It’s no secret that we’ve all been cooking at home in the past year more than ever. 🤯 I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have days where I either don’t feel like cooking or I just feel uninspired and don’t know what to make despite scrolling Pinterest for hours. Most of us have easy dinner ideas that we keep on rotation. But what happens when you’re sick of them all?! You need some variety in your life!
During normal weekdays when I was in the office, I would eat out for lunch at least a few times a week (in hindsight, very thankful to be saving that money now). Then, Geoff and I would go out to dinner once a week or once every couple weeks. Under the current circumstances, we’ve been cooking 99% of our meals at home. Once in a while, we will order takeout to give ourselves a break. Would be curious to hear if you guys are doing the same!
With how much cooking we’re all doing, I wanted to give you all some inspiration in case you’re bored with what you normally eat, OR maybe this is the first year you’ve been cooking consistently. Keep reading for 7 of my favorite easy dinner ideas. Enjoy! *chef’s kiss* 😘
7 Easy Dinner Ideas
Baked Cod or Haddock
I think people get intimidated by cooking fish, but it’s so easy and is a meal that can be done in 20 minutes! I typically buy haddock or cod – whichever I can find. I buy 1 lb. which will serve about two people, and this is one meal where I don’t purchase more than I need in an effort to have leftovers because I don’t love fish as leftovers. Just my personal preference though! My favorite way to bake fish is by baking it with a Ritz cracker crust.
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I take a “short sleeve” (or 1/2 of the regular size sleeves) of Ritz crackers, place in a Ziploc bag and crush the crackers into crumbs. Add a Tablespoon of butter to a large sized pan on low-medium heat and once melted, stir in the Ritz cracker crumbs. Stir around a minute or two with a wooden spoon, being careful not to burn (you may want to turn down to low heat). After the Ritz cracker crumbs are golden brown, turn off heat and spoon the Ritz cracker crumbs onto a plate and set aside for later. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel (I do this so I can use the same pan to cook the fish and don’t have to use another pan!). Just make sure your pan is oven safe if you’ll also be putting it in the oven!
Add a Tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan. Add the fish to the pan, skin-side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze a wedge of lemon over the top of the fish and discard. Spoon the browned Ritz cracker crumbs on top of the fish. Add the fish to the oven and cook on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. I usually serve with sautéed green beans or another easy vegetable!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
One of my absolute favorite meals is these lettuce wraps from Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook! So healthy, actually filling, and satisfying. I feel like that’s hard to come by from a lettuce wrap, but these are so good. I have the cookbook, but if you don’t, here’s the recipe! Geoff doesn’t like water chestnuts so I usually leave those out. Bomb! 😋
Zoodles With Meat Sauce
This is one of my favorite, super easy meals that we eat fairly frequently. This thing started happening in my upper 20s where pasta started making me feel awful. Anyone else?! 😅 I’ve tried quite a few of the “healthier” pasta options like chickpea pasta and others, but don’t love the taste. I actually love zoodles, and if you have a great sauce, they turn out amazing. The trick is to not overcook your zoodles. They only need to be sautéed in a pan for just a couple minutes. I’ve seen pre-made zoodles in quite a few of the grocery stores near us. I’ve bought them before and my one issue with them is that by the time we get our hands on them to make them into a meal, they contain a lot of water and the texture isn’t great. This is why I prefer to make my own!
I have this zoodle slicer which I really like. It’s tiny so it doesn’t take up much space at all and is under $10! There are spiralizers that might be a little bit easier to use because they have a crank rather than you spinning the zucchini yourself, but I don’t have much more space in my apartment for any additional kitchen gadgets.
Start with two zucchinis (or one zucchini and one summer squash) and cut off the ends of both. Begin spiralizing onto a large plate or into a bowl and set aside. Begin making your sauce. I usually brown 1 lb. of ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken is great too. Add your meat to a large pan over medium heat (if cooking ground turkey or ground chicken, add a Tablespoon of olive oil to the pan to prevent sticking) and cook until cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes. If using ground beef, drain any excess grease. Then add your favorite sauce. I usually use a can of Rao’s and love the Roasted Garlic and the Tomato Basil. Cook until heated through.
In another pan, add a Tablespoon of olive oil over low-medium heat. Add your zoodles and cook for about 2-3 minutes. I add salt and pepper to taste after cooking (to prevent water from being drawn out while cooking). Once they’re done, serve with your meat sauce. Easy peasy!
