What to Cook for Dinner????

I plan my meals in advance (1 or 2 weeks, depending) and then figure out what groceries I need for those meals. Really helps budget wise AND I love not having to think about what to make for dinner/do I have the stuff for it. Once you get a few meal plans drawn up, you can just start switching them around for variety. Also, plan for 1 or 2 crazy nights that their simply won't be time to make the planned item, keep a frozen pizza or other quick meal around for those times rather than just running to the store (or, worse yet, out to eat).

I'm pretty organized now, and have cards and pull them out for the week that I am planning, but I started with two simple sheets of notebook paper - one for the week's meal and one for the groceries needed to make the meals. I also found that if I did "themes" for each day, it helped me plan meals in the beginning - i.e., Monday was always some kind of chicken, Tuesday was always mexican, Wed was always italian, Fri was always pizza, etc. Throwing a breakfast for dinner in there once in awhile is always fun, too.

I still use cooks.com to get ideas (or post recipes of my own) for dinners or variations on dinners.

FYI, here is my menu for this week if it helps :)

Monday - leftovers from the weekend (I always do big Sunday dinners - I also have medical appts every Monday so I try to keep it simple)

Tuesday - Stroganoff, green beans, drop biscuits

Wednesday - French toast, sausage, canned fruit

Thursday - Spaghetti/meatballs, garlic bread, salad

Friday - Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, vegie, toast

Saturday - Homemade pizza

Sunday - Ham dinner with the trimmings

I am actually going to the grocery store tonight for this week's meal and project that this meal plan will cost me $45 (including milk) for the week at Aldi's. That is feeding 4 kids (who can EAT like there is no tomorrow), myself, and leftovers for lunches, as well as feeding occasional stray neighbor kids and my ex (long story).

Good luck :)

4 moms found this helpful

I don't do this (because our schedule and having hubby work nights has precluded this from really working for us), but I'd love to try this someday...

Have a 'set' basic theme for each night of the week such as:

1. Beef Mondays - know you are making ground beef but change it up weekly. Do spaghetti one week, shepards pie the next followed by meatloaf and then sloppy joes. All you have to ensure is that you have fruit/veg/sides for each week.
2. Chix Tuesdays: same as above but you could make lemon chicken, chicken kabobs, chix sandwiches, etc.
3. Breakfast for Dinner Wednesdays
4. Thurs: Leftovers
5. Fri: Kids choice - they get to eat whatever they want/make
6/7: Sat/Sun: Use these dates to try new recipes or fast food/eating out or pizza nights.

3 moms found this helpful

I so could've wrote this same post about 2 months. I was almost pulling out my hair I was so stressed about dinner every night. I work full time and having to come home to cook dinner, play with the kids, put them to bed and try to at least halfway keep my house looking decent was too much before I fell into bed every night totally exhausted.

So one day I just sat down and I just planned out a 21 day meal plan. It took time and energy and the input of my family but I got it done. I did 21 initially just to see if we could make it. I allowed 2 days a week for those times when energy was too low to think or cook. After I planned the meals, I sat down with the all the recipes and wrote down EVERY ingredient I would need for each meal. I also include getting everything we need for breakfast and lunch.That way, I only go major grocery shopping once a month and then once or twice, I'll have to run in to get milk or more fruit or something small. But I stay out of the store during the week which has cut down majorly on stress and we spend less on food because we're only going shopping maybe 3 or 4 times in a whole month. Amazing!

And so far, it's been working really well. I type up the menu and post it up on the cork board in the kitchen. That way, everyone sees what we're having ahead of time. If we happen to not want what's next we can always skip around because I know we have all the ingredients on hand. We've also cut down on going out to eat even though we have 2 days worked in for that. We might eat leftovers or come up with something else quick. And the stress of having to plan daily is gone. Every morning before I leave out for work, I take out whatever needs to thaw (sometimes the night before) and when I get home, I can usually have dinner ready in 30 min or less.

