If you are anything like me, then the last thing you want to do after a long day at work is cook a meal.

I myself want nothing more than to come in, plop into my recliner and watch TV until bedtime.

However, money doesn’t grow on trees, and I can’t afford to eat at restaurants every night, so I am forced to take matters into my own hands. That’s for just me though. I know from growing up with a family that everyone was hungry when they came in and the burden fell to mom to cook for us all.

She had a few tricks up her sleeves though. She had simple, easy recipes that didn’t require many ingredients or much prep time.

However, these meals looked and tasted like they were a labor of love that took hours in the kitchen.

We were none the wiser.

Now, I find myself in a similar position, albeit only feeding myself as I mentioned.

I want to spend as little time in the kitchen as I can, so I turn to simple recipes to get by.

The recipes contained in this column require three main ingredients or less. As I have found with cooking, typically the fewer the ingredients, the better. As a note, I don’t really include seasonings such as salt and pepper as main ingredients.

The prep time is significantly cut with less ingredients. The cooking time varies, but you can set about doing whatever else you need to do while it cooks, but make sure to set a timer.

The first recipe is homemade beefaroni.

We made this over the weekend one afternoon when everyone was exhausted from doing some yard work. It was also the inspiration for this column.

Many of us are probably familiar with beefaroni from our childhood. Macaroni and hamburger meat in a rich tomato sauce.

The flavor still holds up, at least to me.

The rich sauce complements the salty noodles and the savory beef. The consistency is also nice, with the subtle crunch of the beef complimenting the soft noodles.

You can add shredded cheese on top if you so desire. I am not much of a cheese person, but my dad is, so we add it to individual bowls instead of the entire pan.

The prep time is short for this, and it only takes about 10 minutes for the dish to cook.

If that isn’t your speed though, perhaps fish is.

Fast baked fish is another simple recipe with little prep and cooking time.

I myself love fish, although I typically prefer mine fried. I will occasionally delve into the baked fish realm. It is sometimes refreshing to change it up, and the baked alternative is different in just about every way. The flavor and texture are both changed when baked.

So, if you want something more savory and perhaps even health-conscious, I would suggest this alternative.

Just a word to the wise though, you might want to open a window before cooking.

HOMEMADE BEEFARONI

1 pound ground beef
26 ounce can tomato soup
12 ounce package of noodles (your choice)
Salt and pepper to taste

■ Brown the ground beef in a skillet and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Drain the excess grease from the pan.
■ Add the can of tomato soup to the beef.
■ In a pot, boil water and cook the noodles according to the package directions.
■ Drain the noodles when cooked and add to the beef and tomato mixture.
■ Stir to combine.
■ Add salt and pepper to taste.

FAST BAKED FISH
Recipe courtesy of tasteofhome.com

1-1/4 pounds fish filets (Flaky white fish such as tilapia, halibut, cod, bass, grouper, haddock, catfish or snapper)
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Pepper to taste
Paprika (optional)

■ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place fish in a greased 11-by-7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, pepper and, if desired, paprika. Drizzle with butter.
■ Cover and bake until the fish just begins to flake easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes.

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