Vietnamese Pork Bowls
These Vietnamese Pork Bowls are delicious and healthy. Best of all, it’s a slow cooker recipe, so you can add to your crock pot and then go do other important things! If you have an Instant Pot, I’m sure that would work even better. If you want to get even more veggies in, substitute the rice for cauliflower “rice.” I like it with rice though, so I usually buy these rice packs to keep it easy. I typically use 1/2 the soy sauce it calls for and substitute the other half with water.
Greek Salads with Chicken
Greek salads (recipe here) are super easy to make and can be a side dish with dinner, a full meal, or even a lunch. We make this meal a lot because it’s healthy and nutritious. If there’s an ingredient you don’t like, simply leave out! We sometimes leave out the olives because neither of us are particularly fond of them (although I go through phases where I like them in this haha). The homemade dressing is essential (you can really taste the difference) and is what takes this salad up a notch from your average salad.
I make chicken to go with this because I like the added protein. When making a salad into a full meal, the protein is essential for me – otherwise I’m hungry in 5 minutes! Just double the dressing recipe and then you have extra for marinating your chicken breasts. Grilling the chicken will give you the best flavor, but you can also marinate the chicken and cook in a large pan on the stovetop over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
Pan Cooked Chicken With Charred Broccoli
I cook chicken breasts a lot and the standard way I season them is with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder on each side. For best results, first dry the chicken breasts with a paper towel on each side, then remove and season your chicken. Before starting your chicken, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and cut up your broccoli into small florets. Add the broccoli to a large sheet pan and spread out (make sure to use one that has ridges that come up slightly). Sprinkle olive oil over the broccoli, then turn over the broccoli with a spatula to ensure it’s evenly coated in olive oil. I then sprinkle a little salt and pepper and garlic powder over the broccoli. Put the sheet pan in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes. I usually check on it half way through and flip the broccoli with a spatula if needed.
Now, start your chicken. Add a Tablespoon of olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Once the pan is warm, add your chicken breasts. I usually start the chicken on higher heat (medium) so that it gets a nice brown color on the outside. Once you’ve flipped your chicken, turn the heat to low-medium and cook for 8-10 minutes. Once your broccoli is finished, remove from the oven. You can also add grated parm (so yummy!).
Seared Scallops with Sautéed Veggies
Scallops always make for an easy and fast meal. Our local Wegmans has a great selection of seafood so that’s where I buy my scallops. They usually come in a pack of 8-10 and that’s enough for Geoff and I to split. If you know a fisherman or you’re close to a local fish market you can support, that’s an even better option.
I start by putting all of the scallops on a paper towel and also place a paper towel on top of them for 5 minutes or so. Blotting them helps to get them dry so you’ll get a crispy crust on them when cooking. After 5 minutes, I remove the paper towel and generously season both sides of the scallops with salt and pepper.
Next, add a Tablespoon of vegetable oil and a 1/2 Tablespoon of butter to a pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add half of your scallops (4-5) to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side. I recommend setting a timer because these cook quickly and you don’t want to over cook them. Resist the urge to check them or move them around within that 2 minutes they’re cooking on each side – this is how you get the nice crust! Once your first batch of scallops are complete, set aside on a clean plate and repeat the same process with your second batch of scallops. You can cook them all at the same time rather than batch cooking, but if you crowd the pan, it often prevents the scallops from getting that great crust.
For the sautéed veggies, I switch it up all the time and often end up just using what I have on hand. But, the below is my favorite to pair with scallops and is a spin-off of what we used to make to pair with scallops at a restaurant I worked at:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
2 ears of corn (or 2 cups frozen corn)
2 slices of bacon, diced
Handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
Add your bacon strips to a large pan over medium heat and cook until crispy. Once complete, add to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Add a Tablespoon of butter to your pan over low-medium heat. I recommend leaving the bacon grease in the pan as this will add great flavor to your veggies. Once the butter is melted, add your diced red bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add your diced zucchini and corn. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. While this is cooking, chop your bacon into crumbles. Add your bacon to the pan and cook for another minute. Once finished cooking, garnish with your basil ribbons. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed these 7 Easy Dinner Ideas! Make sure to check out my other recipes here. Do you have a favorite go-to easy dinner? I’d love to try it. Please share in the comments! 😋
