50+ (!!!) Hot Mess Auntie approved LOWEST EFFORT MEALS EVER

Fast, delicious, and just barely more effort than EZ cheese + crackers 👀

Mar 10, 2025

Hellloooo aunties! Happy Sunday night!

Putting the finishing touches on this email while looking at the *almost SEVEN PM SUNSET!* 🙌🏼 (SPRING! IS THAT YOU? We made it, we actually made it!! 🥺)

Still recovering from that lost hour of sleep tonight? (Worth it, but I’m feelin’ it today. Remember when we used to go out and be like “yeaaahhh Spring Forward! Another hour of partying! Wahooo!” How was that in this same lifetime???)

Anyway, if you’re tired–you probabbblyy aren’t getting that jazzed about the concept of cooking this week. And if that’s you–GREAT timing.

Because I have the big daddy of no-recipe recipe roundups for you today. I asked for your go-to *lowest possible effort* meals this past Friday–and I mean, we’re talking, “slightly one notch above squeezing EZ CHEEZ on crackers”–level–meals!

And you definitely delivered! (The Aunties ALWAYS do). Many of these are my go-to favorite combinations too, but some of them I would’ve NEVER thought of! (Don’t worry, of course, I added in a ton of my go-to’s as well!)

Note, some of these require more cooking than others, but all are very quick and easy! Whatever your energy level, you’ll definitely find tons of great options here!

Bonus: copy my own weeknight meal organizer!

Before we jump in…

Updating this post to let you know I just published a post you may also love if you want to take your weeknight meal simplification to the next level, check out my own system + weeknight meal organizer spreadsheet here!

Lowest effort meals ever to copy this week!

Ground chicken/turkey/beef:

Starting off, I think ground meat is for sure the unsung hero of weeknight meals. I always have some ground chicken or turkey in my freezer because I think it’s by far the easiest/fastest protein to cook and can be riffed TONS of ways based on what flavor profile you’re craving and what you have in the fridge. It’s easy to pigeon-hole it into just “spaghetti meat” or “tacos” but it’s so much more!

Curry: Brown your choice of ground meat, then add your favorite veggies (usually add sliced onions, frozen green beans, maybe a handful of spinach) and your favorite jar of curry sauce (I like TJ’s red or yellow curry), then add in microwaved frozen brown rice. (I stir it all together right in the pan, but you can always just serve on top). We have this ALL the time.

Burger bowls: (Pictured above!) Brown your choice of meat, and I usually add a little bit of ketchup, paprika, and garlic powder. At the same time you’re browning the meat, throw some sliced or smashed potatoes in the air fryer (or frozen French fries/tots/etc! Or do rice or quinoa instead of potatoes!) serve with chopped tomatoes, thinly sliced onions, avocado, and top with burger sauce (I like Primal Kitchen’s Special Sauce!)

Med bowls: Brown meat with Greek seasoning (I love Cavender’s) and/or garlic powder + dill, or Shawarma seasoning mix, your choice of salad mix or arugula, quick-cook quinoa/brown rice or couscous, tomatoes + onions, greek vinaigrette, and tzatziki or hummus.

Taco salad: Brown meat with taco seasonings, taco salad kit, and favorite toppings: cheese, tomatoes, avocado, can of black beans (optional), crushed tortilla chips

Stir fry: Brown meat with frozen broccoli or green beans, edamame, pea pods, whatever frozen veggies you have. Stir in your favorite sauce–we love Bachan Japanese BBQ sauce, but could do any sauce–Soyaki, Korean BBQ sauce, whatever you like!

Smoky turkey tacos: I feel the particular need to highlight these turkey tacos bc they’re so good and I make them all the time.

