What are your home cooked everyday dinners? I need ideas.

[DreamingOfASilentNight]

In need of inspiration. Finding myself cooking the same family meals all the time.
For reference I have DH and Dd7. They eat most things ( obviously the 7 year old would choose plain pasta or pizza margarita daily out if preference!) I don't eat meat but can deal with my own requirements. I'm trying to figure out some alternative options to cook for them which can include meat.

Current regulars are:

Coq au vin,
Boef bourginon
Mushroom risotto,
Baked Ratatouille
Linguine with prawns and tomatoes with rocket
Salmon with sweet chili sauce
Noodles with stir fried vegetables and pressed ( or sometimes steak)
Rigatoni ortalano ( a tomato based sauce with onions aubergines and courgettes)
Jacket potatoes with fillings
Cod loin with baked tomatoes
Occasional macaroni it cauliflower cheese
Bolognese.
Meatball spaghetti

Although there are quite a few options they are just on constant repeat. I'm trying to come up with some other options that are largely unprocessed but additionally don't take an eternity ( it loads if pans and equipment) to cook. Throw me some ideas please.

Look up marry me chicken. Tacos, fajitas, steak and peppercorn sauce, potatoe and leek gratin. Chicken curry.
Cooking so boring 😴

Lentil Dahl and rice all cooked in the oven - eaten weekly in this house
Tomato passata and mascarpone pasta bake peanut satay tofoo tofu and veg ‘stirfry’ and rice
a pasta salad made with avocado feta pine nuts tomatoes sundried tomatoes and spinach and watercress - a weekly dish here
baked potatoes stuffed with cheese with beans and salad
bean chilli
lasagne

Slice onion in frying pan. Add just a little water - a splash only - heat and let onions soften. Add other chopped veg such as courgette, pepper or mushroom, etc. When water absorbed, add a little oil, place fish fillets on top and cover, cook on medium heat. Easy way to cook fish, and almost impossible to overcook it. Nice with squeeze of lemon juice over, or could add chilli flavour to veg before fish goes in..

We have:

Tacos
Chicken fajitas
Homemade soup, cheese, baguette
Meat and mushroom pie
Chicken and veg pie
Sausage rolls, homemade soup
Salmon with maple and soy, rice, veg
Chicken fried rice

I have a habit of getting recipe books from the library and jotting down and trying those I like .. there are a lot of books out there claiming to do one pot cooking or simple recipes ..

Keep them coming. Thank you so. Agree @Eyerollexpert it's so boring. Really feels like something I didn't want to do. Id happily live on simple salad variations every day with no real effort.

Sausage casserole
Chicken, bacon and leek pie (potato topped)
Tuna, sweet potato and chilli fishcakes
Thai fishcakes
Tuna pasta bake
Cod wrapped in prosciutto
Stilton stuffed mushrooms
Cajun chicken wraps
Honey and mustard chicken
Chicken tagine
Paprika chicken tray bake
Pork, apple, shallot and parsnip casserole (cooked in cider)
Falafel in pita
Shakshuka
Roast gammon with pineapple salsa

We've just had orzo pasta - boil til ready, drain, return to the pan and add garlic, artichokes in oil, spinach and double cream and gently heat. One pan and takes 15 minutes.

Chicken fajitas with all the trimmings/sauces/beans - very easy to adapt to veggie

Beef chili - or 5 bean chili. With rice or home made wedges.

Mackerel kedgeree is super easy and fast, but may not be 7 year old friendly

No pork in your list, but if you eat it just do a slow cooker gammon joint and that's multiple meals - as roast with cauli cheese, with BBQ sauce and rice/veg, sliced for sandwiches or salads. Freezes well too.

Chick pea, squash, cauliflower coconut curry with naan.

My children love chicken wings.. I do those with veg and rice or pasta
Spaghetti Bolognaise often with puy lentils so we can all eat it (one veggie)
Salmon and rice and veg

The recipe from the Leon book? Its delicious!

That’s a nice selection of meals, and you’ve got nearly 2 weeks worth without having to repeat yourself.

