Very similar to Queen of Spoons, my go-to meal is roasted chicken apple sausages over cheesy polenta (or grits) and your favorite green side. So simple, I'm embarrased to tell you how much we eat it. Or replace the sausages with fish as Queen of Spoons suggests. I like to heat a pan, throw in some evoo and cherry tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are blackened a bit shaking pan. Throw in some wine. Nestle in fish and pop in the oven at about 425. Remove from oven and remove fish from pan, reduce sauce and add a bit of lemon juice and butter to finish. Of course, could also add garlic, parsley, capers, olives....

Pasta carbonara is a last-minute meal that usually doesn't involve picking up anything at the store.
Another frequent last-minute meal at our house is puffy omelets with cheddar or pesto.
I guess I avoid meat when I am in a hurry.

I like to make a simple chicken curry by Jane Brody

Grilled steaks with roasted sweet potatoes and Profoun Salsa

Chicken breasts roasted in the oven the Ina way and then used for chicken caesar salads

Roast Chicken with sliced onions put under the skin; bird roasted on a variety of vegetables including fennel, sweet potatoes, fingerlings, carrots, parsnips

I do the Kelly's Asian Chicken (an early Gilroy Garlic Competition recipe), It's a 30 minute meal. A staple from my daughter's childhood and the first dish she wanted to make. My more detailed directions here:

Get, or Have on hand:

2.5 -3 lbs chicken parts, bone on, skin on (thigh must be separated from drumstick)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
one entire head of garlic or a bag of peeled cloves for faster prep--use 15-20
3/4 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 Tbsp honey
2 dried hot chiles (optional)
8 to 12 oz fresh or dried chinese noodles or thin spaghetti
snap or snow peas for the side or green beans-up to you to add veg side.

Put water for the noodles on to boil when you walk in the door. Get a large saute pan or wok and start heating it. Add oil. When hot, place the chicken skin side down and let cook for 8 min without moving it.

While that is happening, break up the garlic head. Give each clove a smack with the flat side of your knife and peel them. Check if the chicken is browned and needs to be turned. Turn and cook it for 8 min on the other side. Meanwhile, rough chop the garlic. Do not make it fine or it will burn. Just coarsley chop. Add the garlic to the skillet at the last minute before the chicken finishes browning, just to soften it. Optional dried arbol or japon chile goes in now too. Add the vinegar, soy and honey to the skillet and let come to a boil.

Meanwhile start the pasta. (I like the fresh Chinese Noodles, so if you have that, do it in the last 2 min, like the pea pods.)

Reduce heat to medium and let the chicken simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes, until the sauce reduces and glazes the chicken with the lovely sticky, tangy coating. Watch that it doesn't burn. You don't want it to blacken-- only simmer and reduce to a few Tbsp. The chicken only needs to be coated and a few Tbsp for extra. In the meanwhile the garlic becomes soft and sweet. Even children like this, perhaps without the chiles..

Now prepare the pea pods that only take 2 minutes in a pan or microwave.

Pour the noodles (or rice) on a platter and place the chicken parts on top. Drizzle the extra bit of sauce over the noodle parts, just to moisten the noodles, it doesn't take much. Anything green on the side.

Notes: bone-on chicken keeps it moist, you can take the skin off, but if you take the bone off it will be all dried out. Mofidy by removing it, and returning it to the glaze after it boils off to a syrup.

We have used 2 heads of garlic.

I just made this tonight, for the two of us.
One chicken breast with lemon juice and cavander's greek seasoning. Cooked and chopped.

A chopped salad base, with leftover peas, fresh carrots, green beans, quinoa, And parsley...lemon juice and Feta cheese.

A dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, red vinegar, tarragon, paprika.
It came together in about 30mins. But I did used leftover quinoa, peas, and green beans.

Typo, my apologies--you add the pasta after the parsley, then the two beaten eggs and so on...

We've always done spaghetti and eggs, but after seeing Susan Feniger on the Food Network at Hugos, eating Pasta Mama, I looked it up, and it's been a stand by ever since.
Prepare 5ozs pasta --while that's cooking/reheating, saute 2 cloves of garlic in a pan large enough to finish the dish in and add a pinch (1/4 tsp) of each:garlic powder, oregano, seasoning salt, and onion powder. Before the garlic browns, add parsley and 2 beaten eggs. Mix together, add a splash of pasta water and parmesan cheese, and cook just until the eggs are done--this is supposed to be loose-- We like this with rotisserie chicken, and bacon. You can obviously adjust the amount of pasta and eggs easily, tailor the seasonings to your preference, and be creative adding veggies and other cheeses....Fontinella, sausage, and broccoli is nice too.

This is my stand by, and I took the inspiration from Marcela Hazan:
Canned tomatoes
Canned oil-packed tuna
two anchovy fillets (rinsed, and also optional)
salt packed capers (rinsed)
pitted green olives
chopped garlic
chopped parsley, or basil chiffonade
olive oil
spaghetti, linguini or angel hair pasta
butter to finish

Easy, right?

Go Mexicali! Buy: whole wheat tortillas, low-sodium canned black beans, frozen corn, salsa, steam-in-bag veggies; your deli section might have prepared guacamole; rinse and drain the beans, meanwhile saute some garlic and onions in oil in a large wide skillet. add beans, salsa and corn to the pan, stir around every few minutes until the salsa thickens and the beans break down (use a wooden spoon to mash if you want--this is just for texture, the beans are already cooked). heat the tortillas one-by-one on a dry, hot skillet, a few seconds a side, then drop some of the beans onto the tortilla and roll into a burrito. serve with a generous helping of steamed veggies like broccoli and carrots, sprinkled with some salt and pepper. i'm not much of an assembly cook (i like making totally from scratch, since cooking is my unwind and i don't have any hungry mouths besides my own), but i wanted to think up something healthy to add here!

I like to make a version of this recipe: http://www.food52.com/recipes/2577_rhondas_spaghetti_with_fried_eggs_and_pangritata_for_one
or make pasta with garlic, wilted baby spinach, lemon, and parmesan.

A 'mock peking duck'.
A rotisserie chicken, some small flour tortillas, Green onions; Hosin sauce and sesame oil. (in the pantry).
Chop up the chicken--coat with skin hosin..broil skin side up to crisp. (watch it it burns quickly).
Put tortillas coated with sesame oil "face to face" on a plate, cover with a wet towel and warm in the microwave.
Serve the bits in bowls..and assemble at the table; with hosin sauce on the meat and chopped green onion garnish.

With a side dishes of rice, and steamed broccoli with wasabi mayo.

Roasted chicken. You can do a bajillion things with it; bone it, shred the meat and make enchiladas, quesadillas, tortilla soup, chicken salad, throw it on top of a salad, warm it up in a stir-fry, put it in a quiche or a frittata, put it on a pizza.....and on and on and on, and have dinner with 30 minutes of walking in the door.

Fish fillet (like trout), green veggies (depending on season, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, etc.) and rice. Put rice on to cook on stovetop (takes about 5-mins). Steam or saute vegetables. Cook fish in skillet with a little bit of vermouth. All ready for table in total of 30 minutes.