Dinner Ideas for Tonight
Another day, another dinner. I love food. My whole day revolves around food. Generally speaking, I always thinking about my next meal.
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But every once and a while I just can’t make up my mind. Or nothing sounds good. Have you been there? The age old question what should I make tonight for dinner?
So I came up with a fun game that gets us out of comfort zone and makes me feel less guilty about my ridiculous cookbook hoarding habit.
I love the pretty pictures and trying new recipes, so I buy them with the best intentions and then…. you know how this story ends. They just collect dust on my counter or get lost in a cupboard.
I’ve found a solution to both of my issues:
- What do I want for dinner?
- What are you going to do with all of those cookbooks?
I call it recipe roulette. If I could have an actual wheel of dinner in my kitchen, I would. Kinda like a food and drink wheel of fortune.
My family has found some of our most favorite recipes from this simple little game. Gets us out of our comfort zone and trying new things.
Several of them are also popular on the site:
“What’s for dinner?” Game:
ONE. Generally speaking, you’ll want to plan a little ahead for this one. I actually plan the menu on Sunday, so I can go grocery shopping for the week. But if you have a stocked kitchen, this shouldn’t be an issue.
TWO. Find a cookbook you want to use. Take a brief look at the Table of Contents and identify a group of pages that will fit your needs. This is my favorite weeknight dinner cookbook.
For example, if you don’t want soup for dinner, don’t select those pages. If you don’t want fish, omit those pages. Try to find some pages in a row.
If you need a way to decide what protein or section to even choose from, then we move to the paper ball game (more on that below).
I AM FULL OF FOOD GAMES!!!!
THREE. Take those pages between your fingers and randomly turn to a page.
FOUR. You must select one of the recipes on those pages. No second chances (unless it is something really outlandish!).
FIVE. Make the recipe and explore something new! Enjoy!
Looks like we are having halibut for dinner!
Dinner Recipes
Here is a group of easy dinner ideas for our own site. Perfect recipes for the home cook. Some are cooking from scratch and others semi-homemade, but one thing is for sure. Dinner will be ready and on the table in less than an hour from start to finish… some are even 30 minutes!
Beef Recipes:
Beef is one of our favorite dinner solutions. Whether it is a juicy steak on the grill or ground beef in a casserole, it is sure to please. Learn more about beef dinner ideas and how to cook them in each of these recipes.
- Beef Stew with Vegetables
- Beef Stroganoff with Buttered Noodles
- Corned Beef from Scratch
- Traditional Beef Wellington
- Beef Short Ribs in the Instant Pot
- Beef Stir Fry with Potatoes
- Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Quick & Easy Mongolian Beef
- Roast Beef Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions
- 20 Minute Beef and Broccoli
- Beef Patties from Hamburgers
- Coffee Crusted Beef Tenderloin
- Beef Ribs
- Cube Steak with Gravy
- Salisbury Steak
- Pan Fried Steak
- BEST Steak Rub
- Truffle Burgers
- Best Ground Beef Recipes
Chicken Recipes:
Chicken recipes range the gamut from easy to hard, simple to complex. The one thing we all know is that chicken can get boring. Here are just a few chicken dinner recipes to brighten up your evening from chicken breasts, to chicken thighs, drumsticks and of course, chicken wings.
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Instant Pot Chicken Paella
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
- Butter Chicken Flatbread
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Mushroom Chicken and Rice
- Baked Chicken Enchiladas
- Classic Chicken Piccata
- Chicken Alfredo
- Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
- Southwest Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Parmigiana
- Best Grilled Chicken Marinade
- Whole Roast Chicken
- Cowboy Chicken Tacos
- Chicken Cacciatore
- Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
- Air Fryer Cornish Hens
- Fiesta Chicken Fajitas
- Crock Pot Chicken Recipes
- Shredded Chicken Tater Tot Nachos
- Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
- Pan Fried Chicken Breasts
Pork Recipes:
Pork comes in so many forms. The most common is probably bacon and if we were listing bacon recipes, this would be a long list. Has you have it, we really like pork and prepare it often in the form of pork chops, sausages, ribs, tenderloins and loins. Even pork butt (also known as a pork shoulder which is a whole other story….). Check out our favorite pork dinner recipes!
- Brined Pork Chops
- French Onion Pork Loin
- Crock Pot Pork Loin Roast
- Apple Spiced Pork Tenderloin
- Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- Baked Pork Chops
- Dijon Grilled Pork Chops
- BBQ Pork Ribs
- Bone-In Pork Chops
- Zesty Pork Carnitas
- Stuffed Pork Chops
- Crispy Pork Tacos
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Creamy Smothered Pork Chops
- Juicy Pork Chop Recipes
- Sausage and Pepper Skillet
Pasta Recipes:
There is nothing more comforting than a steaming bowl of pasta. Pasta recipes bring a smile to my face. Did you know that every culture has a type of pasta as part of their diet?
Simple with flour and water, sometimes egg and then other elements, this is a truly a dish that breaks across cultural barriers.
And each type of pasta, of which there are over 500 varieties, is made with a particular purpose in mind depending on size and shape. Fascinating!
- Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Stuffed Shells Chicken Pasta
- Creamed Spinach and Shrimp Pasta
- Classic Pasta Sauce
- Pasta Carbonara
- Pesto Pasta
- Sausage Pasta Alfredo
- Fra Diavolo Seafood Pasta
- Pesto Pasta Bake
- Garlicky Shrimp Scampi
- Creamy Cajun Pasta
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Creamy Lemon Pasta
- Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce
- Scallion Pesto Scallop Pasta
- Squid Ink Pasta Recipe
Seafood Recipes:
People tend to be intimidated to prepare seafood at home. The general scope ranges from shellfish and crustaceans to gilled fish and beyond like uni or eel. Salmon, crab, shrimp, scallops, lobster they are all good choices.
The truth is that sefood can be a healthy dinner idea and also cut down on cooking time, as they generally take less time to cook than other protiens.
The trick is to be confident on how you cook them and also where you buy them, both for freshness and price. Here are our favorite seafood recipes.
- Balsamic Steamed Shrimp
- Italian Seafood Salad
- Crab Imperial
- Pesto Baked Salmon
- Grilled Salmon
- Seafood Paella
- Grilled Lobster Tails
- Salmon Patty
- Baked Halibut
- Chorizo Steamed Mussels
- Smoked Salmon Sandwich
- Maryland Crab Cakes
- Linguine and Clam Sauce
- Stuffed Lobster Tails
- Blackened Shrimp Recipe
- Seafood Stuffed Shells
- Southern Salmon Croquettes
- Crabby Totchos
- Low Carb Scallop Recipe
Vegetarian Dishes:
Whether you eat vegetarian as a lifestyle or just need a recipe for meatless Monday, here are a few that are sure to please and won’t have you missing meat in any way.
We hope that we’ve answered your questions what should I make for dinner tonight. Recipes for tasty main dishes and more!
If you are looking for appetizers, side dishes, like this roasted baby potatoes recipe, or even desserts– click on the links for recipes!
Click on any of these links to find great recipes and even more fabulous lists of ideas for dinner tonight. And if you are still stumped, shoot me an email for some more ideas.
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Look for ingredients on sale and base your recipes around those. Choose ingredients you can use in multiple recipes and for goodness sake, use coupons! Pasta, rice and potatoes are always good, filling bases that cost little.
I think the answer to this question varies from person to person, but I think we can all agree that cheese, starches and carbohydrates all make for good comfort food.
1. Salad. No matter what cuisine you are looking at, salad is number one.
2. Chicken. Again, a common thread through many cultures.
3. Pasta. As mentioned before, nearly all cultures have some unique form of pasta.
This has definitely been a challenge for us lately, trying to figure out what to make and what to have. It does make it harder with limited ingredients!
Wow! What a comprehensive guide on dinner ideas! Now I know what I’ll be making in the coming few weeks!
Thanks for the tips! Thinking about what to prep for lunch or dinner is the hardest task for housewives. Haha
This is awesome! I am always on the lookout for new recipes. Thanks for sharing.
These are really wonderful collection of dinner recipes. I will try to check it out few recipes.
So many terrific recipes. I’ve had a lot of time to cook lately, but it feels like I have to forage for ingredients.
I think I have the menu for the whole next week! Great ideas!
This is awesome! These dinner recipe ideas are super delicious! I am pinning this right now!
I love planning and making a nice meal for dinner. It is actually pretty therapeutic.
There are a lot of great recipes here. I see so many that I’d love to try out. I honestly hate trying to figure out what to cook for dinner each day.
I feel like I am always trying to figure out what to eat for dinner. This is such a great list of ideas!
This is amazing! I’m so tired of asking the question “What’s for dinner”! Now I can quickly find the answer.
I do meal planning and I always check for new recipes to try. You have such a great list of recipes here. Will check them all out.
Oh the Mexican chicken caught my eye! Great collection of recipes here! Thank you. Pinning for later as I often run out of ideas.
This sounds fun and really helpful for us! I am also having problems on thinking of what to cook for dinner sometimes. I might use this wonderful idea of yours.
Wow and Woah. Sooo many recipes listed that Babushka wants to try, that she skipped over pinning and just saved the WHOLE POST to my computer. Gracias for a great reference.
So many amazing ideas! That Creole shrimp is to die for.
Everything sounds amazing! I’m hungry now. I hate to cook, so I am all about easy meals.
This is a daily question for me and my wife! Being in quarantine, I find that I wake up every morning wondering what we’re going to have! Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks! I’m always looking for new recipes to try. I’ll be sure and pin this.
Thank you for creating this roundup. Looking forward to trying some of these recipes.
You are very welcome! Hope it helps with the dreaded “what should we make for dinner” question.
The burritos in the picture look amazing! I’ve particularly had a taste for Mexican food lately. It always hits the spot.
Thanks! They are honestly one of my favorites.
This is such a lifesaver. Like most of us these days, I am always on the hunt for new recipes.
Us too! I hope some of these appeal to you. Although I am not sure how they couldn’t LOL.