What are your parameters? What are your goals? Allergies or preferences? What veggies do you like?

You've come to the right place! Check out the What's for Dinner threads to see what people have been making, and if you find one you like, start a new thread asking for recipe/pointers.

Given your family situation and current list, I assume you'll be wanting fully cooked red meat, and quick assembly.

Easy Meatloaf -- lean ground beef (can add other meats as well, or sub bison), dry bread or cracker crumbs crumbs, or plain oats, or leftover rice that's been getting dried out in the fridge, dehydrated mixed vegetables (easiest) or finely chop an onion, a bell pepper, a carrot and a celery stalk, and saute until starting to get soft. You can put the vegetables in a food processor to finely chop them--this lets you squeeze out excess liquid as well. Add some herbs (dried is fine--parsley, chives, thyme...whatever you have and like), salt and pepper, and whatever spices you care for, plus eggs to bind it. For every pound of meat, use 3/4-1 cup of crumbs/oats/rice and two large beaten eggs, and about 1-1.5 cups vegetables--you can use more if they're dried because they'll soak up the moisture; too many fresh veg and it'll be too soft and mushy. Use parchment paper to line the pan if you want easy cleanup, though it's not necessary. Use either a loaf pan or a pat it into shape on a sheet pan. Optional, spread the top with some kind of sauce to keep it moist (tomato paste, ketchup, teriyaki sauce, whatever...)

Easy stew -- brown cubes of lamb or beef in a dry pan so they get "grill mark brown" (1 pound will make 4-8 portions depending on how much meat you like to eat), and move the meat to another dish or the pot lid. Chop and brown an onion per pound of meat in the pan from the beef, adding oil if necessary. Scrub or peel 2-3 large carrots and cut into 2-3" pieces or use a packet of ready to eat baby carrots, and chop 2-3 stalks of celery. Add these to the onions until they start to look like they're cooking. Put the beef back in. Add some canned or fresh diced tomatoes with the juice and some spicy tomato juice or water. Add whatever vegetables need using up, salt and pepper, a splash of wine, herbs, hot peppers, spices, etc. Make sure there's liquid at least 3/4 of the way up and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, making sure it doesn't boil over and stirring occasionally, for about three hours or until the meat is tender. Longer only aids the flavor. Bring back to a boil, then lower the temperature to medium while stirring for a minute or two, before serving.

Easy roast chicken -- Preheat oven to 360° (or so). Remove the spine (poultry sheers or a sharp knife, or get the butcher to do it) and save with the giblets in the freezer for making stock. Put a sliced onion, some baby carrots and any other vegetables you like--all root vegetables are great here...slice anything big--and put them in the bottom of a sided pan or baking dish to make a bed. Flatten out your spineless chicken and remove or tuck under the wing tips and put it on the bed of vegetables. Brush any kind of sauce that has some sugar and some oil (salad dressing, bbq sauce, etc.) on the whole bird. Sprinkle with a spice blend you like, such as Greek seasoning or garlic pepper, and some mixed dried herbs. Put about a quarter cup of liquid in the bottom of the pan (water, wine, broth, beer...it doesn't matter). Put it in the oven for 1 1/2 hrs. if the pan isn't heavy and the chicken weighed 4.25 lbs or less. Add five minutes for every quarter pound more. Use a meat thermometer to make sure both the breast and thigh are at at least 165° (I generally like it hotter--more like 180°-- but 165° is the minimum for safety), and that the juice that runs out where you poke it runs clear/yellow rather than pink. Serve the veg as is, or puree to make gravy.

These are all dishes that lend themselves to leftovers. Meatloaf sandwich. Meatloaf broken up topping pasta and sautéed vegetables, etc. Stew is usually better rewarmed the next day. Chicken salad, chicken pot pie, etc. When you're busy, it's nice to have cooked food in the house, or cooked meat that just needs some new veg to play with.

Main goal is to provide a semi healthy options. We try to provide a main course, fruit and veggie with every meal. We don't have any allergies and not restricted by GMO's or gluten.

