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baked spaghetti with salt pork and lots of cheese on top.

chicken n' dumplings.

bean soup with stewed tomatoes andouille, chicken stock andwhat the heck... throw in some fresh kale.

Salmon P wiggle (like chipped beef on toast or S.O.S.) made with canned salmon, peas, milk, butter, hard boiled eggs and salt n' pepper... over toast, potato, or egg noodles.

chop suey or gholash(sp.) depending on where you're from- Elbow macaroni with plenty of ground beef/pork/lamb onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, herbs.

All somewhat lazy mostly one pot meals that canned be made from pantry items...depending of course on your pantry.

My weekday go to meals are any sort of thin cutlets lightly fried+salad, or pasta.
When I'm sick of everything I make paprika chicken thighs.
I buy bone in skinless thighs, season with s/p, without any oil, I fry them up in a heavy cast iron pot, 2-3 min on med/high heat. Take thighs out of pot, saute 1 large sliced onion (for 4 thighs) in whatever fat rendered from the chicken. Once ranslucent I add about 3/4 cup chicken broth, scape bottom of the pan and then add about 1-1.5 teaspoon sweet paprika (I like paprika so I put a good amount, you might put less). I let the broth and onions come up to a boil, than I put the chicken back in the pot, and add some more broth to almost cover everything in the pot. Sometimes I add a bay leaf if I have one on hand, it adds a nice flavor to the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cover. Cook on stove top for about 1 hour, even better for 2 hours for fall of the bone chicken, but you have to check the liquid level after an hour. Season again when finished if needed.
This is such a yummy dish, I serve with rice and a veggie, and sauce over the rice. I try to cook it the day before since the actual cooking time is long, also I like to take the fat of the sauce and it only works after it has sat in the fridge. I reheat it in the same pot the next day & it tastes great.

@Pavlov ~ I think I have to veto the spaghetti and salt pork thing. *shuddering*

When I can't figure out what to make, I make pizza. I usually have stuff on hand to make it. I get creative with the toppings. I do't think I have ever made one that wasn't enjoyed by the eaters. And i have come up with some very untraditional combinations.

I totally understand the lack of inspiration, and sometimes it's a good time to just eat cereal or cheese and crackers for a week until the mood strikes again.

But if you just need new ideas, when I cook for the week, I usually do soups (once you've diced all the mirepoix, it's not that hard to make 2 kinds of soup instead of 1 and then you have variety during the week). Soup's so easy to reheat when you need it, and if you freeze a bit of each batch, you'll have a nice selection after a few weeks.

Alternatively, lasagna is another favorite to have in the fridge.

Finally, a big batch of sauce, meatballs, and polenta. It can be reassembled in a few different forms, so you have variety during the week, and the sauce & meatballs are good for the freezer if you get bored with them.

@Pav ~ Baby formula I get, but not spaghetti! Sorry, I am going to use my veto power here.

I just made the goya yellow rice with peas and sausage!

like someone else, goulasch(sp) is my go to. brown some hamburger, onion, garlic and s/p, drain off fat. add tomato sauce and chili powder along with cooked elbow macaroni. top with cheddar or parmasen, serve with garlic bread.

My go-to meal is spaghetti with marinara, ricotta cheese and cream with some Parmesan cheese mixed in. Oh, I also cook up frozen spinach or whatever green veggie that I have on hand.

I try to cook in big batches as well...
Try chicken a la king w/ some white wine in the cream sauce (I don't use many of rachel ray's recipes but she has a good one out there for chicken a la king). It reheats well during the week.

Also roasting chickens...I will do 3 or 4 rubbed w/ butter + herbs + garlic with some lemon inside. You can use them for really easy things like quesadillas during the week. (or use it in the chicken a la king..)

my default is ina's indonesian chicken....
marinade: 1 cup soy, 3/4 honey, minced garlic and ginger + chicken thighs (i perfer dark meat)
marinade overnight, bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

sooo good, and the sauce is amazing over white rice.
serve with any veggies!

my defaults are

pancakes
dutch baby
spaghetti
take out :) - that may be a sin I just confessed

when i'm feeling uninspired and lazy, i order take out. ok, i know what you may be thinking: expensive, unhealthy, and unoriginal. but we all hit those cooking lulls, and sometimes that's the best time to discover hidden food gems in your neighborhood. then find something creative to do with the leftovers!

My go-to weeknight meals often include a Vienamese style bun; a lettuce salad with fresh herbs (mint, basil, cilantro), julienned carrots, cucumber, and meat. Ginger poached chicken, simple boiled shrimp, carmelized black pepper chicken, spiced porked balls - whatever works. Sometimes I will wrap it all up in rice paper as a salad roll.

With the cooler weather I turn to chili, french onion soup, red beans and rice, pan seared NY strips, fajitas.

You said you didn't like sweets, but how about experimenting with breads? The possibilities are endless and the process is really interesting.

SNACK ATTACK ~ SNACK ATTACK

Everyone else, duck and roll, crawl on your belly and leave the building immediately. This is an emergency, unless you want junk food, cake and ice cream. Hmmm......got any whipped cream?

@terabithia - you know, yesterday I decided that today I would make butternut squash gnocchi with caramelised onion & sage sauce...you know what I did today? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Other than driving to the nearest Chinese place about two hours ago to pick up some take away (for the first time in a very long time). So we ended up having chicken on a stick, spring rolls and dumplings for dinner (and I usually make this stuff myself, mind you). So what. Everybody "slips" from time to time, nothing is wrong with you, I promise!

I like making a quick tomato sauce: a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, grate in a couple of cloves of garlic, saute them until they're cooked but not brown, add in a 28 oz. can of tomatoes (however you want them, I get a can of whole tomatoes and pulverize them until smooth). Add as much crushed red pepper flakes to taste and salt as well.

If you want it to be healthier, take a couple of carrots and zuchinni and shave them with a vegetable peeler and add that to whole wheat fettucine in the last minute of cooking. Add all of that to the tomato sauce and don't forget fresh grated parm.!

if we're confessing food sins...well, here goes...my husband and I just went through our junkfood binge this past weekend...Costco polish sausages with a side of Costco pizza washed down with two Cokes and all the samples we could eat (there were some good samples at Costco that day)...then for dinner we ignored the lovely beef burgundy (that had simmered in the Crock Pot all day while we ran errands) and instead went to a local bar to watch football, drink beer and eat buffalo wings...the carnage continued the next morning, we went to a local diner and ate a skillet of eggs and sausage and potato all covered in some while gravy. ***burp***
@terabithia--if junk food is what you want, have it, and get over it. If you're a good eater the rest of the time, one bag of tostitos and a jar of nacho cheese isn't such a big deal. Now, if this becomes a weekly habit...well, then you'd better let us know, so's we can stage the intervention. ;)

The junk food binge continues. I've already decided that instead of the artichoke ravioli I have in the fridge, I'm going to have canned soup, and maybe doritos with cream cheese (got this idea from a different thread here) for dinner.

DEFAULT MEALS =
1. Baked Salmon with Roasted Vegetables (like asparagus, leeks, onions & zucchini
2. Ground Lamb mixed with sauteed onions & baked eggplant
3. Spaghetti Squash mixed with sun-dried tomatoes, canned chicken, canned green beans, onions, zucchini
4. Bison sausage sauteed with onions, peppers & greens
....yea, that is about it! ha ha! When I am at home my father & I cook default meals like puttenesca, spatch-cock chicken, cioppino, clam sauce & tuna nicoise salads... which are a lot more interesting than my meals but oh well...