Dinner Ideas

Most Americans aren’t gourmet cooks. That’s right, they live full lives. Between work and school and other activities they’re lucky if they have time to stop at a fast food joint much less prepare quality meals at home. Often it’s not a matter of cooking itself, but rather of coming up with dinner ideas for quick, healthy, inexpensive meals for the whole family. People who have trouble with this, however, must not be paying much attention. Because between cooking shows, the Internet, and a wide variety of easy prepare wholesome foods at grocery stores, it’s not hard to come up with a seven day menu that satisfies everyone at the table. Here are a few good ideas for delicious meals the whole family can enjoy.

Corn dogs are an all American tradition, usually served at state fairs and by street vendors. While not a healthy food, it is a tasty one that is easy to prepare. Make a batter with some flour, corn meal, salt, sugar and baking powder mixed with milk, dip the hot dogs and then deep fry them until the batter is golden brown. If you want the feel of the fair, insert a popsicle stick.

In colonial times, dinner was an afternoon meal, followed by a later light meal called supper. As time went by this changed based on social class and schedule. Physical laborers needed an afternoon dinner to keep up their strength throughout the grueling day. As times change and we move away from regular meals at home, dinner has become the anchor that keeps families together and signals the end of the out of the home portion of the day and the beginning of at home leisure time. But supper and dinner have become intertwined, often interchanged in meaning this big meal. That doesn’t mean the meal has to be large, especially for people watching their waist lines. Go the traditional supper route with a light soup or roast chicken salad.

Crock pots were made for busy schedules. Add the ingredients, set it on low in the morning, so by dinner time the food is ready to eat. Great food is possible in a crock pot, the entire meal too. Add some meat and some potatoes cut into quarters for a terrific pot roast. Serve it with a fresh baked loaf of bread picked up on the way home from the local supermarket. Or, skip the bread to avoid the extra calories.

The possibilities are endless with simple but delicious meals like veal cutlets, pork chops, even steaks on the grill. For more dinner ideas, Google the term. There are tons on line.