It has been life changing. I'm kind of anal 'cause I use coupons and shop sales so I might end up going to 2 or 3 stores to get the best deals but once I'm done shopping that one day, I know that I don't have to do it again until next month. It's also gotten DH to hop in and help a bit more because he knows what to cook and if it's something he especially likes or is easy, he'll chip in and make the meal. It can be done, just takes a little effort for maximum output. HTH!

2 moms found this helpful

I plan my "menu" out about once a week for the next 2 weeks. I also always have extras planned just in case I really don't want to make the pork chops scheduled for tonight or due to homework, church, practice, whatever just don't have enough time to cook whatever was planned. I always start by looking at my cupboards and in my freezers. I make a list of meats I have,etc. and then start planning. I have my favorites but try to cook something different at least twice a week (every friday is Pizza night in our house) so I only have 6 nights to prepare for. Also at least once a week is left over night where anything in the fridge/freezer is fair game- first who asks for it gets it. So now I am down to 5 nights. I love the kraftfood magazine and website- I always start there for new ideas. I try to not have chicken 2 nights in a row,etc. I also try to cook double of things that I can freeze (like pizza pasta casserole, it is really easy to make 2 of these at the same time and freeze one for another time). I am working on another recipe orginizational system because right now I pick my recipes, copy them from wherever onto notebook (like journal size) paper and put them in order clipped to my fridge with the menu on the front. This is somewhat time consuming so trying to figure out another easier system. Anyone have suggestions on this send me a personal message. SO anyway- I plan my menu from what I have on hand already (which usually gets me a few meals or so, then plan out the rest. I make a grocery list of what I need and the next time I go to the store (which is not even once a week- other than for the usual bread,milk, dog food). I buy what is on my list and if more in my budget I buy things on sale that I use often- or stock up on meat. I cook in my crock pot usually once a week so huge roast or something that I can use for double duty meals later. Tonight we are having pot roast- wed or thurs (depends on my schedule) we will have beef and noodles. I will ask the kids,and my husband if they have any requests for the upcoming menu and try to work them in somewhere too. With 3 kids wanting different things they don't always get their request or they don't get it for a few weeks anyway. Oh I also try to organize menus to where I am cooking with similar ingredience (especially fresh veggies,etc) close together and as soon after my grocery trip as possible so that they are not wasted and I don't have to run out to buy another green pepper or whatever.
The planning of the menu does take up a little bit of time especially if you are looking for new and different recipes to try but.... it makes the rest of the week so much easier!!! Food is already on hand and you know exactly what you are going to cook before you head into the kitchen. I have been doing this for a few months now and I am also seeing a huge savings in my grocery bill. I also recently found betty crocker recipe site. It is alot of new stuff too. I think they maybe email you weekly recipe ideas too but not sure just found that one yesterday!
Hope this helps :)

1 mom found this helpful

I LOVE to cook and enjoy spending time coming up with new creations in my kitchen. The allrecipes site is good as well as food network.

I am at the market almost daily because I use fresh produce, etc. I purchase my beef, chicken and pork from Hirsch's meat market in Plano (THE BEST QUALITY) He has steaks that are from the same people where you get a Del Frisco's steak...unbelievable quality. Yes, you pay for the quality but it is worth it. I probably spend about $200 a month in high quality steaks, beef roasts, ground beef, home made sausages, pork and chicken and I keep it in the freezer in portions that are the right size for my family. I just take out whatever meat I am doing for the night in the monring or night before and I am read to start dinner around 1pm.

I find that I always have a side of pasta and home made marinara nightly because my daughter LOVES my marinara and I can test new things and still have a backup if a new dish is not a favorite.

We enjoy pot roast, home made soups, home made marinara, pan fried pork cutlets, pan fried chicken cutlets with cream sauce, chicken broccoli casserole, chicken pot pie . Some of these are so easy to make and make ahead. The marinara freezes well.

Your seasonings can work wonders with fresh produce and meats. MUST haves in my house are onions and garlic, fresh basil and rosemary. In the summers, I grow the rosemary and basil because I use so much of it.

Some people do a lot of make ahead for the week and that does work well for working moms/dads because you already know what you are doing for the night.

Try not to be overwhelmed....it comes over time and you get used to the routine for you. Best wishes.

