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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.

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.

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.

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!

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?)

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!

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!

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.