I'd vote for chili in the crockpot. On busy days I like to make it around lunch time and put it on low to cook for the afernoon. While you make the chili you can also get the dry ingredients ready for cornbread to bake later so it's warm when you sit down :-)

Becky

Rainy days are breakfast food days for us - omellets or waffles or both!

Is it a warm rainy day or a cool rainy day?

If the former, like soft summer rain with fireflies and distant thunder, then I'm thinking summer salad, plenty of fresh tomatoes, and a bit of pasta with pesto. With chilled white wine. Served on a cafe table in the greenhouse, amid the scent of damp earth, or on the porch with candles and fireflies.

If the latter, like chilly gusty gimme-shelter weather, then a simple beef stew with roast potatoes would take 20 min of actual work and fill the house with cozy scents. Use your very simplest recipe, accompany with a red wine, not a fine bottle but a sturdy table wine of ouvriers and paysans, poured into thick glass tumblers on a bare wooden table near the hearth.

Got sauce?

A nice sauce Bolognese, spooned over polenta, served with chunky mixed veggies quick sauteed with fresh herbs & garlic. A green salad to start if you're feeling a bit more ambitious.

I like dishes reminiscent of Winter on rainy days, even if it's warm, but not as "rib-sticking."

A nice pan seared steak, served with caramelized onions and sauteed peppers, whole new potatoes tossed with fresh herbs & corn on the cob? All easy, but tasty with a hearty feel.

Rainy here too , meatloaf with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans or Shepherd's Pie is sounding good to me.

Thank you for the suggestions. Headed to the grocery store, and haven't decided yet, but the above posts have nudged me out of my cooking funk.

We had grilled chicken twice over the weekend - totally different meals, but knew I didn't want chicken today yet couldn't think of much else that didn't feel too heavy.

It's not that cold - mid 60's - but it's more raw than that soft summer rain feeling. It's definitely an eat-in dinner day.