The fastest way to stop cooking in a dorm or first apartment is a recipe that needs a specialty sauce, a microplane, and an herb you will use once.

Use the 5-ingredient rule instead:

1. One protein (eggs, chicken, chickpeas, tofu)

2. One carb (rice, pasta, tortillas, oats)

3. One vegetable you already like

4. One fat (oil, butter, peanut butter)

5. One flavor (salt, garlic, lemon, soy sauce, chili flakes)

That's dinner. Same grocery list all week. Swap the veg, keep the method.

If it takes more than 20 minutes or a trip to a second store, it's not a weeknight recipe. It's a project. Save projects for Sunday.