Cooking the Quick and Easy Way

[unspeakablehorror]

I do sometimes go all out with cooking, because I like a special treat from time to time, but oftentimes I just want something that can be made the quick and easy way and still taste good to me and be filling.  I like breads I can make on the stove and without measuring the ingredients, I like mug cakes because they're quick and require fewer dishes to make (and because I don't have to measure the ingredients), I like freeze-dried vegetables because they last a long time and cook up quickly, I like lentils because they cook up quickly, and I like stir fries because they can be made easily with whatever I happen to have on hand and without measuring anything.

I also tend to prefer doing things I'm more familiar with, even when it isn't faster.  Cooking just seems to take less mental energy that way.  That's why I'll chop vegetables for hours rather than try to bake something that's probably less effort, or cook something that I make often even when it's more complicated instead of cooking something easy I've never prepared before.  I wish it was easier to convince myself to make things I'm less familiar with, though, because I know it would be easier in the long run.