Dinners are SO tedious

[mangosmoothie123]

Choosing what to have for dinner daily is soooooo tedious, to the point I feel like not cooking at all!

How do you decide what to have for dinner, do you have set meals for certain days of the week?

Any budget (and time) friendly meal ideas?

@mangosmoothie123 I'm with you m I have teenage sons and they are always coming in at different times. I try and sit down with them and plan a couple days of meals ahead but its often changed last minute. The good thing is they are getting better at cooking for themselves 🤣🤣

We eat the same things on rotation usually
Pasta bolognaise
Pasta carbonara
Fajitas
Lemon and herb chicken and rice
Vietnamese Sticky pork and noodles
Paprika pork and rice
Risotto
Lasagne
Sausage and lentil casserole with garlic bread
Sausage wedges and beans
Sweet and sour chicken and rice
Beef stew and mash
Mince and dumplings
Jamie's Sausage pasta (pregnant jools pasta)

Before anyone comes at me there is veg in or on the side or salad with all of them

Easy pasta " sauce " made with cooked courgettes in garlic and chili.
Add rind and juice of. A lemon...more raw garlic ..olive oil and Parmesan..oh and 100g of ground almonds .
Throw into hot pasta ..add small tomatoes and chopped raw spinach.
Can add chicken

Lentil soup..crusty bread and cheese

Meatloaf with mash and greens

Macaroni cheese with broccoli and spinach added

Following for ideas. Yes, thinking about dinners is very boring. When I'm in a slump, I make a list and circle back through them. I'm also at the stage of teenagers turning up at odd times!

We used to have a rolling 3 week rotation of meals. 21 meals not repeated for 21 days. Although chilli could become fajitas or a jacket potato filling or shepherd’s pie etc. Took the thinking out of it all without us getting bored of meals and made shopping much quicker.

We have about 12 staple meals we do on repeat with the odd new recipe thrown in for something different.

Some of our staples are

teriyaki tofu, sticky rice and broccoli
truffle mushroom and leek risotto
veggie sausage and roasted veg tray bake
halloumi salad or flatbreads
lentio Dahl
sweet potato chickpea and spinach coconut curry
Pad Thai

I have about 30 meals that take less than 15 mins effort to prepare and I rotate/vary them.

Stuffed peppers
pasta & assorted sauces
cassoulet
fish & oven chips
assorted risottos
chilli & rice
various curries & rice
lamb or pork chops, couscous and various veg
butcher sausages, mustard mash and veg
cheese burgers and salad
Stroganoff
Chicken fajitas and refried beans

Great thread. Same here. Tonight spag bol and garlic bread. Son will eat that too. I run out of ideas by wed!! Then Im buying crap mid week.

Jambalaya
fishcakes or sausage with mash and peas,
Tomato, chorizo and red pepper sauce with pasta,
Chicken curry and rice,
Pork chops, new potatoes and vegetables,
Chicken wih savoury rice.
chilli with rice or jacket potato,
Spaghetti bol,
Shepherd's pie,
Nandos rice with marinated meat,
Jacket potatoes with cheese and beans,
Sausage pasta,
Fajitas,
All day breakfast,
Bean and rice burrito,
Pan fried chicken, veg and roast potatoes,
Cajun Chicken and potatoes curry with garlic baguette.
These are our most regular meals I do on rotation. I meal plan 10 days at a time so I don't have to do it as often. I use the calendar to work out when teens will be late in/need an early tea and on those days I do something that's quick or could be warmed up later.

I really enjoy looking for new recipes. My current favourites are Thai red prawn curry, lamb koftas and cous cous, alfredo pasta, moussaka, pork ramen, beef goulash, salmon poke bowl, spice bags, cod tacos, guinness stew, Singapore noodles, nasi goreng, veggie burgers and sweet potatoe fries, loaded potatoe and ham soup, mixed bean quesadillas, loaded nachos, stuffed meatballs and spaghetti, marry me chicken and crispy potatoes, bang bang chicken and rice. I like doing themed nights aswell I did tapas of patatas braves, prawn pil pil, ham and cheese croquettes, Spanish tortilla and made sangria. Had a Chinese night made my own spring rolls, prawn toast, sweet and sour pork, chicken fried rice. Did an Indian night and made butter chicken, onion bhaji, naans and pilau.

Shamelessly following because I love food and cook a lot and forget about the old faves.

OP, I freeze a lot and batch cook. I'm in Europe during school time and they do deals differently here than UK, so that kind of dictates what I cook so I can't help. In the UK I meal planned meticulously and bought what I needed throughout but got meat fresh and little bits daily.

Oh I know it's hell isn't it

I am so sick of deciding what to eat, it's relentless.

We eat a rotation of:

Spaghetti
Sausage and mash
Homemade pies- chicken and veg, minced beef
Tacos
Quesadilla
Chilli in wraps, or with rice
Roasts
Burgers
Homemade naan bread pizza
Soup, cheese baguette, pâte
Chicken parmagiana
Thai Salmon with noodles and veggies

I also.make a lot of quiches and homemade soups. Also coleslaw, goes with everything

I Often plan using different ‘categories’ so Monday might be a pasta dish, Tuesday rice based, Wednesday fish, Thurs Mexican, Friday meat based, Saturday a curry, Sunday a bread or pastry based dish.
You can then search (either google or use specific recipe sites) based on the category.
Then next week change the categories cook different recipes for the same categories.
i also look at restaurant menus for inspiration.

We have a freezer full of batch cooks to draw on:
Bolognese
Carbonara
Chilli con carne
Chicken pie mix (just need ready to roll pastry)
Chinese chicken curry
Paella (I cheat and use packet rice)
Beef bourguignon
Chicken Tikka Masala
Cottage pie
Mix for stuffed mushrooms (then just buy field mushrooms on the day)

I put a list up and let the three kids choose what they want for the next day and top up what we've run out of. I also get some ready made things for treats like burgers and always have salad in the fridge.