75+ Weeknight Dinner Ideas

Guys, I have a confession to make.

I'm the totally annoying lady that knows what she's making for dinner every night for the next month.

I have a whole SYSTEM, you see, with menu cards, and grocery lists, and all that good stuff. What I've noticed over the years, though, is that my system doesn't work for everyone, and that’s okay! Your family is not my family, and what we like to eat might not be your thing. For example, before kids, I was all about the seafood. But now, I have a child with shellfish allergies. BOOM! New plan. Menu planning is an ever evolving art as your family grows and changes.

What IS helpful, is finding out what other families eat.

You just need ideas! Some simple inspiration! Sometimes, you just need a reminder of what types of meals you COULD be eating. I personally have pulled out my menu, and thought to myself, “Oh yeah, I forgot we like to eat that!”. So that’s all we’re doing today. I’m going to share some of the dinners that I like to make for my family. I’ll even include what I do for the side dish! (But sometimes there is no side dish. That’s just how it goes folks.)

Mexican:

• 7 layer Burritos
• Shredded Beef Tacos
• Chicken Mole Tacos
• Pollo Fundido
• Chicken Tortilla soup
• Enchiladas (TONS of variations here!)
• Bean and cheese quesadilla
• Fajita’s
• Fajita quesadilla
• Nachos Supreme

*standard sides are beans, rice, salad, and fresh salsa, mmmm.

Asian

• Stir fry (my all time favorite stand by. most of the time, it’s strictly veggies too!)
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Orange Chicken
• Sweet & Sour Chicken
• Moo Shu Pork
• Teriyaki Salmon with asparagus

* standard sides are rice, noodles, and egg rolls

Italian:

• Spaghetti and Meatballs (meatballs are not mandatory) with green salad
• Lasagna
• Chicken Cacciatore
• Pizza (lots of variations here too. My favorite is spinach and feta or fresh tomatoes, husband likes ham and pineapple, kids like pepperoni and veggies. Served with celery and carrot sticks.)
• Fettuccini Alfredo
• Fettuccini with Pesto
• Roasted red pepper and clam pasta bake
• Green bean and bacon pasta toss
• Ravioli and green beans
• Calzones
• Herbed chicken with tomato balsamic vinagrette

* I think green beans taste great with anything Italian.

Grill:

• Hamburgers
• Hot dogs (go crazy with the toppings)
• BBQ Ribs
• Kabobs
• Lemon Pepper Salmon with baked potato and wilted spinach

Casseroles:

• Enchilada casserole
• Mexican lasagna (this one is fun!)
• Thanksgiving Casserole (stuffing, chicken or turkey, peas, and gravy. Serve with cranberry sauce)

Breakfast for Dinner:

• Pancakes
• Crepes
• Frittata
• Quiche
• Waffles
• Potato Surprise (It’s like a hash. potatoes, onions, peppers, veggies, then add an egg at the end and scramble it up. It’s a surprise because the ingredients are ever changing.)
• Cherry cheese blintz
• French Toast
• Omelets

* breakfasts usually include whatever fruit I happen to have, and sometimes bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs and hash browns.

Classics and Comforts:

• Roasted chicken with root vegetables
• Meatloaf and mashed potatoes plus a green vegetable
• Macaroni and cheese (Try new variations! Right now, we’re big into jalapeno and bacon mac&cheese)
• Beef Stroganoff and peas
• Chili and cornbread (I make chili a hundred different ways. no recipe. just throw it in the crock pot and let it go)
• Ghoulash with green beans
• Grilled cheese and Tomato Soup
• Pork Chops with applesauce, peas, and stuffing
• Chicken and dumplings
• Shepherds Pie
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Stuffed Peppers
• Pot roast with carrots and potatoes
• Honey glazed ham

Family Favorites:

• Chinese Sundaes aka Hawaiian Haystacks (Bonus: use the leftovers to do a veggie stir fry the next day. Also, we add maraschino cherries to top our sundaes off. It sounds weird, but it’s delicious)
• Baked Potato Bar
• Sloppy Joes
• Submarine Sandwich (I get a french roll, and make one giant sandwich, then cut it into smaller pieces)
• Chicken Wings
• Indian Fry Bread
• BLT’s with four bean salad
• Reuben sandwich with fries and a pickle
• Fish and Chips
• Black bean and corn salad
• Pulled BBQ Pork sandwiches

Soups:

• Posse Stew
• Taco Soup
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Clam Chowder
• Baked potato soup
• Cabbage stew
• Hamburger soup
• Chicken noodle soup
• French onion soup
• Broccoli Cheese Soup

Salads

• Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
• Spinach Strawberry Salad
• Cobb Salad
• Ham and Cheese Salad
• Cranberry Spinach Salad
• Taco Salad
• Fajita Salad

Emergency Dinners - because sometimes, it's that kind of day

• Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
• Cheese Crisp
• Oatmeal
• Cereal.... from a box. with milk. no judging. 
• Corn Dogs
• Cold Sandwich (tuna, ham, turkey, veggies, whatever.) 
• Ramen 
• Leftovers
• The Drive Thru 

Now tell me: what do YOU eat for dinner?

