Ham and baked beans.

Pot roast or beef stew

Roast pork with a side of butternut squash

Meatloaf

Chicken parm

Baked ziti

Spaghetti with bolognese sauce

Get a costco rotisserie chicken

Casserole with broccoli, chicken and cheese

Shepherd's pie (I make mine with beef instead of lamb)

Chicken/vegetable casserole topped with biscuits

or I make a Mexican vegetarian one topped with corn bread

take out... something.

lasagna

pot of chili

take out pizza

Ask them to cook for you at least one night.

Fajita's

Pot roast

Chicken and rice

Breakfast for dinner

Hamburgers and Brats

Pork loin with loaded baked potatoes

soup and bread or chili

Beef tips over noodles

swiss steak and mashed potatoes

Shrimp Scampi Alfredo with a good bread and veggie

Chicken soft tacos made with rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. We are having Louisiana Chicken Pasta only not as spicy (two of us don't like spicy food) or with the peppers since my daughter hates peppers, mushrooms on the side because on of my exchange students doesn't like mushrooms: https://dinnerthendessert.com/louisiana-chicken-pasta-cheesecake-factory/?fbclid=IwAR2HybTdya2yBYFLqruwOE8C2DyYynDMW8VqjaLRRWWgNU3Ss5j9FeJrub4

My go to's when people come for dinner

chicken Alfredo

meatloaf

lasagna

pork chop dinner (2 cans apple pie filling on bottom of glass 9x13 pan. pork cutlets, usually do 10 or 11, layered on top of apples. sprinkle chops with Montreal steak seasoning. make 2 boxes of stove top stuffing for pork. layer evenly on top of chops. cover with foil, bake abt an hr and 20 min at 400. soooo good)

Chicken Paprikash

Beef Stroganoff

Hamburgers or Salmon Burgers

Make-Your-Own Taco Bar

Fancy Macaroni and Cheese

Sheet pan dinners can be easy and good. Lots of different recipes online. I just made this one. You can use whatever chicken pieces you like, adjusting cooking time accordingly. Red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be subbed for the sherry vinegar. Also, any olives of choice can be used. Good with rice and a salad.

Sheet Pan Vinegar Chicken (Serves 4-6)

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 cups mixed color cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 425.

Toss the onions with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the chicken thighs on top and sprinkle them all over with the smoked paprika and salt and pepper. Drizzle the vinegar onto the baking sheet, then roast in the oven about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, toss the cherry tomatoes, olives, rosemary and garlic with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, a big pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Add the mixture to the baking sheet with the roasted chicken and continue to roast until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 15-20 minutes more.
Sprinkle with the parsley and serve the chicken with the vegetables and juices from the baking sheet.

Last night I went with a Brazilian theme, making Feijoada (a stew of pork, sausage and black beans) served with rice, and a side dish of "Brazilian Collard Greens"

I had made the Feijoada many times, and knew it would turn out well, but it was the first time ever making the collard greens dish, which was also a big hit.

FEIJOADA -- BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN STEW

3 lbs pork (cubed)

1 lb linguica (cubed)(Portuguese smoked sausage)

4 oz thick bacon chopped

1 oz Armour dried beef (chopped fine)

2 1/2 large sweet onions (chopped)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

5 15oz can Black Beans (drained)

1 15oz can Refried Black Beans w/ lime

1 Tbsp adobo sauce (optional)

2 chipotle peppers (seeds removed and minced) (optional)

2 cups water

In large pot over medium heat cook bacon until most of the grease is out and the bits are lightly browned, remove bacon from pan and reserve.

Raise heat, and add pork and cook, stirring frequently, until the outside of the pork is completely cooked and lightly browned. Remove from pan and reserve.

Add onions to bacon grease, and cook until onions are soft and translucent. .Add the garlic, the sausage, the dried beef, the adobo sauce and the (optional) peppers and return the bacon and pork to the pan and cook and stir for another 10 minutes.

Add the beans drained well, plus 2 cups of water. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the can of refried black beans and stir it in well.

Keep warm over low heat until ready to serve.

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For the Brazilian Collard Greens dish I looked up a few recipes and mostly followed this one:

https://braziliankitchenabroad.com/brazilian-style.../

But the as-made version is as follows:

Brazilian Collard Greens

1 bunch of collard greens stems removed and thinly sliced

2 thick strips of smoked bacon diced

1/2 sweet onion diced

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 orange, (peeled, sliced thin as garnish)

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium to high heat

Add the bacon and cook until browned, about 3-4 mins

Add the onions and garlic cook until transparent, about 2 mins

Turn the heat to low and add the collard greens and toss gently until the greens wilt and soften, about 4 minutes

Remove to serving dish, toss with vinegar, garnish with the orange slices

Make the last night a night out at a restaurant so they can order extra and have leftovers. The work may be done but then the cleaning starts, they will be too tired to cook.

I’m making my unstuffed pepper casserole today. I use ground turkey so it’s not a heavy meal.

If you are interested, I’ll post it.

Just wanted to say Annie's suggestion of rotisserie chicken is a good one. Lots you can do with them. I've made both of these recipes many times with rotisserie chicken. For the first one, I like to use penne instead of linguine.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-tetrazzini-recipe-1943960

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/chicken-stew-with-biscuits

Lots of great ideas - thank you. Shows how picky my family can be as we have non-veggie people, diabetics and those that are just tired of getting take-out.

We're all on lockdown here so eating in a restaurant is a big no-no. Thank you again and yes, I'd love to see your recipe for unstuffed pepper casserole eld6161.

Some of these have been mentioned but I have cooked for a fairly large crew (20-ish) that works at the botanical garden a couple of times.

Baked Ziti (I make mine using half Italian sausage and half ground chuck)

Chili dogs and slaw dogs

sheet pan dinners using chicken legs and thighs, potatoes and veggies of choice

If you have a Costco nearby, they sell packs of deboned rotisserie chicken. I split it up into 3 packs and froze two of them for later use for DH and I. You could use in a variety of ways for chicken soup, chicken Alfredo, etc. I like to use orzo instead of noodles or rice In soup plus carrots and celery.

Unstuffed Bell Pepper Bake

1 lb ground turkey

1 1/2 cup cooked rice

2 large green peppers diced

1 med yellow onion diced

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded ( 8 oz)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbs Italian seasoning

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 scallions chopped this will be sprinkle on top

1/4 black pepper

375 degree oven

9x13 glass dish

Cook turkey till it crumbles

Sauté vegetables until soft

Drain turkey if needed

Combine all except scallions in a bowl. Transfer to dish. Sprinkle with scallions

Bake 18-22 minutes

Please note: I made the mistake of combining everything rather than sprinkle the mozzarella on top. DH likes it this way, so that is how I make it.

Feel free to change it back!

I usually shred, chop and cook the rice ahead of time, so it quicker to throw together later on.

Hope you like it.

Taco bar

Pulled pork

These 2 meals are always a hit and a lot can be prepared ahead of time. When our kids and grands spend a week up here (that’s 17 ⎌of us) they work well.

Pea or bean soup and cornbread with greens.