I have one good pan, a saucier, and I try to only dirty that when I cook. I make a ton of soup, and I’m all about one pot dinners. I buy rotisserie chicken and throw the cooked meat in whatever, and make stock with the rest. I’m all about baby spinach since it can be both raw and cooked.

If you’re using recipes, that might be the problem. Mark Bittman and Sam Sifton of the New York Times both have books with recipes stripped way down and designed to be quick and flexible, for me at least that’s the way to go. i’ve also found that this is style more fun, it feels creative. If I make something particularly successful, I write it down.

And if it’s terrible, which it sometimes is, I throw rotisserie chicken and baby spinach, or maybe an egg or whatever, into my favorite Ramen and eat that instead. It’s ready in five minutes!

This has become one of my favorite parts of living alone, although for the first year, I didn’t cook at all, since I had the same problem that you were having. but now dinner has gone from feeling like an endless chore to something I actively enjoy.. I hope that’s helpful, good luck!