You can start by taking the things that are familiar to you and varying them. There are dozens of ways to dress a burger, from bare bun to loaded. Change up your cheese, add bacon or sauteed onions or mushrooms, use different sauces. Same for the chicken patty - literally hundreds of options just for those two items. Make beef or cheese enchiladas instead of chicken. Make them veggie with beans, corn, mushrooms, rice, cheese for filling. Make a chicken chowder or a vegetable soup, minestrone, pasta e fagoli, bean soups, lentils, nearlly every fall veggie makes good soups (cauliflower, broccoli, butternut and other squashes, potato, sweet potatoes -- even cabbages and especcially combinations of veggies). And enough variations on the pasta and what my mom used to call "meat mess" - your hotdish and Texmex - to feed you for months, maybe years.

I would try searching the internet for recipe ideas. At least once or twice a week, start with an ingredient or two and look for ideas or pick a site and cruise through it. You can filter your search by type of cuisine, other ingredients, cooking style (roasted, baked, single pot meal, sheet pan meal, slow cooker, etc). Look for the 4 and 5 star ratings -- they will have a broad enough appeal to be likely to appeal to your family. Read some of the comments to see if there were changes most people made to like it more.

We joined a CSA and get a regular farm share. That has caused us to try some veggies we never have and to look for new ways to cook familiar ones. You can try a similar idea whether you have the CSA option or not. You can just pick a seasonal ingredient you haven't tried or really cooked with and look for ways to use it -- as a primary dish or a side. Push your comfort zone a bit.

I would also consider getting one or more cookbooks (yes, I get recipes off the internet, but still believe in the value of good cookbooks). Many are available in used bookstores or online through book outlets, even Amazon. And while at Amazon, you can check out Kindle options for cookbooks. They often have specials where you can get an online copy for $1.99 and read it on your computer or phone if you don't have a Kindle -- just download the free app.

With a toddler, I would look for fast and easy, slow cook options (stove top, oven or slow cooker --many have limited prep), sheet pan dinners, one pan dinners. Some reliable recipe sources for me include Eating Well, Food Network, Allrecipes, and Epicurious. You may find certain chefs you like or bloggers who seem to like the same kind of things you like. The bloggers typically suggest other bloggers or will be part of a group who explore different themes. Use their networks to explore ideas.

If you don't have at least one or two methodology or basics books, get them. For me the first was Joy of Cooking. My sons each have a couple of Mark Bittman's How to Cook (start with Everything - the basics and branch out to vegetarian, fast, etc). A lot of people like the America's Test Kitchen and Cooks' Illustrated books. Community (school, junior league, church and other organizations) may hhave cookboooks that compile favorite recipes. Those were some of my early cookbooks. I collected them when I traveled. After you get a few, you will see a lot of duplication, so I stopped, but still use the ones I got). The New York Times has a free recipe subscription. And you could check out both cooking and home magazines - even when waiting in a doctor's office. Take a photo of something that sounds interesting and give it a try. And some doctors or dentists will have cooking shows on -- watch a few at home too.

Another thing I would encourage for young parents is to look at weekend cooking and stocking the fridge/freezer. We used to make casseroles and divide them into one for now and one for the freezer or make spaghetti saucee or chili in a larger batch and freeze some for later. It is so nice to come home from a hard day and be able to just pull out a home cooked meal. Also try to cook things that allow you to use leftovers in a different ways (instead of cooking a chicken patty or breast, roast a whole chicken - use leftovers in a casserole, soup, to make quesadillas, tacos, wraps, sandwiches, a salad, etc.). You can often get several meals out of one night of cooking. Do that several times a week for a couple of weeks and you have a number of nights off. That helps with cooking fatigue (though not necessarily recipe boredom). But if you break up the boredom by trying some new things on one hand and give yourself time off -- to look for new ideas to try later or just time to not worry about what's for dinner, on the other, I think you will find you will build a file of things to try and try again and make cooking less of a chore.

I don't mind sharing recipes, but it is hard to know what you are willing to try with such a limited rotation. Are there things you eat out that you would like to try at home? Things your moms prepared that you would like to replicate? Anything to narrow it down a bit?

Quesadillas might be a good option, regular or doctor them up with chicken, beef, turkey, and add beans and rice if you wish--if you roll it up, think of it as a burrito--if you fold it, it's a taco. Quick and easy in the microwave, especially if you use leftover meats. Quicker and easier? Use pre shredded cheese and the microwave.