On pan ground chicken curry

Tuna/smoked salmon/canned chicken:

Tuna+ avocado on crackers–mix in mayo/mustard/capers optional!
Rice with tuna, kimchi, and a fried egg with furikake sprinkled on top.
Slice cucumbers into rounds, top with sliced avocado, smoked salmon, drizzle soy sauce on top. (Optional: Serve with a side of rice!)
Tuna rice salad: Cook + cool rice, add tuna, corn, tomatoes, olives, cheese cubes (or crumbled feta!), vinaigrette. Toss together!
TJ’s ETBTB smoked salmon with laughing cow cheese on crackers!

I love me a quick homemade snack wrap

Frozen chicken tenders/nuggets:

(Many of you love Costcos, or Bare chicken brand, and I think CauliPower does a good healthier version!) or even use frozen fish sticks–riffed into tons of stuff:

Chicken caesar wrap/sammies/bowls: Bag of Caesar salad mix (or a bag of kale + caesar dressing for a kale caesar!) air fried chicken tenders, rolled up in a wrap, or popped inside grilled bread (I love chicken caesar Sammy with pesto mayo–best combo, you must try!), or serve with microwaved quinoa!
Chicken/Fish tacos: Tortillas, store-bought cole slaw, avocado, hot sauce of your choice (or spicy mayo is good too!)
Buffalo or BBQ chicken tacos: Tortillas, chicken tenders tossed in buffalo or BBQ sauce, Cole slaw, feta or cheese of choice.
Asian rice bowls/wraps: Chicken tenders + Asian salad mix + microwaved rice in a wrap or as a bowl. Bonus: avocado, drizzle of sriracha. ETBTB seasoning.
Snack wraps: Chicken tenders + tortilla of your choice (can do high protein, gluten free, etc) rolled up with up with ranch or honey mustard, shredded cheese, lettuce.
Chicken parm bowls: Chicken tenders, marinara, shredded mozarella + parm, over microwaved quinoa or brown rice + spinach

Sheet pan chicken sausage + veggies:

VERY popular submission–chicken sausage is the best because it’s pre-cooked, and you can eat this all on its own, roast up some gnocchi on a sheet pan with it, serve over quinoa or rice, pasta–a side salad, prep it in advance, and make it feel gourmet by whipping up a delicious easy sauce like this one to go with it. (Or, you know, just buy a good store-bought sauce! 🤪 Like fresh pesto or TJ’s Zhoug, or Cedars Tzatziki!)

Italian: Italian chicken sausage + frozen peppers + onions on a sheet pan topped with pesto
Cajun: Andouille or any other chicken sausage really + cajun seasoning + peppers, onions, potatoes
Greek: Garlic/greek chicken sausage with onions + potatoes, tossed in greek vinaigrette (dill is great too if you have it!) and roasted. Serve with crumbled feta + a squeeze of lemon (for more veggies can serve with a bagged med salad or greek caesar mix, arugula with lemon juice + olive oil!) Also been wanting to make Ambitious Kitchen’s green feta sauce and this would be so good with it!

Sheet pan salmon:

Sheet pan pesto salmon: spread pesto on top, then lemon slices, put under the broiler.
Sheet pan soyaki salmon: salmon under the broiler with TJ’s Soyaki sauce (or favorite teriyaki sauce), frozen brown rice, frozen broccoli, sriracha.
Sheet pan dijon salmon: Spread dijon and brown sugar, bake at 400 degrees until done. (Can bake frozen or pre-cut veggies at the same time to serve with it!)
Sheet pan Harissa salmon: Spread harissa on top, serve with microwaved veggies and quick couscous or rice (love Near East couscous!)

Frozen fried rice (TJ’s is popular), pan seared salmon, frozen edamame, shredded carrots, topped with fresh slice cucumbers and spicy mayo. (ETBTB seasoning on top is good too!)

BBQ chicken bowl with air fryer BBQ chicken thighs + TJ’s Toscano salad + extra veggies

…and everything else!!

Air fryer chicken thighs:

Dice boneless, skinless chicken thighs, toss in seasonings or sauce of choice, and air fryer until done. Use in a bowl, quesadilla, salad, whatever! Tip: Roast the chicken on top of veggies and it’s DELICIOUS and only takes one pan!

