Need Ideas/recipes for Meals like These:

I make a big croc of shredded BBQ chicken (Chicken breasts and a bottle of BBQ and a can or half a can of dr. pepper) after it cooks we shred it up to make bbq chix salad (add lettuce, cheese, black beans, corn, peppers, tortilla strips, green onion, tomato, salsa, etc. with or without dressing). We save half the chicken for the next day and put it on rolls for sort of a sloppy joe/pulled pork esq sandwich.

Try some simple old fashioned meals. At least a few nights per week ditch the cans, mixes and processed foods.

Broiled or BBQ protein (chicken breast, fish or another type of lean meat)
Roasted veggies, baked potato and a salad

You can eat variations on that meal a few times per week and make extra protein for another meal. Make tacos or sandwiches out of the leftover chick or fish.

Another easy meal in our house is pasta. Saute zuc with garlic and OO, toss in some chopped tomatoes and basil, toss in cooked pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with salad. Switch up the veggies or add protein for variations.

You don't have to love cooking or even be very good at it to make dinner out of fresh food. Done right it won't take any longer than the meals you mentioned here and will taste better and be much healthier.

The first thing I was going to do was direct you to my crock pot question but then I realized you're the one who gave me one of our favorites from there. 😊 Another easy favorite is meatball taco pockets. Just season some frozen meatballs with taco seasoning, add cheese, and wrap it all in a biscuit (like pillsbury grands). Bake for about 15-20 minutes and you're good to go.

Meatloaf
Meatballs & sauce & buns
Tater tot casserole
Chili
Soup
Stuffed peppers
Hot sausage
Roast/potatoes/carrots

Crock pot!

can of chicken (drained), 4 oz creamcheese, 2 small cans of hunts basil garlic oregano sauce, 4 slices american cheese tossed with pasta of choice and done.

can of chicken (drained) heated wih taco seasoning. taco shells, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cheese, sourcream and salsa.

can of chicken (drained) 1 cup cooked rice, 1 can of peas and carrots (drained) sauteed with soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic and pepper.

substitute a portabella mushroom for a burger and grill.

i bread and oil fry chunks of chicken breast and a pkg of fries

my mom always made hamburger helper when she needed a quick meal

I just started doing some freezer meals with our local grocery store and here's some of what we've done:
ham loaf (like meat loaf) with garlic mashed potatoes
honey mustard chicken with rosemary and rice
chicken wild rice soup
sausage with peppers pasta
chicken lasagna
hoisen pork on tortillas
chicken pitas
pepperoni beef in a crock pot

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Pizza
- French bread pizza
- bubble pizza (with biscuit dough)
- have the teens make it (use dough in the can)

Enchiladas - beef, chicken or seafood (a favorite of most teens I know)

Brats

Sloppy dogs (great with leftover sloppy joes. its over hot dogs with fixings)

Broiled salmon

Teriyaki chicken in the crock pot (3/4 cup teriyaki, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tsp garlic add chicken breasts and cook for 4-6 hours. I do shred them at about 4 hours and let sit in juices and serve with brown rice and broccoli)

Buy the bags of steamer veggies and potatoes to make for quick and easy sides.

Ranch chicken (mix Italian bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and a ranch seasoning packet. Dip chicken in flour, then egg, then the breading mixture and bake in oven for 30 minutes. I'll do a light spray of cooking oil so they brown)

Beans & Greens - cook sweet Italian sausage (~6 -8 oz for the three of us) with garlic (however much you want) in saute pan until browned. Throw in one large bunch of greens (rapini, kale, mustard greens) chopped and a little water. Cover and cook for 5-8 minutes. Add can of white beans, cook another few minutes until heated and serve (alone or with pasta). Top with grated parmesan.

Pasta Carbonara - whisk together an egg (Pasteurized if you like) and grated parmesan in large pasta bowl. Cook chopped bacon (3-4 oz for 3 of us) in pan until almost crisp. Add 1-2 cups of frozen (or fresh) green peas. Cook 3-5 minutes until heated through. Cook pasta. Add HOT pasta to bowl of egg & cheese while tossing. Add bacon/peas and continue mixing. Serve.

ETA: I saw you have teens. Triple all amounts.

Frozen chicken (grilled strips are ideal), shrimp (peeled are ideal) and veggies go a long way to speeding up the process. Cans of cream soup combined with cream cheese are a good sauce base.

Mac and cheese with rotel and chicken (canned chicken would do). One box mac and cheese + one can of rotel + chicken to taste – upsize as needed.

Alfredo – imitation crab/chicken/ham chunks/pepperoni, alfredo sauce, fettuccine noodles. Add bread and/or salad if wanted.

Mushroom chicken with noodles – chicken, can of cream soup (mushroom ideal), white wine, cream cheese (onion and chive adds flavor), mushrooms (canned is fine but I prefer sautéing fresh), noodles. Heat and blend one can of cream of soup with half a tub of cream cheese (whipped is easier to blend). Add white wine, thinning until you have the consistency you like. Add chicken and mushrooms; heat through. Serve over noodles (extra wide egg noodles are good).

Versions of tostados - nachos, taco bowls, crunchy tacos, burritos, soft tacos (corn, flour). To stretch the main we rely on sides of canned beans (personal favorites jalapeno black beans, jalapeno black eyed peas and boracho beans) and a side of Spanish rice. I make the rice from scratch (dry rice, one can of rotel, chicken bouillon to taste, water as needed) but there are plenty of boxed/bagged rice options.

