffy kick demon ass.

@radley24 & crazyspice- I'm in SE MI, near Ann Arbor. We moved here last year and it's a great community to live in, however the employment situation in MI is rather dire right now. There's not many jobs to choose from and you're lucky to get one, so I'm feeling more than a little stuck.

@perky - I think I'm already in trouble. I stopped playing the flute the other day. (or was that supposed to be an analogy?) I'll truly know I've hit rock bottom when I start collecting cats. Then I can be known as crazy cat lady with the bad job.

Thank you all for your ideas - I'm really feeling the love. I have confidence that this too shall pass and I will find my way back to me. I firmly believe that all things happen for a reason and karma and all that stuff. As soon as I get my appetite back, I'm going to use so many of your suggestions. Actually, Sunday dinner is going to be chicken and rice. I'm really trying.

hugs back to you all

@fredrika.......I gave up my passion, music. Playing the piano and singing brought back too many memories and I just couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't passing out platitudes. I'm in a sinking boat and I know the fear and pain that drains the lifeblood out of you. I'm glad I can still enjoy cooking and I wish the same for you, especially if that's a passion for you. I truly, sincerely wish you the best life has to offer.

So, you think I should start collecting cats???? ;-D

I usually go back to comfort food... but being Chinese, that means I pop down to Chinatown, buy a huge bag of frozen mantou and microwave a couple whenever I get hungry. Or I make a big pot of rice porridge & eat it with pickled vegetables & chili bamboo. Fills me up, makes me happy, and then I go stare at food blogs until I want to cook again. o.o!

Thanks SE friends, for indulging my whining. Only true serious eaters would understand the loss that I've been feeling. The passion for food has been such an innate part of me since I was a child, that I haven't been dealing with this deficit well at all. Yesterday was a bad day, but that was yesterday. We do, after all, have to sustain ourselves and our loved ones. I suppose that is why God created drive-thrus and rotisserie chickens. I'll be back in the fold soon.

Much love to you all.

Hmm, I have definitely had this problem in the past, and here are some ideas for you-

make a big batch of carnitas or pulled pork on the weekend, then eat it for the next few days- sandwiches, tacos, or just by itself

make easy pastas that have you pull together a quick and delicious sauce while the pasta's cooking- some ideas here, here, and here- pretty easy to have most of these things on hand

get the trader joe's pizza dough and throw together a pizza- better than takeout and a lot cheaper

always have storebought hummus in the fridge and pita and chicken in the freezer- pop the pitas in the toaster, quickly saute chicken pieces and make a tasty sandwich

and if you make meat, always make extra so you can sandwich, taco, rice, or pasta it up the next day!

good luck and happy eating :)

OK, I'm a s__t. My first instinct is to grab a Zanax and a really good Martini. But, I do force myself to cook on weekends, with comfort food that freezes well. At this moment I have beef stew, three kinds of beans, meat balls and marinara, and some killer chicken Stock that can be eaten as is if you don't want to make soup. I am about to add some Crawfish Etouffe. I can be a bit of a stretch on Sunday when I cook, but well worth it in the long run. All I have to do after I grab the drugs and alcohol is defrost!