Frozen wontons in miso broth = quick wonton soup (TJ’s makes a good one but a lot of grocery stores sell miso broth now! OR you can just sauté some ginger paste with some garlic and use whatever chicken stock you have!) Can add chopped green onions and spinach if you have!

Quick marinara rice: Frozen meatballs or pre-cooked chicken sausage, frozen rice, frozen broccoli, Rao’s marinara + shredded mozzarella or parm

Ravioli bake: Frozen ravioli, pasta sauce (could do red sauce or pesto!) mozzarella cheese, ground beef, layer and bake. And similarly…

No-boil noodle bake: No-boil lasagna noodles (or regular noodles with just a lower cook time) cottage cheese, or ricotta (if you’re feeling fancy you can mix in some store-bought pesto in with it!) a few handfuls of spinach, shredded mozzarella. Can also add (thawed) frozen meatballs, or sliced Italian chicken sausage (or cooked crumbled Italian sausage) for more protein! (FYI if you prefer a recipe, this one looks pretty similar!)

Breakfast quesadillas: scrambled egg with avocado, salsa, whatever else you have in the fridge! (Good way to use up veggies!)

Breakfast bowls for dinner: scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns (or frozen fries, tots, or roasted pre-cubed sweet potato), and cheese! Can add cottage cheese, handful of spinach to make it healthier, too!

Avocado toast with soft scrambled eggs and chives if you’re feeling fancy!

Pacific brand tomato + roasted red pepper soup + grilled cheese. (Multiple people raved about this soup! Also, Dave’s Bread makes a great grilled cheese! Or I love an open faced English muffin with ham and a slice of cheese on top–served with sliced tomatoes and sea salt + pepper!)

Chicken salad/Tuna salad/Melts: Use rotisserie chicken or canned chicken or tuna, can make it high protein by using blended cottage cheese (more on how I riff my favorite chicken salad here!) Use a Dave’s Bread bagel for extra protein! Serve with a side bagged salad, tomato soup, or chips!

Salad kits and a rotisserie chicken! (Lots of ideas for that combo in this slide but goodie blog post!)

Rotisserie chicken, hummus, side of arugula with olive oil + lemon juice + feta (optional: whatever veggies you have, tossed olive oil, in the air fryer)

Microwaved sweet potato with quinoa + feta! (Can cook quinoa in rice cooker or microwave!) For more easy protein, would be good with diced chicken sausage + a handful of spinach! (Oooh finished with some balsamic glaze or some hot sauce?)

Quick flatbread: Store-bought pizza crust, olive oil, veggies and mozzarella in the air fryer/oven! (Optional: Boursin cheese is delicious as a base layer sauce too!) For more protein, again, some dollops of cottage cheese or pre-cooked chicken sausage, or even diced frozen meatballs for the win!

Shawarma bowls with TJ’s pre-marinated chicken shawarma in the air fryer (could also do boneless skinless chicken thighs with shawarma seasoning in the air fryer OR just shredded rotisserie chicken tossed with some greek vinaigrette or with shawarma seasoning!) quick cook or microwave couscous or frozen rice, and veg/favorite dip toppings! (Tzatziki, hummus, zhoug, etc!)

Caro Chambers Pork & Brussels, Peanut Noods, and Wontons in curry broth (can attest, both are super easy and delicious!)

On that note, pretty much ANYTHING from

Caroline Chambers

! Her Substack is 10000% worth subscribing to! Her recipes are so riffable, fast, and easy!

Quick tostadas: Store bought tostada spread with refried beans + toppings–lettuce, shaker parm (or any cheese!), hot sauce, avocado, etc!

Pita or sourdough toast topped with hummus, feta, chopped cucumbers and red peppers! Can add rotisserie chicken, or even use meatballs for extra protein!

TJ’s chicken kettle soup with shelf stable gnocchi cooked in it. Add a little cream at the end! (Could easily throw in spinach too!)

