5 Easy Dinner Ideas
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Thinking about what to cook and feed my family is one of the hardest tasks I’ve run into as a stay-at-home mom. It’s one of those things that happens everyday without end. Most of the time when you ask anyone what they want to eat, the answer is almost always, “I don’t know,” or “It’s up to you.” I was guilty of this when I was younger and I had no idea how unhelpful I was to my own mom. Over the past few years, I have gathered a repertoire of dinner ideas that I tend to fall back on when I can’t think of anything else to cook and I don’t feel like heating up a frozen pizza. Here are 5 of my favorite easy dinner entrée ideas at the moment. There is some prep involved with some of them, but once you get in the swing of things, these dinner ideas are easy peasy!
Anything with Pulled Pork
Pulled pork is number one on my easy meal ideas list because not only is it a set it and forget it kind of recipe, it’s so versatile. Yes, the initial cook time is long, but once the meat is cooked, the prep time prior to dinner is short and sweet. Usually, I’ll prep any ingredients the night before, including measuring out the spices for the rub. Then the next morning, I can usually dry and rub the meat with spices, then dump the meat in a slow cooker over a bed of onions, garlic and broth all before my kids are done eating their breakfast. The slow cooker does all the work for me and the pork is ready to shred in time for dinner! Pulled pork can be used inside tacos or BBQ sandwiches. I’ve also used it as a hardy baked potato topping. The possibilities are endless! What makes pulled pork a great weekday meal idea is that it yields a lot of pork and freezes well. Cook it once and it will last for a few meals when frozen in portions.
You can use any pulled pork recipe and I’m sure it will taste great! Most of the cookbooks I own have some variation of one. This video by Chowhound on YouTube is one that I refer to over and over again because of how easy it is! Feel free to check it out here!
Also, if you haven’t already bought a slow cooker, I would highly recommend investing in a Crock Pot!
Panini Sandwiches
On days I don’t know what to eat, one of my go to things to make are panini sandwiches using my George Foreman Grill. My favorite panini combo is sourdough bread with buttered sides, turkey breast, jarred roasted red bell peppers, a slice of mozzarella and pesto spread on the inner side of the top bread slice. I build my sandwich in that exact order because the pesto and melted cheese just meld together so perfectly. I stick it in the George Foreman Grill for 5 minutes and it comes out warm and perfectly crisp every time.
If you got a picky eater on your hands, my son enjoys a fancy grilled cheese panini! I just use sourdough bread with buttered sides, with cheddar cheese. Then I grill it in the George Foreman for 5 minutes and it’s done!
Baked Salmon
I’ve always thought that fish was intimidating, but over the years, I’ve found that it’s actually not at all! One of the quickest and easiest fish dishes I’ve made was baked salmon! There’s a reason it made this list! I like to buy frozen Wild Caught Alaska Sockeye Salmon from Costco. It’s boneless with skin on. They are also cut into the perfect sized portions. I don’t have a measured recipe for baked salmon, but the beauty is that you almost don’t need one. What’s great about this dish is that it is forgiving. I almost never mess it up! I just make sure the salmon fillets are completely thawed out, then I pat dry them with a paper towel, place them skin side down on a baking sheet prepared with foil presprayed with cooking spray. Then I drizzle with a squeeze of lemon juice, and sprinkle garlic salt over the fish. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let the flavors soak in. Then I top them with a thin spread of Kewpie Mayo and chopped red bell pepper. If I don’t already have red bell pepper handy, then I just sprinkle a bit of dill weed over the top and it comes out tasting pretty good. Next, bake your salmon in a 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes or until the salmon is cooked all the way through. Who knew making fancy fish dinner would be so quick?!
Baked Pork Chops
Baked pork chops have been my weakness lately. It is just too easy and so yummy! I found that the key to making quick pork chops is getting a thin sliced boneless pork chop. In my experience, any other kind might take longer than 20 minutes to bake. I love the Stay at Home Chef! A lot of her recipes are staples in my house now! I’m sure you can drizzle oil and rub any of your favorite seasonings on your pork chops and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked all the way through, but I like the spice combination in this Stay at Home Chef YouTube video. I think the smoked paprika is *chef’s kiss*
Sinigang (From the Packet)
For those who don’t know, I’m Filipino. And, sometimes I just want to eat Filipino food. The problem is, most Filipino food needs a lot of time to cook. I usually save all my Filipino food cravings for the weekend when I have more time. Then I freeze my left overs to fulfill my random cravings during the week. One Filipino food that can be cooked on a weekday in about 1 hour is Sinigang, from the packet. It’s a tamarind based soup that is a crowd favorite. If you are looking to cook it the long way, you can check out mine and my husband’s YouTube Channel, Nic and Rei, where you’ll find all kinds of home cooked FIlipino recipes. However, if you want Sinigang in a hurry, you can pick up a pack of Sinigang soup base mix, which is actually available at a lot of grocery stores.
Once you have your packet of tamarind base soup mix, you can pretty much cut up a rack of pork spare ribs, add a diced onion and tomato, sprinkle the packet over the meat, add water to cover the meat and boil until the meat is tender, which usually happens around 1 hour. Once the meat is cooked and tender, add your choice of vegetables. In my case, I like to add baby bok choy, chinese long beans, peeled taro and/or okra. Also, do yourself a favor and toss in a jalapeño. It makes a difference! After the vegetables are tender, you can add more Sinigang mix to taste. I like to add extra at the end to make it really sour! Serve with white rice and fish sauce for dipping, and it will definitely satisfy Filipino food cravings. With all that said, you can also just follow directions on the back of the packet. But, I like how I do it!
Hopefully, this short list gives you some inspiration when you are thinking of meal ideas for your family this upcoming week and beyond! And remember, you can choose to prepare the food the way that I described, or take the ideas and run with it! :)