Quesadillas - shredded cheese, refried beans, chicken (again canned will do; try canned shrimp if you like). Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc. Again adding bean sides and rice is my staple for this meal.

Quick pot pie –chicken/beef/turkey chunks, veggies of choice (fresh or frozen), can of cream soup of choice. I will debone a grocery store chicken or turkey and then add frozen veggies, heating all of it to thaw veggies and heat through. Then add the cream of soup (one can or two to get all of it saucy to my liking), thinning with wine or chicken broth. Heat through. Transfer to an over safe dish and add a topping (canned biscuits/phyllo dough/pizza dough OR bread crumbs mixed with shredded cheese (parmesan typically)). Bake to cook topping OR crunch up the bread crumbs.

Salads – the sky is the limit here. I use whatever greens make me happy and then add everything and the kitchen sink. Hard boiled eggs, chicken/tuna fish/shrimp/anchovies (canned options galore), artichoke hearts, pickles, pickled veggies, fresh veggies, croutons/tortilla chip strips/tortilla strips, cheeses, canned/drained beans... Varying the dressing makes it different as does varying what you put on the greens. I will make a wet salad (crab salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad) to top the greens too.

I shop the frozen food isle a lot because I work afternoon/evenings and when I get home it can be close to 9pm. We have to eat so it's most often microwave or heat up stuff.

The kids love the Great Value Bite Size Ravioli and other stuff in that section. They love to eat TV dinners although that's a rare treat.

If I do a lasagna I take it out a day before and let it thaw so it doesn't have to cook so long. But it's a great dish. I open a can of green beans with it and grab a bag of salad mix. You can also get frozen buttered and garlic already on it to cook too. There are bread sticks and more in the freezer section.

I get Banquet meats in the bigger tub. They are just a couple of bucks and I like the Salisbury steaks in gravy and the hubby and grand kids like the turkey in gravy. I make potatoes in a big pot then divide them up and freeze them for the late evening meals and weekends. Microwave a meat and gravy then heat up the potatoes, plop some potatoes on the plate and add a slice of meat then cover it with gravy. Add a salad mix salad and that's a meal.

I have boiled eggs in the fridge and if someone wants a heavy snack that's protein they go grab one. That's an easy one to have on hand. If you drop a red onion slice or something that will turn the boiling water a color you can easily tell the boiled eggs from the raw eggs.

I think you can plan ahead a bit more during the week and make planned overs. For instance if you make tacos cook a bunch of meat and put some of it in zip lock bags and freeze it. You don't even have to season it in case you want to make something else with it like Hamburger Helper.

You can have your tacos and at the same time make at least one more main ingredient for a future meal.

Here are a few I stole from my dad:

Chicken, Rice and Onion Soup
Basic formula:
1 cup of instant rice
2 cups of water
1 package of instant onion soup mix
1 stick of butter

I typically double the above and add three boneless skinless chicken breasts. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with paprika for coloring. Bake at 3500 F for 30 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the water sufficiently that it does not slop around when you move the pan.

Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken & Rice

1 - pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 - cup chopped onion
1 - 8 oz package Zatarain's New Orleans Yellow Rice, cooked according to directions
1 - cup Mexican cheese blend or cheddar Cheese
1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 -15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
3 - tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Place the chicken breasts in the crock pot. Add the chopped onion and spoon the soup on top of the chicken.
Cook on low 7 to 8 hours or high 3 to 4 hours. At the end of the cooking time, open the crock pot and break the chicken up in to small pieces.
Add the cooked rice, cheese, corn and melted butter to the crock pot. Stir until all is combined.
Put the lid back on and allow the crock pot to cook for about 10 to 15 more minutes until mixture is heated through and the cheese has melted.

(I add green chilis to this, use Mexican rice, and only use pepper jack cheese.)

WW Crock Pot Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cans of Healthy Request/ lower fat & sodium Campbells cream of chicken (or mushroom or celery or you can make your own cream of something - it all works)

2 8 oz. packages of light cream cheese or neufchatel cheese (word of warning - fat free cream cheese will not work - the consistency does not turn out correctly)

1 package of Good Seasons italian seasoning mix (in the salad dressing aisle)
Throw it all in a crockpot on low/med and cook 6-8 hours or until the chicken falls apart. Serve over rice or noodles. .

Also:

Spaghetti is super easy. Make it with meatballs and then do meatball subs a night or two later.

Tator Tot Casserole - haven't made it in years but I remember it being cheap and easy.

Grill (or bake) different kinds of meat all one night and use it for the next few nights.

Whenever I made homemade mashed potatoes I make enough for dinner that night and then shepherd's pie a night or two later.

Salad bar at home? You didn't ask for healthy, but it's no-cook and easy.
Just put out lettuce, shredded cheese, dressing, veggies, cut up meat, maybe croutons or bread. If it doesn't feel like enough, warm up some boxed/canned soup on the side.

stove top ziti- uncooked pasta, canned olives, pasta sauce, frozen bell pepper strips, jarred artichoke hearts, frozen spinach, jarred minced garlic. sausage olive oil. brown links of sausage in oil (high heat).
add the rest of the ingredients and turn down to a simmer. cook covered so the pasta cooks through, top with cheese before serving.

F. B.