1 mom found this helpful

Best way is to set up a 1, 2 or 3 week "cycle" like McMama suggests, then pick a day of the week to shop and make a re-useable list that will get everything you need all at once.

If you just can't stand planning, learn to cook fish. At least it only takes 10 minutes to broil and you are DONE. Healthy and you will look like a genius. Frozen shrimp hardly need cooking at all.

Get a rice cooker -- make white rice, brown rice, quinoa in it, no mess no fail.

When you do cook, make stew or soup in big batches and freeze most of it.

Don't forget about eggs -- with any kind of cheese, make an omelette. Cheap and easy.

Finally: Chicken sausage! Comes in many flavors, usually fully cooked -- heat it up in a pan right from frozen, takes no time.

Hope that helps!

1 mom found this helpful

HeavenlyHomakers.com is an awesome site. You can find tons of recipes, but the best part is she does a weekly menu. Not to mention everything is completely homemade. Not that you would have to do that but it helps when you have to put something together....for example she does a sloppy casserole which is sloppy joe under cornbread and baked. Chances are you have all the ingredients already in your home. Anyway, checker out her site. It's great for either helping you come up with this weeks meals (breakfast lunch dinner) and making fresh meals.

1 mom found this helpful

I'm not the world's best planner but I also refuse to go to the grocery store more than once per week. I hate the chore of shopping for food. What I have found works best for me is if I go to the store with at least a semi-plan for the week. And a LIST.
I get husband's input for one dinner, son's input for one dinner (invariably it's 'tacos"), pick something I would like one night and then look in my freezer for available meat and plan around that for the rest of the nights. (Like if I have a pork roast in the freezer, I buy a bag of sauerkraut & put that in the crockpot one morning.) My week is SO much better if I at least have sort of a plan to work with, eve if we end up going out one or two nights I don't have that dreaded feeling come 2-3:00 of "Ugh--what's for dinner?"

Search recipes and make an exhaustive list of what you can cook. Then plan for next week's dinners before doing the grocery shopping for the week. You will soon have a rotating/alternating schedule, with popular dishes eaten weekly and others every two or three weeks. Actually, we did the planning part together with my husband at first, which helped a lot. After some time it only takes us a few minutes to decide the following week's meals. you can have a flexible plan, don't need to stick to it 100%.
Some suggestions: meat balls, salmon/tuna or chicken salad, veggie burgers, precooked sausages
Pasta and salads are life savers, easy to make and the varieties are endless. You can top them with some sort of protein (grilled chicken/tofu, canned fish, cheese etc) and you have a meal!

First question for you is what you cook on a normal week? Second one is do you have any cook books that the family and you can look through? After you answer those two questions I maybe able to brain strom with you.

I have the answer! LOL I too struggled with this VERY situation...always trying to figure out what to fix--seemed like I kept fixing the same thing over and over again! Heck I even burnt grilled cheese (like REALLY bad) when I first got married!!

A year and a half ago I joined a company called Homemade Gourmet...Ya'll it CHANGED MY LIFE and my way of cooking! I can actually cook now! LOL We sell EASY to prepare mixes (all you add is 1-4 wet ingredients) and it's DONE! We have everything from entrees, dips, soups, desserts, breads and more! Meal planning is a breeze and we even focus on fix once serve twice! Yahoo!! We have a 4 Meals in 4 Minutes plan that can literally put 4 meals in your freezer in 4 Minutes! Fixing a meal with Homemade Gourmet is as easy as throwing your chicken breasts (or any meat) in your crock pot, adding our seasoning mix packet and 1 can good--simple!! You are OUT of the kitchen, you have a HEALTHY meal to put on your dinner table and you are staying out of the drive thru! Not to mention you'll have more family time since your time in the kitchen is minimal. Our Mission is Bringing Families Back to the Dinner Table.

You can view my website for more information.....we have 100% customer satisfaction--if you try something and you don't like it we will replace your mix--you have nothing to lose!

I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Of course I'm always looking for people to join my team---just think you can feed your family for less and make money doing it! Pretty cool! Best of all it's only $39 to get started!

