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What’s For Dinner Tonight? 45 Meal Ideas

I hate the question “what’s for dinner tonight”? It’s normally only asked at about four pm, Too late to make anything significant or scramble ingredients together and it drives me nuts. Naturally, I prefer to have a plan or at least some staples in my house to whip together an easy meal (like this Tangy Lemon Noodle Bowl!). However, that doesn’t always happen.

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Here's a list of 45 meals from my family to yours.

Personally, I would be happy eating the same 10-12 meals for dinner on rotation however my husband not so much. Even if I used different sauces, there are only so many “stir fry’s” or “curries” he will eat (boo!).

So last year I decided to record what we had for dinner for two full months. I didn’t want to create a meal plan (been there done that) or shop for specific ingredients each week. All I really wanted to do was come up with a list of 40 ish meals that would, at the very least, give me some ideas in the future!

Below is a list of 45 meals/dinners we had over the course of two months. Some are full, planned meals and others are quick mash ups of what was in the fridge. There were a few nights we went out to eat so I haven’t included those.

Where possible, I’ve linked to a recipe but the truth is sometimes it was just random things thrown together. If you have any questions about how I made those random things, please drop a comment below and I’d be happy to explain!

So while the question “what’s for dinner” will never be eliminated from or houses, hopefully this list gives you a few more answers in your arsenal!

 Two Months Of Meals From My Family To Yours

 

Pork chops With Spaghetti Squash With Tomatoes Onions & Mushrooms

I cooked the squash, shredded it and sautéed the onions and mushrooms. Then combined it all together in a pan with chopped tomatoes.

Green Chicken Curry

Sweet Potato & Chickpea Curry

Chicken Stir Fry

My favorite basic stir fry sauce is here.

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Here's a list of 45 meal ideas you can use with your family for dinner.

Chili

Who doesn’t love chili? It’s quite possible the best and easiest comfort food ever. Here’s a super simple, very basic recipe.

Peach & Ginger Chicken On Rice With Vegan Cesar Salad

I used real peaches in place of the peach jam. I also only used the dressing from that salad dressing not the full recipe itself (I’m lazy and the salad seemed fancy).

Mushroom Coconut Alfredo On Soba Noodles With Chicken

I made this up. A combination of coconut milk, parm and spices with sautéed mushrooms and topped with chicken.

Beet, Carrot & Quinoa Buddha Bowl

Put all those items in a bowl with chickpeas and sprouts and top with a lemon dressing.

Sheppard’s Pie

No recipe, just your classic family meal!

Cauliflower Soup & Perogies

I’ve mentioned before that I love perogies! Which means I normally have some homemade in the freezer. The cauliflower soup recipe comes from this site.

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Here's a list of 45 meal ideas you can use with your family for dinner.

Chicken With Rice Broccoli & Tomato

Cook everything and throw it together. If you used canned tomatoes there should be enough of a sauce.

Beef Stroganoff

I mostly follow the recipe above but I use coconut milk or greek yogurt in place of sour cream.

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken On Rice

Sausage and Soup

No recipe for the soup as it was a “use all things in the fridge” soup! Garlic and onions as the base and normally any and all random veggies plus broth and rice.

Curry Chickpea Wraps With Tomato Salad

Tomato salad is one of my favorites. All sorts of tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette and salt and pepper. Easy and delicious!

Chicken & Mushroom Rice Bake

No recipe just a lot of things mixed together! I use coconut milk to make it creamy and top with parm.

Beef Stew

This is normally a weekend meal so that it can simmer on the stove and be utterly tasty! We make a huge batch and put half in the freezer.

This recipe is from Thus Kitchen and one of my favorites, I just add chicken.

Quinoa Veggie Bowl With Orange Miso Sauce

Put random veggies into a bowl (carrots, tomatoes, peppers etc) with cooked quinoa and top with the dressing. I use honey instead of agave.

Veggie Pad Thai On Spaghetti Squash

I swapped zucchini noodles for spaghetti squash so hubby would eat it!

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Here's a list of 45 meal ideas you can use with your family for dinner.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Stew With Chicken On Rice

I added chicken and put the stew on rice to make it stretch and so we could freeze some!

Taco Salad With Greek Yogurt

Chicken Pesto On Soba Noodles

I make my own pesto with spinach, walnuts olive oil and parmesan. For the pasta I like to add mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms With Oven Baked Carrots & Soup

The random of the random! I used portabellas and stuffed them with sausage, a bit of oil, cheese and spinach. The soup was from the freezer because we always keep some on hand!

Mango Chicken Curry

Turkey Dinner

This was prep for a family dinner! I made an entire turkey dinner with potatoes, roasted veggies and quinoa stuffing to see how long it took.

Chicken Pot Pie

 I was SO proud of these pot pies. You can check out the instagram post here. I used this recipe for the filling (with some adaptations) and this one for the crust (minus the sugar- why is there sugar in crust? Can someone explain that?)

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Here's a list of 45 meal ideas you can use with your family for dinner.

African Stew

Recipe is from the Oh She Glows Original Book and easily one of my favorites (freeze some!)

Meatloaf & Roasted Veggies

Steak Fajitas

Sausage & Roasted Veggies

Spicy Sausage & Veggie Pasta

A made up meal. Garlic, onions, mushrooms, carrots and peppers with tomato sauce.