Pasta primavera--uses spaghetti as a base, add veggies, chunks of cheese, sliced olives, and your favorite Italian dressing. It's served cold and if you make a big batch, you'll have leftovers for lunch.

If you make enchiladas, you can make enchilada pie.

Taco salad is quick and easy.

You can change up the soup and salad too -- beef and barley soup with whatever sandwich stuff you like is a fave option during colder months for us.

Google meal planning for a week, as that might be helpful. Casseroles are good too--make a double batch and freeze half. HTH!

Smiles,

Soon

Here is a good foundation recipe: one-pot broccoli alfredo. You could adapt this same method with a variety of ingredients to get dinner on the table rather quickly.

I agree with the idea of weekend cooking/freezer cooking. While I am not interested in preparing a lot of meals at once, I do try to prepare something in bulk each paycheck that will go into the freezer for the inevitable times when cooking dinner is just too much to face. This includes a big batch of bolognese sauce, meatballs, mini meatloaves, enchiladas, baked pasta dishes, chicken and dumplings (minus the dumplings), chili, etc. Next time I hope to make some sweet potato black bean burgers for the freezer.

ETA: Another book that could be helpful is called How to Cook Without A Book by Pam Anderson. There is a lot of mix-and-match concepts in it.

Spaghetti Carbonara, Fettucine Alfredo,

Layered Mexican cornbread with ground beef,

Sloppy joes, guacamole on burgers--amped up with home-made buns (King Arthur's Bright & Beautiful bun recipe)

Fried egg sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches

Breakfast for dinner (waffles & sausage or bacon)

Shredded cabbage sauted in coconut oil w/ shrimp

Pork steak diagonally cut in strips & stir-fried w/ green peppers, onion, garlic, a bit of sugar & a dash of ground cloves wrapped up in a tortilla

'Cheese Fries'--mixture of cheeses (mozzarella, feta, grated fresh Romano, etc.) on pizza crust slathered with some olive oil & fresh garlic

Mixed green salad topped w/ chicken or chicken salad & walnuts & sliced strawberries or grapes w/ a raspberry vinaigrette dressing

Taco Salad

Stir Fries--we like one with smoked Polish style sausage, pineapple, bell peppers, onion, water chestnuts, snow peas, garlic, ginger, soy...make the sauce out of the juice drained from the pineapple chunks & serve over rice

Expand your Tex-Mex dish into a soup by adding chicken broth, corn, sliced carrots, black beans, yellow squash or zucchini. Can substitute chicken for the ground beef. Add some serrano or jalepeno peppers, cilantro, garlic. Sometimes I thicken the soup with some masa/ sometimes not. I tend to not like rice in this soup but will sometimes add some if I have a bit leftover in the refrigerator.

Are you needing quick/easy meals? Do you have/use a crock pot or Instant Pot?

We eat many different things so no rotation here, but in your situation I'd want things that go together and cook up quickly. One quick/easy meal we like is lemon-pepper chicken. I use boneless, skinless breast and pound it thin. I usually serve it w/ broccoli and a baked/nuked potato. Another I highly recommend is the Korean Beef Bowl recipe that's been posted on this forum! I use sliced beef, rather than ground beef, but I'm sure it would be good either way. Soups of all kinds are good. Greens & beans! Sometimes I'll just make an overloaded nacho plate w/ lettuce and pico de gallo. Breakfast for dinner is always fun! things like blueberry pancakes w/ eggs & bacon, or an omelette, or western egg sandwiches.

duh, dinner last night: broccoli & pasta! I coarsely chop and partially cook the broccoli, then finish w/ loads of garlic sauteed in olive oil -- served w/ crushed hot red pepper and grated parmesan.

I like to use pounded boneless skinless chicken breasts, too. One of our favorites is to saute in olive oil & butter w/ garlic, remove from pan and add some cream & crushed tarragon to the pan. Continue to cook briefly until the cream & pan juices thicken up a bit. Also good w/ some added capers.

Korean Beef is another favorite (that party music mentioned.) I like to make it with thinly sliced across the grain sirloin. Have never tried the ground beef version.