Best of luck in your dinner planning and I hope you'll give Homemade Gourmet a try--you won't be disappointed!

Hugs!
J.

I think you've already gotten a lot of great ideas. Here are some others I'll add:

1. kraftfoods.com - they have SIMPLE family recipes. You can check it out from work, add an ingredient if you want and they'll show you recipes that are fast. They also have TONS of kid friendly meals so that your kids can help you in the kitchen. (Of course, they use Kraft products mostly.)

2. There are cookbooks at the library that I've used that give ideas for "make ahead meals" or "freezer friendly". Before I had my baby, I cooked 1 meal - x 2, so one to eat that night and one to freeze. It's a great way to stock up the freezer so that you always have something healthy on hand. I copied several pages to keep the recipes at home when I was done.

3. Ask your family what their favorite meals are. Then try to incorporate them into your monthly menu.

4. Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade (food network show and books, also at the library). She uses "a can of this and that" to use as short cuts in the kitchen. She is health conscious and gives great suggestions on how to cut down on prep time.

5. You don't mention how old your kids are. But your kids can "cook" a meal one night a week (or at least help). Mine are 6 and 5 and love helping in the kitchen. I think they are also more likely to eat their "own" leftovers.

6. Lunchmeat/roasted ham, turkey and chicken - I use these for soups, sandwhiches and second meals (think turkey tetrazzini, sub sandwhiches, and chicken fajitas or quesadillas). I think the "art" of how to prep an entree once and parlay that into second and third meals has been lost from our moms to us...thanks women's lib! LOL.

I have no good ideas, but I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. If anyone has any good advice, I'd love to hear it, too.

Lots of great ideas so far. What I have to add: Use your crock pot to cook up a bunch of chicken breasts. You can a bag of frozen ones. Use some for dinner, then freeze the rest in batches to put into other meals. Ex: Taco's, pasta, soup, mix with bbq for sandwiches or baked potato. You can do the same with large amounts of ground beef or turkey.
Also, I keep a bag of the Bertolli frozen pasta in the freezer.

I always keep canned salmon in the pantry because you don't have to thaw it out and it's quick. Roasting a whole chicken in the oven takes a few hours, but you don't have to stand over it while it cooks. Once a week I have leftover or sandwich day. "Breakfast" dinners are quick and kids love it. Sometimes we'll have pancakes and fruit for dinner. Another quick meal is warming canned soup and making grilled cheese to go with it. I usually let my kids pick one thing they want for dinner that week and try incorporate it into the menu. Sometimes they come up with ideas I never thought of.

I normally cook for the week during the weekend. I cook rice, stews,and soups for the week and then all i have to do is ccok the meat when i get home from work, it saves alot of time. I like all recipes.com i get good ideas from them. Hope this helps

I like to keep frozen vegetables in the freezer, and dry pasta and bottled sauces in the cupboard at all times. Also canned tomatoes and corn bread mix. These can all be used to mix and match with whatever meat you have.
I will get some meat to keep fresh, and some meat to freeze for later--- there are chicken breasts that are individually frozen so you can take out as much as you need to to defrost, and I love that.
I like making soups ahead of time.
If chicken gets boring, put barbecue sauce on it, or use a "simmer sauce"... Cut up some ham and put it in pasta or a salad.

I assume that The Dinner Station is a place that prepares meals for you---why not just try it once,and see it if feels worth it? If it is expensive, you could plan to do it twice a month, just to cut your cooking/shopping/cleaning time down a bit. It's probably cheaper than dining out. Maybe you will feel less burned out and more inspired after someone else does some cooking for you!