Veggie burger (cooked in air fryer) lettuce wrap. (Melted cheese optional! Or crumbled feta!) No knives, chopping, or clean up involved! OR

Air fryer burgers (get fresh ones from the meat counter in the grocery store or your favorite frozen burger) wrapped in lettuce or on a bun of your choice with special sauce. Or do burger salad with a salad kit! Can serve with air fried sweet potato fries, French fries, etc.

Frozen dumplings with chili crisp + soy sauce. Can add veg (quick sautéed bok choy would be really good, or frozen green beans!) top with any herbs you have in the crisper drawer.

Peanut noodle ramen: Ramen noodles (toss the seasoning packet OR I like the Momofuku squiggly noodles–that sauce is good!), soy sauce, spoonful of peanut butter, sriracha, and a little maple syrup or honey. Optional: Squeeze of lime or hit of rice vinegar, crushed peanuts/cashews, cilantro. Can mix in microwaved frozen broccoli/carrots/edemame, or Cole slaw mix for more veg. Make it a soup by adding chicken broth! (Or just keep the seasoning packet!)

Peanut noodle SALAD: Same as above–can eyeball the dressing (or use this recipe–can always swap another vinegar for the lime if you don’t have any!) any long noodles, cooked, rinsed with cold water to cool them off, then toss in whatever chopped raw veggies you have in the fridge! (I like to use the Barilla protein pasta too for extra protein!)

Bagged Asian salad mix + cooked plain ramen noodles (discard the packet) + shredded rotisserie chicken

Kevin’s chicken (you all RAVE about these, and I agree they are good and zero effort–reminds me I should start buying these again! The teriyaki or curry are popular) + stir fry veg (frozen is fine!)+ microwave rice= 10ish minute healthy dinner.

Pasta w/ garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Topped with lots of grated parm. (Can use protein pasta for extra protein!)

Teriyaki rice bowls: Can use frozen sautéed shrimp, cooked ground beef/chicken/turkey, frozen rice, whatever veggies you have, frozen rice. Top with favorite sauces! Use pre-packaged slaw for an easy veggie that doesn’t require chopping!

Egg roll in a bowl: A very popular suggestion because it’s pretty much a dump one-pan meal that’s healthy and ready in just a few mins–I shared my version here but if you google there are approximately 1 million different recipes.

Fast shrimp couscous: (this is genius) A box of Near East Couscous (can confirm, we LOVE this stuff! I like the garlic or the basil flavor) + throw in frozen shrimp to steam the last few minutes of cooking. Add veggies of choice on the side. (Can roast whatever you have or just wilt spinach or kale in at the end!) Could also make this with sautéed chicken sausage if you don’t like shrimp.

TJ’s frozen shrimp scampi + pasta of your choice! (Can throw in frozen broccoli or some fresh spinach for veg!) Squeeze of fresh lemon over the top if you have it!

TJ’s frozen grains & veggies (many other stores have a similar blend in the frozen section too!), arugula, feta, garbanzo beans, tossed with fresh lemon + olive oil!

Beans on toast: Such a great plant protein meal to have in your back pocket! There were a few different riffs on these, but Marry Me beans sound AMAZING. I have also riffed off this tomato white bean bake many times! The only essential is some good bread to eat them with. (I always try and keep my freezer stocked at all times!)

Other honorable mentions: Even less effort phenomenal options you all submitted: Wheaties cereal, a hot dog (😂 confirmed solid option, especially with Lays potato chips), frozen pizza, and boxed Mac and cheese with frozen broccoli. ♥️

HOW AMAZING IS THIS LIST? Even better than you imagined? Me too!

If you have a friend or loved one who you know will like this list too, click the button below to share it with them! That would mean so much to me! 🥰

Thank you to everyone who weighed in with your go-to’s–now I know exactly where to go when my brain is melting but I need a quick, crowd-pleasing weeknight meal!

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your Sunday! 🥰

Love,

Jess

P.S. If you liked this post, you’ll probably love my weeknight meal organizer right over here! Don’t forget to grab your copy!