Family Feature Friday: Taylor

Taylor’s favorite show is Paula…. as in Paula Deen.

She also likes Bobby, and that Rachael lady, and dat ‘nother one that makes dinner in silly spaces. (Chef Robert Irvine: Dinner Impossible)

Basically, Taylor is a chef in training.

So what is she cooking up there? Spaghetti Sauce. Because you couldn’t screw it up if you tried.  (onions, celery, carrot, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, and a couple of cans of diced tomatoes… salt and pepper to taste. a teaspoon or so of dried oregano and basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and our secret ingredient.)

Spaghetti sauce is really great for teaching short people to cook because there is a lot of chopping involved, and it cooks over low heat. People always eat more dinner when they made it themselves. ALSO: We are practicing not burning ourselves. It’s going well for THEM and not as much for ME. (I have been “taking one for the team”… you are welcome children-without-burned-forearms)

And THAT is what our cutie caboose Taylor is up to these days.

Dinner in a Jam

I made strawberry jam yesterday and it turned out delicious. I know it did because we just had jam sandwiches for dinner. I know what you’re thinking. Do people really have just jam on a sandwich? And I was thinking that too. I was thinking that right up until I took a bite, and then I decided that jam sandwiches are going to be my new favorite non-dinner dinner.

Everyone has a non-dinner dinner up their sleeve. It just comes with the territory of life…. besides, people that say they ALWAYS eat a “good healthy dinner” are liars.

So, here are some of my favorite non-dinner dinners that we eat, you know, when the need arises.

• Cold Cereal. Like fruit loops and cheerios and stuff. Pour it in a bowl with milk, and you’re set. If people tell me they’re still hungry, I give them another bowl.
• Jam Sandwiches. We had them tonight, because I read a book where the little girl always eats jam sandwiches (Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos) and we didn’t get HOME until we were actually supposed to be in bed, and I had jam and leftover biscuits. So we had jam sandwiches. AND THEY WERE DELICIOUS. And no, I have never included Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches to my non-dinner list, because I’m sorry, but those sandwiches are a mess, and if I’m not up to making a real dinner, I’m not up for doing dishes and wiping counters and floors and sticky tables either. I HAVE MY LIMITS PEOPLE.
• Cheese Crisps. Except that they’re not actually crispy, because I make them in the microwave.  You know, tortilla, cheese, heat for 30 seconds. If you serve them with salsa, they’re practically a salad.
• Ramen Noodle. My kids love ramen noodle to death. And half of my kids want just broth, and half of them want just noodles, so it works out perfectly. Plus, sometimes I even get “fancy” and put in a half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables which basically makes it vegetable noodle soup. I know, it’s super clever.
• Crackers and Cheese. I figure, if there can be a whole deli section dedicated to this, it totally counts. Besides, anyone that knows me knows I only buy Triscuits, and have you see the nutrition information on the side of that thing? No? Me neither. I only buy them because I think they taste good. Sometimes, I even remember to buy lunch meat, and we’ll include that in our non-dinner as well.
• Fruit/Vegetable. It was really hot the other day, so for dinner, we  had watermelon. And that’s it. I was home and had groceries, and could have made dinner, but I decided not to. BECAUSE IT WAS HOT. And you know what? Nobody even cared. If we went completely vegetarian over here, nobody would care and it would probably take two weeks for my husband to notice. What can I say, we’re low maintenance. (Once, we had tomato night, and I have to tell you, it was magnificent.)

And I think I should probably clarify that for ME, a non-dinner dinner involves little to no cooking AND takes less than 5 minutes total, including the prep time and clean up.  Which is why things like macaroni and cheese (who has time to wait for water to boil?) and the drive thru (seriously? the fastest fast food takes too long. plus it’s kinda gross) don’t make the list.

SO. What do you have on non-dinner nights?

Delicious Mexican Rice Recipe

Meredith the newlywed has requested my Mexican rice recipe, mostly on account of it’s deliciousness. So today, I’m going to give you my TO DIE FOR Mexican Rice recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups white rice
• vegetable oil
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 heaping tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 4 c. water

DIRECTIONS:

Pour rice in a large pot. Add enough oil to cover every grain. Toast rice over medium heat, stirring constantly, being careful not to burn the rice. (Takes about 15 minutes) Once rice is browned, add in peppers, onion, garlic, and bouillon. Cook until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add spices, tomato paste, and water. Stir until just blended. Cover pan and heat to boiling. Once boiling, turn heat to low and let rice simmer until all liquid has evaporated (about 30 minutes). DO NOT REMOVE LID. Once all liquid has been absorbed, remove from heat, and fluff with fork. Serve alone or as a side dish!

And now we’re going to pretend there’s a mouth-watering picture of my rice.

That’ll do.