hi
even IF you don't know your meal plan for the week.... Do what I often do which is .. cut up a bunch of veggies.. example.. red bell peppers... carrots.. etc etc.. whatever vegetables you use the most and that won't spoil right away if you were to cut them up ahead of time... throw em in a container and put into the fridge.. next.. cut up a bunch of fruit (less bananas since they brown right away) and do the same.. (I like to have FRESH live produce with each meal) then.... make simple things like.. Turkey burgers... they take 5 to 8 minutes to broil... add seasonings.. right before they are done, pop the buns into the oven to warm.. violia... simple dinner.. take out the fruit salad you already made and you've got a healthy meal..
also..you can make things like swiss chard ahead of time.. clean, steam until nicely broken down (almost like cooked spinach) then pop into fridge.. when ready to eat.. take out, add a little olive oil, fresh crushed garlic, pepper and sea salt to taste.. and bam.. you've got greens.. gotta say, I love swiss chard and add it to my turkey burger or even a regular burger.. it adds moisture and then I don't have to add condiments..

umm what else.. make an easy chili... buy lean turkey meat or whatever you like, saute , add spices.. then open a can or two of beans you like.. organic pintos or even black beans... and cook with meat.. (add beans last since you don't want mushy beans) I know some will say.. what can beans.. BUT if in a hurry or too tired, believe me, if spiced nicely, they make a decent 1/2 homemade chili...

also.. I make a bunch of pasta sauce ahead of time and freeze it.. take it out in the am as I need it.. with that , you can do a lasagne one night.... add mixed greens, a nice french bread and bam.. you've got another easy dinner...

cooking can be fun.. but you do have to do a little prep work ahead of time.. once you do that.. the rest will be easy .. and you might better. also, going to the store every day , you might actually be spending more than if you went once a week...

lastly.. do you grill?? marinade some chicken and grill EXTRA pieces.. this way, you can have it different ways... grilled chicken over mixed greens...

make quesidillas..with melted cheese, add chicken and avocado... maybe black beans on the side..

ah the list goes on.. you can do it :) have some fun with it..
I wish you the best!!! :)

I usually buy a few different pieces of protein (beef, chicken, pork, etc.) and be sure to have fixings for sides on hand (potatoes, rice, veggies,onions, garlic). Then, I google for recipies with the protein I have (love allrecipies.com).
I have a few standby sides I use (such as a good rice recipe, potato dish, etc.) I've discovered a lot of great recipes this way, and always am trying new things. Some are keepers, some aren't. You can even look for quick recipies (15 min., 30 min., etc.) and find many options. I also don't start them too late. I take my time, do some steps, take a break, come back to it. It really seems to work for us. And, I only go to the store once a week. As long as you have staples on hand, you can always whip something up. By the way, freeze portions of proteins for later in the week. That way, you don't have to worry about things going bad. I also use the leftovers as a couple of meals during the week (or lunches). For instance, I have boneless pork chops in the fridge for tonight. I googled them this morning, and found a simple sauteed recipe with broth and vingar (more staples to have on hand). I'll make rice to go alonside, a salad, and I'm done. And it sounds really good! Will probably be a keeper. Good luck.

You should try allrecipes.com. They have a ton of recipes to choose from and you can change the amount of ingredients based on the number of people you are cooking for. You then print out the results and there is your shopping list. You could do this for a week of dinners, combine the lists and go shopping for the whole week. I have found that if I don't keep a list of what is needed that I end up at the store more because I'll get home and realize I forgot something. With 2 kids its a pain to go to the store so I now keep a list to keep shopping to a minimum.