Spaghetti

Homemade Ribs, Sauerkraut & Roasted Veggies

Homemade Pizza

 I alternate between using spelt wraps as the “crust” or if my hubby is feeling fancy he will make crust and then it’s all personal toppings!

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Here's a list of 45 meal ideas you can use with your family for dinner.

Sesame Chicken With Broccoli On Rice

Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

This is one of my favorite meals but I have no exact recipe for you. It’s on my list to post though 🙂

Chicken Jambalaya

I omitted the shrimp because I hate shrimp.

Ham, Potatoes & Veggies

Marinated Chicken,  Broccoli & Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

Make or use store bought pesto and top the mushrooms with that, chopped spinach and sundried tomatoes.

Leftovers & Falafel

Lots of leftover veggies made into various salads or medleys and falafel.

Chicken Fajitas

Grilled Veggies & Chicken Wraps

Chicken Soup

Use up the veggies, rice/quinoa in the fridge and make a bit batch.

Sweet Chicken Curry

 

And there we are. Two months worth of meal ideas. They’re definitely random, sporadic and thrown together but we were fed, healthy and happy! I do prefer to cook large amounts so I like to keep enough in the freezer from stews and curries to have leftovers – it’s just smart!

Don’t forget to pin these meals!

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Here's a list of 45 meal ideas you can use with your family for dinner.

If you’re looking for something for dinner tonight, hopefully this list can help you out with a few ideas! Don’t be shy of trying something new either, that’s half the fun!

 

What’s your go to meal at dinnertime?

 

Looking for more tasty meals but don’t have time to cook? Check out my e-coobook “The Busy Mom’s Cookbook- 30 Meals In 30 Minutes“. It’s filled with healthy, fast meals specifically for moms.

This cookbook was made specifically for busy moms who want to put healthy, nutritious dinners on the table in 30 minutes or less.

 

Boost Your Energy With These 5 Snacks
Tired from chasing toddlers all day? Need a mid afternoon boost? These tasty snacks can help!
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Related Posts:

  • Recipe Roundup: 9 Ways To Make CurryRecipe Roundup: 9 Ways To Make Curry
  • Quick Chicken Pesto PastaQuick Chicken Pesto Pasta
  • Sweet Peach CurrySweet Peach Curry
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Comments

  1. Modern Home says

    04/20/2017 at 5:17 pm

    look so tasty. I think I will try Chicken curry for tomorrow dinner. I will try your recipes

    Reply
    • fitasamamabear says

      04/20/2017 at 5:29 pm

      Mmmm I adore chicken curry.. all curry lol enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Shannon Burlingame says

    04/20/2017 at 5:20 pm

    These all look SOO good!! I have to try peach and ginger chicken. That sounds really interesting. 🙂

    Reply
    • fitasamamabear says

      04/20/2017 at 5:29 pm

      Enjoy it! Such a random combination but really tasty!

      Reply
  3. Larissa says

    04/20/2017 at 5:26 pm

    Okay, these recipes sound amazing! I’m always on the lookout for new meals to try, and it seems as if I’ve hit the jackpot. I’m not a big fan of mushrooms or of curry, so I probably won’t be making those, but everything else is free game! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • fitasamamabear says

      04/20/2017 at 6:00 pm

      Hey Larissa- glad you popped by.. and that you like the post! At the very least it gives you some ideas! I got so sick of thinking up dinners I decided to just write it all down lol No mushrooms?! GASP lol most of the recipes you can omit, I just have kind of an obsession with them 😛 Check out the recipe section if you need more ideas!

      Reply
  4. Priyadarshini Rajendran says

    04/20/2017 at 5:41 pm

    Perfect timing, I am so happy that I found this. Printing it for my week 🙂

    Reply
  5. Bailie says

    04/20/2017 at 5:42 pm

    This is a great idea! It’s hard to make big meals when there is only 2 of us. Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply
    • fitasamamabear says

      04/20/2017 at 5:55 pm

      No problem! Hopefully it gives you a few more ideas at least!

      Reply
  6. Sincerely Ophelia says

    04/21/2017 at 2:39 am

    So many meal ideas to choose from! It’s making me hungry! <3 Love. Will be contemplating!

    XOXO // Check out my latest post if you like 😉
    SINCERELY OPHELIA | TREND ALERT: Off the Shoulder Tops Galore

    Reply
    • fitasamamabear says

      04/21/2017 at 5:03 pm

      Haha I know what you mean! When I was retyping the post up all I wanted to do was eat everything again 😛

      Reply
  7. Kethy says

    09/04/2017 at 2:21 pm

    Hi Dear!
    This is an amazing post and I like Chicken Jambalaya and Falafel the most. I enjoyed reading this post and will try some of these recipes soon at my home. Thanks for sharing such nice ideas for dinner.

    Reply
    • fitasamamabear says

      09/04/2017 at 5:36 pm

      Thanks so much Kethy! Most people get super stumped for dinner so it’s nice to just have IDEAS instead of scrambling!

      Reply

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Hey There! I’m Shelby, a strength and nutrition coach in everyday life as well as mama to two beautiful girls! I’m a chronic foodie, workout junkie and feeder of stray cats. I love heavy lifting but am a firm believer that as a mama you’ve got to do whatever the hell that works FOR YOU and I’m here to give you a few ideas. I believe food is fuel but indulgences are a must because well, as you’ll see… I’m a chocolate fiend!


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