Fried rice is another good dinner. Need to make the rice a day ahead & chill so the grains separate nicely. Good with bits of ham, pork or shrimp. And beaten eggs added at the end or cooked separately. I like the flavor and the egg is added protein.

Do you live somewhere that you can get decent fish? I'd add an easy oven baked fish filet (with some easy seasoning/sauce if you prefer it that way) with a starch and vegetable side dish. Kids often love baked yams and baked butternut squash, baked potatoes, rice, etc.

I think marinated flank steak is super easy and delicious...I use a teriyaki marinade (soy or tamari, ginger, garlic, a little red wine vinegar and a bit of brown sugar) or buy one ready made, marinate it overnight and then I broil for about 6 min per side, depending on thickness and how rare you like your beef, I like it med rare. Let it rest for about 10 min then slice across the grain into 1/2" thick slices. You can do the same with chicken, but don't marinate it more than 4 hours or so.

We like rice or farro sauted for a minute or two in some oil and garlic or onion, add liquid (chicken broth or bullion) then covered and steamed until done.

This made me laugh. I got "brain freeze" one night while trying to make up our menu ideas for the next week. I tossed a pad at hubby and told him to give me some menu ideas. In about 2 minutes, he tossed the pad back at me with this list:

meat loaf
salisbury steak
chicken fried steak
fried chicken
spaghetti
Wendy's Copycat chili
french toast and bacon
pancakes and sausage
taco pizza
pork chops and stuffing
ham and bean soup
beef barley soup (pretty much any type of soup or stew)
salmon Caesar salad
shrimp salad
Cobb salad
(Coll's Slow Cooked Pulled Pork) pulled pork sandwiches
fish sandwiches (think McDonald’s fishwich)
salmon patty burgers
tuna gravy over biscuits
tuna casserole
pasties
grilled tuna and cheese sandwiches with tomato soup
patty melts

When I still had girls at home, one of their favorites was Shepherd's Pie. Mine was made with leftover mashed potatoes over a filling of ground beef and vegetables. They also liked beef stew with biscuits, I made the stew in a dutch oven and just added unbaked biscuits to the top after the stew was cooked and baked just long enough to bake the biscuits.

Meatloaf was a big favorite and has already been mentioned. Calzones made with homemade bread dough and stuffed with everything from pizza toppings to ham and cheese to leftover broccoli with cheese sauce. Those can also be made using frozen commercial bread dough. Macaroni and cheese was a favorite and although I sometimes made chicken and dumplings we more often had chicken over biscuits.

We often had breakfast for supper, pancakes, waffles, eggs, "breakfast burritos" with scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa, English Muffins with ham and eggs and a side of fruit salad. My girls both loved rice so we'd have Spanish Rice or fried rice or chicken and rice soup, or they just ate cold rice for breakfast with milk and sugar, like breakfast cereal.

Having something they could pick up and eat on the way to some school function or sporting event was handy, so sometimes we'd have sloppy joes or hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches or cheesesteak sandwiches with the meat cooked in the crock pot.

I actually used the crock pot quite a bit, preparing the food the night before then just taking the prepped food out of the refrigerator in the morning and turning the crockpot on. Pot roast, corned beef, brisket, ham, bean or split pea soup, scalloped potatoes, pork roast, even desserts can be done in the crock pot.

I know how you feel, I used to just dread the "duty cooking". As a single mother with a full time job it was a chore to find something that I could make after I got out of work that didn't cost very much and that everyone would eat and I could make in half an hour. When the girls got older I made them do the weekly menus. They would sit at the kitchen table with cookbooks and make the "menu" for the next week, then I'd go shopping for ingredients. Sunday was my day to choose, the girls chose 3 days each. I got to cook something new sometimes and they couldn't complain much about meals they had chosen themselves.

Good luck!

Annie

Thanks so much for all the thoughts and ideas! I'll be honest I need to reread everything

WENDY'S COPYCAT CHILI - I need that recipe

Not the Wendy's chili but a very good chili. My son found this recipe and, to be honest, it is not a recipe that I would have tried. Turkey? Quinoa? I was expecting it to be barely palatable. I was wrong. Since my son made this recipe, it's found a place in our rotation...I stole the recipe and have it in my file now! (Credit to: lifeisbutadish) (I do cut the cumin back to only 1 teaspoon--use your own judgement. Also, I don't care for kidney beans so I usually use 1 can of black beans and 1 can of Great Northern beans. And, whatever peppers I have on hand, usually just bell peppers plus a couple of serranos.)

