34 answers

Help! I Need Some Good Dinner Ideas for 8 Tonight

Today (Wednesday) is my husbands birthday and I have invited both sets of parents over for a home cooked dinner. Problem is I don't have a clue what to make. I am sick of the lasagna and spaghetti things. I don't really want to spend the day in the kitchen but I am drawing a blank here. I am a pretty good cook (if I may say so myself)so I don't want to appear rushed or boring. So please send me some good ideas. Right now I am leaning toward ham and cheesey potatoes. Boring.

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Thank you everyone for the wonderful recipes. Now I have to make a choice. I will be trying a lot of these on just my family. I was really starting to get the blahs about dinners but this helps a whole lot.

Featured Answers

I always use Rachel Ray's Spinach Lasagna Roll ups when I want to impress people and make them think I spent a long time in the kitchen. They are Spinach and finely chopped mushrooms with garlic, onion, etc., rolled into a cooked lasagna noodle and all topped with a cheese sauce. I've spread this recipe around quite a bit and I have not found one person who did not like it. My neighbor, who apparently despises mushrooms even liked it, although his wife told me not to tell him it was mushrooms! Go to foodnetwork.com and you can find it. As a side dish I slice tomatoes, top them with sliced mozzarella and broil just to melt the cheese a little and then a nice loaf of italian bread!

2 moms found this helpful

An easy and yummy dish is Rachel Ray's mexican lasagna. I think you can find it on her website, but if you don't, let me know and I'll help you out.

1 mom found this helpful

Make a roast...beef or pork. Or a great dinner, but very pricy, is a prime rib roast dinner. Very Yummy!!!!

More Answers

Parmesan Crumb Chicken - I haven't found anyone that doesn't like this recipe (even people who claim to not like mustard)
Parmesan Crumb Chicken
6 boneless chicken breasts
6 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs white wine (or water)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup grated parmesan
1 cup bread crumbs
Black pepper
4 Tbs melted butter
Mix together mustard, wine or water, salt, and pepper, set aside
Mix together parmesan, bread crumbs, and pepper, set aside
Dredge chicken in mustard mixture
Then coat in parmesan mixture
Set on baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter.
(I have done this without the recipe for so long, I just use four breasts and throw together a little mustard and water and the cheese and bread crumbs I just do half and half. It doesn't have to be really exact.)

You can just do a starch and veg with it. Rice, mashed potatoes, steamed potatoes... Asparagus, green beans, corn...
Have a fun night!

2 moms found this helpful

Simple and easy???
Do they like BBQ?
Take a Pork Loin and put it in a crock pot... set on low for 5-6 hours.
put about 1/4-1/3 cup water in.
sprinkle garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, and drizzle honey over loin.
after 5 1/2-6 hours put Pillsbury biscuits in oven and begin making macaroni and cheese or pick up some potato salad from the grocery store along with baked beans.
cut up pork and while still in crock pot...
add more honey
add bbq sauce (suggest Sweet Baby Rays)

Whala! you have Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches, Baked Beans, and Mac n cheese or Potato Salad!

BBQ is great after a long winter! and easy when done this way!

Oh Yeah, Sliced Sharp Cheddar is great on the sandwiches!

2 moms found this helpful

Hi R.,

This will not help you if you are not fish eaters. This is our favorite meal to cook when we have people over. Everyone loves it, but you have to like Salmon. I like it because it is relatively easy with easy clean-up since you cook it in foil pouches. We use Salmon with this recipe.

http://www.wchstv.com/gmarecipes/bakedredfishcashewbutter...

C.

2 moms found this helpful

R.,

Listed below is a recipe from Vince & Joe's for an awesome pork loin roast. I never would have imagine something so simple tasting so good. Just don't go overboard on the rosemary as I did the first time. Delicious and easy.

Have a great birthday celebration!

C.

Pork Loin Roast w/ Rosemary and Garlic
From Vince & Joe's
Serves 8

1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary leaves (or 1 ½ teaspoons dried, crushed)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1, 2 ½ pounds boneless pork loin roast
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine garlic and rosemary. Rub garlic mixture over pork. Liberally season with salt and pepper. Place pork, fat side down, on a lightly greased broiler pan or roasting rack. Roast pork 30 minutes then turn roast fat side up. Roast about 30 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 155 degrees.
Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Pour any juices from roasting pan into a small saucepan. Set over low heat to keep warm.
Cut pork into thin slices. Arrange pork slices on a platter and drizzle with pan juices.

2 moms found this helpful

I always use Rachel Ray's Spinach Lasagna Roll ups when I want to impress people and make them think I spent a long time in the kitchen. They are Spinach and finely chopped mushrooms with garlic, onion, etc., rolled into a cooked lasagna noodle and all topped with a cheese sauce. I've spread this recipe around quite a bit and I have not found one person who did not like it. My neighbor, who apparently despises mushrooms even liked it, although his wife told me not to tell him it was mushrooms! Go to foodnetwork.com and you can find it. As a side dish I slice tomatoes, top them with sliced mozzarella and broil just to melt the cheese a little and then a nice loaf of italian bread!

2 moms found this helpful

I agree with Cari S. " Taco's " make a taco bar...

I make them with breakfast sausage...
for each tube use a palmfull of
pakrika and one of chili powder....after cooking it down you can put it in a slow cooker on low and it's ready whenever you are....

Since I've started making them this way I haven't made them with hamburger.....It's always a hit at our house...

Good Luck

B.

1 mom found this helpful

How about a pork loin (or tenderloin), baked potatoes and a salad? You can purchase tenderloins already seasoned, or if you choose just the regular loin, you can use a rub of your chosing. You can actually find a pretty good Pork Rub in the spice section of your grocery store. Jazz up the baked potato, by slicing the potato down the center, stuffing it with a slice of onion, wrapping it in a piece of raw bacon,and covering it with foil before you bake.(sour cream on top..yum!) Grab a bag of salad (love the Caeser Salad mix...shake and serve....or a spring mix with Rasperry Vinagarette)and you're good to go! I serve this alot when company comes over and I want something different, but easy! Always seem to get raves on this combo!

Just remember though, it really is the thought that counts. Just relax, enjoy the good comversation and everything else will fall into place. Happy Birthday to your hubby!!

1 mom found this helpful

Buy a pork roast, put it in the slow cooker with Lowreys mesquite marinade with lime,for about 5 hours before you want to eat. wash and poke with a knife some baked potatoes, microwave for two minutes on each side, wrap them in foil and put in the oven for about half an hour. Wash some lettuce, put in small bowls different salad toppings, cucumber, carrots, cheese, carrots, dried cranberries, let everyone do their own toppings or else just make a salad bowl and pass it. So easy and so good.

1 mom found this helpful

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