First thing I do to break the monotony is see what I have in the freezer or what is on sale (in the weekly sales ads) that looks interesting. I go to allrecipes.com and look for a recipe by ingredient: type in for example, hallibut or roast (whatever). Sort by rating, and choose something that looks good to you. I make one new recipe every week. If it's good, write it on the index card and put it in your recipe box; if it's ok but needs tweaking, write some notes in; if it's junk, toss it and there's no harm done.
I keep a posted basic inventory of what I have in the pantry, freezers, and fridge which I keep up to date so there's no wasted time there. On Friday evening or Saturday morning I take a quick look at my inventory lists to have an idea of what I've got and can do (example: I always have fettucini and alfredo sauce in the pantry....if I've got chicken and spinach in the freezer, all I need is to buy some mushrooms and some salad items, and I've got a meal that we love). Then I go through the sales ad to see what's on sale, and from those things, I come up with a general weekly menu. There's routines we have that make this process a bit easy: Mon, Wed, Fri we eat cereal/bananas, Tues & Thurs we eat yogurt. Saturdays we eat oatmeal and Sundays we have a hot meal (frenchtoast, eggs, whatever). So breakfast for the week is very easy to plug in. Lunches are gonna be sandwiches, leftovers, or some type of salad. Snacks for the boys are gonna be whatever fruit is on sale that week 4 days/week, and frozen gogurt or some peanutbutter on crackers, cheese stick, or goldfish the other 3 days. Again, easy to plug in. For sandwiches: instead of buying lunchmeat by the pound like so many people do, I buy it by how many slices I need. Instead of saying a pound of whatever, I'll say "16 slices of __, sliced thin", because I know how many sandwiches I'll be making and how many slices of meat they want on their sandwiches. That way it's not wasted or I don't end up short. It helps out to do little things like that.
For dinners, we do have routines like fish on Fridays, steak or roast on Sundays. I endeavor to make it rotate so it's not the same meat over and over: beef, chicken, fish, beans, pork...we rotate these out. I use my dayplanner to assist me with dinners: if it's a busy day with meetings, appointments, etc then it's going to be a leftover night, or easy meal, or crockpot dinner. If my son is at mother's day out and it's an easy day, I'll cook something more special and involved that day. I pull the recipe cards that I'll be using during the week and put them in the front of the box, before the dividers so they are easy to access and separate from all the other recipes; as I use a recipe, I place the card back where it belongs. If it's a new recipe, I get the family's opinion on whether it's earned a place in the recipe box or not.
Once the menu is written, I double check the kitchen (one meal at a time) to make sure I have all the ingredients for everything needed and make my shopping list that way. I go through my coupon file to see if I have coupons for anything on the list and if so put an asterisk by that item on the list and attach the coupons to the list. This sounds like a lot, but it takes 30-40 minutes to do but that's a lot less time than trying to figure something out everyday and running to and from the store all the time.
I go to the store for my "big shopping" and first half of the week's produce every Saturday morning, and on Wednesday I go for the other bits (we go through A LOT of milk, and also the second wave of fresh produce). That is all I buy on Wednesdays though; I'm pretty strict about that and not running back to the store for stuff saves us a lot of time and money. Another thing we do that is kinda helpful when it comes to produce is try to cook things with that vegetable close together. For example one day this week we have steak, roasted red potatoes, and steamed asparagus. The next day, I'll serve chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella, rotels, mushrooms, artichokes, and 2 stalks of asparagus each, along with wild rice and steamed green beans. That way I'm using asparagus (which was on sale) and it's not gonna go bad, just sitting in the fridge all week.
For casseroles, gumbo, soup/stews, and some basic meals, I'll cook them all on the weekend when my husband is home to play with the boys. That saves me some time and I can store what we'll use for the week in the fridge and freeze extras in single portions for easy meals later. I like to buy value packs of meats and freeze them in individual portions in small ziploc bags, then freeze all those little bags in a large freezer bag that is labeled with the item in the bag and the date. That way if someone is working late or not eating with you, you can quickly only defrost what is needed.
Understanding that sometimes things come up that you can't plan for, I always keep a Stouffer's Lasagna and a bag of Bertolli pasta dinner in the freezer for "emergency" situations. Adding a can of rotel tomatoes to the Bertolli always bulks it up a little and adds a little spice that we like. It's good to have something like this on hand for a day that goes haywire. Better than eating at McDonalds, lol.
Finally, you can make friends with a pressure cooker!!! I'll buy a value pack of chicken (like 10 pounds!) and season it with Tonys and garlic, throw it in the pressure cooker and that is 10 pounds of chicken cooked and soft (easily shredded) in half an hour!!! I'll divide that up and freeze as needed, but that is 10 nearly-ready meals waiting right there: you can cook down some peppers and onions and add BBQ sauce for sandwiches, it's nearly shredded and ready for king ranch casserole, enchiladas, quesadillas, chicken and rice casserole, etc. You just add the extra ingredients (rice, fresh veg, cheese, whatever) and your meals are done so quickly. That's about all I can think of....hope it helps.