Tuesday at six thirty. Neither of us has decided. The takeout app is open on someone's phone. Here is what stops the spiral.
One. Sheet pan chicken with whatever vegetables are in the fridge. 425F oven, 22 minutes, one dish. Done.
Two. Pan-seared salmon with rice and a herb sauce. 12 minutes for the rice in the rice cooker, 7 minutes for the salmon, 3 minutes for the sauce in a blender. Plate.
Three. Garlic shrimp pasta. Boil pasta. While it cooks, sear shrimp in butter and garlic. Toss with reserved pasta water and a squeeze of lemon. Done.
Four. Black bean tacos with whatever you have. Crisp the tortillas. Warm the beans. Top with cheese, hot sauce, the half-bag of cilantro from the door of the fridge. Eight minutes if you do not count the cheese-grating arguments.
Five. The fridge tool answer. Drop in what you have, pick the recipe with the highest match. The fridge tool is the unblock when even the cookbook of saved recipes feels like too many choices.
The whole point is to short-circuit the decision. Pick one of these. Cook it. Eat outside if it is warm. Tomorrow is another night.