7 Simple Dinner Ideas

I have seven simple dinner ideas for you this week!  They're all delicious, quick to prep and family favorites at my house.  It's that time of year where the weather is pretty great and I don't want to be in the kitchen for long periods of time.  I want quick, delicious meals to feed my family.

1 // Homemade Hibachi

This was SO GOOD.  I buy thin chicken breasts from Wal-Mart or Aldi, dice them up into bite size pieces and marinate them in teriyaki sauce and soy sauce.  Cook them on the stove top.  Make some boil in a bag rice, steam some edamame and saute some stir fry veggies.  This is not a good make ahead meal.  The veggies get soggy.  So I make sure to make this on nights that I will be home to cook at dinner time.  My crew loves teriyaki sauce, yum yum sauce and soy sauce to taste.  We all licked our plates!

Here's another version of homemade hibachi with baked chicken and fried rice.

2 // Homemade Chili

I made my game day chili for the first day of Fall and it was a big hit.  Fletcher called me Chili Master and asked if I could pack it for his school lunches.  I love my chili with all the toppings (green onions, cheddar cheese, sour cream and fritos) and everyone else customizes their own bowls.  I fixed corn bread and crunchy veggies with this.  If only Notre Dame would have found a way to win it would have been a perfect game day!

Another game day favorite: Pablano Street Corn Dip from Walmart.  I added it to my grocery pick up order on a whim and it was amazing.  It's got a tiny kick to it.  I'm a baby with spicy foods and I love this flavor packed dip.  I have enjoyed it cold with fritos, on a soft taco, with nachos and it says it can be served hot or cold.  It would be a delicious addition to any game day spread.  I'll definitely be repurchasing this!

3 // Leftover night

A benefit of cooking dinner most nights is that you have plenty of food options to put together a leftover night at the end of the week.  I store all my leftovers in glass dishes.  That way I can pop them in the oven in their glass containers for leftover night and have everything reheat at once.  I usually add in one new thing like a new roasted veggie, a loaf of homemade bread or fresh fruit so that it doesn't feel boring.  My crew loves picking out their plates of food on leftover night.  It's always a funny mix, but it'll save you lots of money to make sure you're eating up those leftovers.

I've mentioned before that I eat a lot of leftovers for my lunches.  Let no food go to waste!  Be sure to reheat them in the oven - put them on a cookie sheet in a cold oven.  Then preheat the oven to 350.  By the time your oven reaches 350, all of your food will be reheated for an easy lunch.  I do this while I'm making Leo's lunch.  It'll save you money by eating at home and eating up your leftovers.

4 // Baked Pasta

My family prefers a baked pasta dish over spaghetti.  They also prefer no cheese on their pasta.  I don't understand them, but am happy to double up my cheese consumption to save them from eating melty cheese.  I usually do noodles, marinara and meat sauce.  Then just top half with cheese and leave the other half plain.  Then I roast veggies and serve with fruit.

5 // Hot Hawaiian Roll Italian Subs

Remember these from earlier this month!?  I'm making them again this week for dinner.  They were delicious!  And if you buy the meat to make them once, you'll easily have enough meat to double the recipe.  I just opted to make them for dinner two separate times.

6 // Chicken Orzo Soup

This is the yummiest, easiest homemade soup to make!  I shared it with you last year and it continues to be a favorite.  I always have the ingredients in my pantry to make it.  That way if anyone gets sick or I need an easy meal, I'm set.  Kid and adult approved!

7 // Rotisserie Chicken Night

We have now hit the milestone of needing two rotisserie chickens to feed our family one dinner.  We end up with leftovers, it's just that the rotisserie chickens are shrinking and our family is not.  I buy two and then reheat them at dinner time.  I pull off all the chicken and freeze leftovers.  I go ahead and chop the leftover chicken small for chicken noodle soup and be sure to label it well in my freezer.

I served corn on the cob, wild grain rice and fresh fruit along with dipping sauces for the chicken.  It's the easiest, healthy dinner.

We ate a big dinner and then I had two portions of chicken for chicken noodle soup.  I labeled these bags with a sharpie and popped them in the freezer.

What's for dinner at your house this week?