The following also go down well and work as a weekday meal

• chicken and spinach curry (or cauliflower, paneer and spinach curry)
• pork stroganoff
• hainanese chicken rice
• a slow cooker chicken dish - sliced onions and peppers, chicken, tinned tomatoes, olives, oregano and then chuck bulgar wheat in about 10-15 minutes before you want to eat
• a cheaty sort of ma po tofu - fry garlic, ginger, onion, chinese five spice, diced aubergine and minced pork, add oyster sauce and enough water to loosen it up into a sauce (may also need a little cornflour if you overdo that).Heat up silken tofu carefully and dice. Lay the tofu on a plate and then pour the other mixture on top. I think this needs a bit of chilli heat but DC not good with spice

the next takes a bit longer, but is mainly left alone to its own devices. Well more commonly have at a weekend

• a chicken traybake - onion, lemon, tumeric, cumin, chicken into oven. Boil barley in stock with cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. About halfway through, add broccoli to oven dish. Then about 10 minutes before eating, add the cooked barley, dill and sunflower and pumpkin seeds and back into oven. When serving, sprinkle also generously with pomegranate seeds

Try simply cook for a few months, I'm a convert

Also been bored with cooking. Been following a few Facebook recipes. A chicken shwarma one pot rice dish, and did an orzo and chicken harissa thing last week. Went down a treat. The filled pasta, tub of sauce and garlic bread offer, plus either a piece of fish or chicken is always a quick and easy one. Mine aren't fans of spag bol but will eat a spag pasta bake. Am probably going to try a veg and protein one tray bake thing next week. And find different sides jazz up boring meals. So chilli but with wraps and one of those 4 dip party trays and some dorritos instead of rice. Or sweet potato wedges instead of chips. And stuff like sandwiches. I do a posh fishfinger sarnie on ciabatta bread with tartar sauce. Or pulled pork in a wrap.

Basically just jazz up the normal a bit.

Beans on toast
Cheese on toast
Avocado on toast
Egg on toast

⬆️ I’d seriously do this daily if I could 🤣 I like things quick and simple. Every meal below, I’ll do the simplest version out there, even though theres probably more complex (tastier) ways of making them.

Same of our family favs are:
Biryani
Beef casserole with dumplings
Shepherds/Cottage pie
chicken and mushroom pie w/mash
homemade pizzas with salad
Seasoned chicken thighs with couscous
Pulled pork ciabatta burgers with sides
Toad in the hole

You also can’t beat an English breakfast for
dinner!

Spaghetti carbonara (home made)

yellow-smoked basa fillet with fried eggs and toast (much tastier than it sounds!)

pan Fried salmon with teriyaki sauce and stir fried veg and noodles

grilled ciabatta spread with red pesto, shredded red peppers and mozzarella

Thai chicken green curry (quick if you have chopped everything ahead of cooking).

home made soups (made in advance)

Lots of fantastic ideas!
I’m a bit fan of Taming Twins, her recipes are excellent and includes some nice slow cooker versions.

I find cooking very boring too, but I prefer my cooking to DH's, so sometimes I have to..

I do fish pies, from whatever fish we have, Inclouding tinned and I put some powdered seaweed in to boost the flavour.
DH likes beef cobbler, which I do with mince and lots of veg.
Roasts and pasta dishes at least once a week and we get left overs to have again or freeze. We like a really good bubble and squeak.
We get a lot of game in season, so there are various forms of game pies, rabbit curry and casseroles.
Half the time, I would just as soon have egg on toast or a salmon sandwich, so that's when DH has his steak or sausages.

Stroganoff (mushroom or beef) and Goulash (ditto) are easy. They can be served with rise or noodles if you're sick of spuds.

DD's favourite at the moment - stir fry a pack of veg, add noodles and instant ramen stock (you can get bottles of concentrated stuff at asian supermarkets) and either tofu, fish, prawns or chicken pieces. Top with spring onion and a boiled egg if you're feeling fancy. It takes about 10 minutes and one large wok.

@SallyWD yep! I'm pretty much learning to cook from that (and their other) books.

Only things I can think of that others haven’t mentioned are eggs, a frittata or Spanish omelette was popular when the kids were young and if in a real hurry scrambled eggs on toast with baked beans worked well before evening clubs. Macaroni cheese was another quick one, you can add broccoli or cauliflower easily, add to boiling pasta when nearly cooked.

Chicken pot pie
Chicken stew with dumplings
Pork paprikash
Fish pie
Cottage pie
Bangers and colcannon
Beef stroganoff
Minced turkey chili with black beans and corn
Various curries
Salad with blackened salmon, hard boiled eggs, capers, olives, cherry tomatoes, greens
Vietnamese chicken salad (Nigella Lawson recipe)
Hearty lentil soup and other soups

Also
Spaghetti and meatballs
Korean Bulgogi
Normandy chicken stew
Pork tenderloin browned, coated in Dijon mustard, and baked with onions and apples

And pulled pork sandwiches

Homemade burgers, chicken or beef curry. Soup with crusty bread