Get a bag of bagged chili, soak ramen in hot water until it gets hot without the seasoning pack, heat up the chili in a sink full of hot water, crunch up some Cheetos into powder, wrap it all up in a cold tortilla, add bagged jalapeños.
Take the Oreos and crush them, mix with just enough water to make a really thick dough, roll in hot cocoa mix
I’m always happy to put a throroughly frozen meal for 9 minutes in the wave instead of making any sort of effort. But freezing food kinda ruins most flavours and texture.
Really depends on what you make! Absolutely wouldn’t freeze say, a steak. And texture, generally agree with you. But some jerk, adobo, honey garlic, curry chicken work just as well reheated. (Make the rice fresh though.) Same with a lot of pasta based dishes (or sauces, a bolognese freezes perfectly.) Even marinated chicken thighs and veggies are great!
I’d say generally any pasta or rice or veg will turn to paste if frozen. You kinda also lose any flavor apart from salty and sweet. But don’t misunderstand me, it’s fine and a very good way to conserve meals but you will lose most of the magic, the ice feels like it’s breaking everything down.
But try just freezing say the bulk tortellini at costco and then popping it out as needed to boil it and heating up bolognese in the microwave. I would be slackjaw stunned if you could tell the difference between the fresh tortellini and previously frozen tortellini.
I did try those exact tortellinis and I can tell when they’ve been frozen vs straight from the pack. It’s all in the texture not the taste. They get mushy as soon as they get hot enough even though I tend to undercook pasta because I like them very al dente. Totally edible but far, far worse than cooking fresh ones especially considering it’s almost the same time and effort. But don’t get me wrong I’m not arguing it’s stupid and that nobody should do it. I know not everyone has the opportunity to just go across the street to get fresh ingredients on a daily basis and freezing is a fantastic mean of conservation. It’s just a personal preference.
Though that sounds more like a handling issue than freezing itself. It’s important to remove all the air and use high quality bags etc. (I remember when I was first freezing things I did so in crappy zip locks until an ex made of fun of me and showed me the way!)
I tend to defer to the Italian grandmas who will make tortellini and freeze it immediately to save the flavours. If it destroyed texture, some of the nonnas in our friend group would be mortified!
Totally replied to the wrong thought chain, I pour boiling water in my cup and drop the egg. Usually once it’s cool enough for me to handle, about 10mins-ish egg has cooked through
Ah are you talking the cup of noodles in the styrofoam? I was thinking the square package that you put in a boiling pot for 3 mins. I’ve heard an egg is great in it, but never tried it.
I have done the cup and my own bowl with it. I make sure to have my noodles broke in half in my bowl before I pour my water in, then egg. With the cup it gets a little messier because of space but still doable.
I break an egg directly into the pot of boiling water when there’s about 2.5 to 3 minutes left on the noodles’ recommended cooking time. This usually gets the whites solid and leaves the yolk runny in the middle.
I’m not a food expert though. This might be unsafe. I’ve done it a lot though and haven’t gotten sick.
4 minutes would probably cook the yolk all the way through if you want a solid yolk.
Egg in, do not stir, make sure water isn’t heavily boiling
After :50, it’s perfect
Season with bullion/better-than, chili sauce, hoisin, etc. so easy, cheap, delicious, caloric for sweet “I have no energy to make food” depression meal.
Get a great big giant soup bowl (buy one before making, it feels better to eat from)
Drain lots of water out before adding seasonings, you want concentrated flavour
Update: I cracked my yolk when I made lunch. I didn’t crack my partner’s. Their soup wasn’t as creamy as mine, so maybe a little hole in the yolk isn’t so bad.
Instead of egg, I usually have surimi (or imitation crab sticks). They’re not expensive at Asian markets (about $4-6 here in California for a couple dozen sticks) and can be stored in the freezer for a long time.
I usually have some kind of instant noodles and chili oil about. That typically will get me through. I also have some canned/frozen stuff that goes fine with rice (which we always have cooked (and I don't know that hitting a button on a rice cooker and walking away counts as 'cooking')).
Jamaican patties. You can pick up a big box of them frozen from almost anywhere (at least where I live) and heat them up in one minute. I mentioned to a Gen Z in the fall that this got me through many a college all-nighter and noticed when I was at their place last weekend, they were all stocked up! Feels good to pass on the torch…
I had to go look those up, I had not heard of them They look tasty but, damn they are a little pricey, at least in my area. Are they pretty good sized/filling?
The classic ones are beef inside, and while not huge, tend to satisfy my food cravings, and I’m not a little guy. They often have jerk chicken and veg options too if you look around, and if you’re in an actual Jamaican neighbourhood, you can find a big variety at restaurants or even corner stores. (I grew up in Toronto and they were just everywhere for whatever reason.)
There’s also some strategy in terms of whether to get the spicy or mild ones? Spicy makes you eat slower, which can be good to regulate one’s tendency to gorge while cramming.
Just to elaborate a bit on why I consider these the quintessential lazy food, I went through a process of whittling down the options. In the all-nighter context, you will need to use the bathroom several times in the wee hours (no pun intended), and a patty will be ready for you by the time you come out. They come individually wrapped, and while it’s a good idea to have a plate or bowl under them to catch any crumbs, you can typically eat them straight out of the packaging with little mess and dust off the plate each time. So your sink will not start piling up even as you work through as many as it takes.
A friend suggested pizza pockets as an alternative? I tried that. I found them a bit messier and the mozzarella can sometimes stick to the roof of your mouth and burn if you’re not paying attention (which is quite likely while you’re cramming). Anyway, a well-stocked store will have at least a few choices in terms of protein and spice level for variety’s sake.
Now that I’m not as frequently under a desperate time-crunch but am still lazy, my go-to at work is Indian curries in little shelf-stable pouches. You need to pour the curry into a bowl and heat it up, so there are dishes involved, but they taste so good for so little effort otherwise!
Yoooo, Jamaican patties and a red stripe are a combo I picked up in Orlando late one night at this little hole in the wall. They had some kind of yellowish Scotch bonnet (I think) hot sauce and these jerk wings that were so amazing. It was around the corner from this horror themed cocktail drag bar. I don't remember the name but if you're from Orlando you might know the spot. One of the best nights out I've had. Some guy offered me heroin as my friend threw up on the sidewalk.
It definitely made an impression, Orlando is fucking dope and I look forward to my next visit.
Disney, drag bars, and heroin. That sums up Orlando for me.
Yogurt and granola, with a side of nuts and cheese for an portable, decent protein, heavy snack/light meal. Or, salad with chopped lunch meat and some cheese on top, so I can again get some easy protiens. I also keep some decent frozen meals in case I’m short on cook time and need a hot heavy meal. There are work gaps where I can barely spend time at home and the bagged “family meals” of pasta or mixed veggies are awesome portioned out for multiple meals.
This is going to be super Asian… But I usually have rice on hand, and in the fridge an assortment of Chinese pickled/preserved veggies, fermented tofu, Vietnamese fermented prawns, salted and/or century eggs, kimchi, jars of seasoning like sate for example. Keeps forever (use clean utensils to avoid contaminating the jars) and good in a pinch.
Even better to add a side of greens if I have them. Boil or saute for a few minutes, then toss them in whatever seasoning (oyster sauce for example, keeps it simple and magically makes everything taste like stir fry).
The flavor is actually more sweet and sour though. It’s very strong, so I’d recommend it more if you’re already familiar with fish sauce. You eat it whole, complete with the shell (it’s softened similar to sardines are).
Thanks! We have a great Asian grocery store here because we’re next to a huge university with lots of international students. I’ll look for some next time I’m there
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