Start with basic meal building blocks: Does this have a protein, vegetable and a carb?
Start with meals you like and add to them. For example, if you want mashed potatoes and gravy with fried chicken, add a new vegetable to the mix. Protein=chicken, carb=potato, vegetable=steamed broccoli.
Those steam-in-a-bag frozen vegetables are super easy to use and have on hand. Add a little salt and pepper for seasoning, maybe some garlic powder or other herbs and spices you like.
Over the weekend my bf and I had a frozen pizza with steamy broccoli on the side and topped it with a little parmesan cheese. Super simple, but it checked the boxes. (Protein=chicken/cheese, carbs=crust, veggie=broccoli)
Check out Girl Meets Farm and Molly Yeh's cookbook, "Molly on the Range." She's Midwestern and lives on a farm, but grew up in suburban Chicago and spent time in New York, so her food has inspiration from all over the place. It's comfort food with a little more modern twist.
I love making her chicken pot pie tater tot hotdish!