30 Minute Turkey Quinoa Chili

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, small dice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 poblano pepper, diced
• 1 pound ground turkey meat
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

Toppings

• Avocado
• Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
• Shredded Cheese
• Cilantro

Instructions

• 1

  1) Heat oil over medium/high heat in a large pot. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and poblano pepper and cook another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• 2

  2) Add the ground turkey, chili powder, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up the meat until it starts to brown.

• 3

  3) Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, beans, and quinoa. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until quinoa is cooked. Serve hot with your favorite toppings!

Notes

• * To make this in the slow cooker, first brown the onions and turkey meat in a pan with a little olive oil. Then add to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours.

This is the only chili husband will make/eat now.

Wendy’s Chili Copycat Recipe

2 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef, browned and drained if necessary
29 oz. can tomato sauce
40 oz. can kidney beans with liquid
40 oz. can pinto beans with liquid
1 c. diced onion
1 diced green pepper
¼ c. diced celery
29 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. cumin
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 c. water

Brown and drain ground beef. Put beef and the remaining ingredients into a large, heavy pot. Cover and simmer 1 to 3 hours stirring every so often.

Find several soup recipes the family likes and work them into your repertoire. Soup and salad, or soup and cornbread make a wonderful dinner.

I'm mostly vegetarian so I'll chime in some of the regular rotation items on my week night quick fix menu:
stir fry with tofu, using up whatever bits and bobs of vegetables I have in the fridge. Later you can make egg foo young if there is any left over.
beans and rice, either Italian style or Spanish/Mexican style,
pasta e fagioli (pasta with beans),
or lo mein with tofu, (I like to serve these with egg rolls or dumplings which I buy in the freezer section),
beans and greens, usually Italian style, served over potenta or rice,
eggs cooked in tomato sauce which is called shakshuka in Greek or can be done Italian style, Serve it over tortillas or cornbread with some salsa and a side of refried beans and it is huevos rancheros.
Falafel and pita with an assortment of side salads,
some kind of vegetable stew, like this week it was Fasolakia, which is potatoes, tomato sauce and green beans, Greek style and I added garbanzo beans and goat feta. Another type I like is thick chili style. I may serve the stew with rice or with whole grain rolls or wasa crisp and hummus if it is scarce on protein. A lot of times I do the stews in the crockpot but not always.
Occasionally I will do quiche using a store bought crust to speed up the process, but it is a rich meal. I make my quiche with half tofu to make it a little less fattening, but not significantly.
Frozen pizza and a salad made out of whatever needs to be cleared out of the fridge.

Do you have a freezer? Now is the time to make big pots of stuff that can provide a meal or two and freeze the rest. Yesterday was like a monsoon here, so we pulled out a box of bean soup with ham that I made after some occasion that I cooked a ham for and needed to use up leftovers. I served it with cheddar cheese toasted on whole wheat bread. There's still some veggie soup left made when we had tons of veggies last fall and split pea soup left from after Thanksgiving.

A simple dinner is ham steaks (Costco). Serve with pasta (3 years old? Annie's mac n cheese) or potatoes or cornbread or whatever and a green veggie.

Pork tenderloin is also easy: 20 min in the toaster (or regular) oven plus whatever you like with it. Apple sauce is good.

P.S. The move from one baby to two is an amazing amount of discombobulation. Not so for the one(s) after that, but 1 to 2 is an unexpected difference. Keep it simple.

I would seriously consider adding a separate big freezer in order to expand your menu. For instance, brown rice freezes great but takes awhile to cook. A roast chicken carcass makes great broth- which freezes beautifully- as do many, many things.

Awesome ideas everyone!

We have a large freezer (we had two for a while). Usually keep a 1/4 beef in it from a friend who farms. We are going to try to get some meals prepped up and froze. I cannot wait to make some of that chili but we will have to wait till we finish he chili that's frozen in the freezer.