Ah, a subject need and dear to my heart...FOOD.
Being single a lot of my meals are 1 pan.
I find the heat source and pan to be very important to what can be cooked.
For the most simple adventure and the least amount of cleaning and least control over the heat source, I suggest a boil water backpacker meal. 2 servings = 1 meal. I then eat out of the bag and have no dishes to do.
For something a little more complicated, you can do rice, beans and canned meat. I am not a big bean fan so.... Soak the beans for a day (zip lock baggy/container), add the rice, beans, water, canned meat and spices (I like Cajun). Bring the mixture to boil then let cook for 30 minutes on low heat.
These require fresh or frozen supplies:
I can pan fry chicken or beef with potatoes if I have a good frying pan with a lid. I usually only spice with black pepper.
I can pan fry chicken or beef or shrimp with stir fried vegetables if I have a good pan with lid. I usually try to spice with soy sauce.
I have eaten just fried fish for several days while fishing. This requires a heavier frying pan, Crisco to cover bottom of frying pan, corn meal/flour/spices coating, wood fire and of course fresh fish.