What are your simple, every day dinners?

What's a typical week of dinners for you? DH and I want to keep it simple during the week. How do you keep it somewhat interesting if you're going with the easy stuff- like pasta, chicken, etc?

Would love your input- thanks!

here's a sample of a few weeks of our dinners..

this week:
yesterday -- (since it was Sat and I had time..) handmade prosciutto, spinach, & cheese ravioli served with italian bread and roasted garlic in olive oil for dipping
Sunday -- flank steak with red wine sauce and caesar salad
Monday -- shrimp fra diavolo with couscous
Tuesday -- ditalini with mushrooms and artichokes & mixed greens salad
Wednesday -- grilled chicken with lemony couscous (I use regular garlic couscous and add the zest of 1 lemon and its juice and some scallions)
Thursday -- white bean and garlic soup with ciabatta bread

here are some from other weeks:
sunday -- steak with rice and pico de gallo
monday -- chicken picatta
tuesday -- penne a la vodka
wednesday -- chicken stir fry
thursday -- grilled shrimp w/sugar snap peas
friday -- chicken burgers with salad
saturday -- out for dinner :)

sunday -- ravioli with artichoke lemon pesto & garlic bread
monday -- chicken parmesan
tuesday -- baked salmon with broccolini
wednesday -- chicken saltimbocca w/garlic spinach
thursday -- grilled steak with garlic butter & broccoli
friday -- bbq chicken with mushroom mashed potatoes
saturday -- out for dinner :)

sunday -- steak with corn and macaroni salad
monday -- grilled chicken with rice & beans
tuesday -- veggie pizza with salad
wednesday -- chicken with peppers & onions, and couscous
thursday -- spicy shrimp with corn salad
friday -- chicken piccatta with couscous and roasted asparagus
saturday -- out for dinner :)

sunday -- pasta with turkey meatballs
monday -- black bean tostadas with corn relish
tuesday -- chicken breast stuffed with couscous
wednesday -- pasta with roasted veggies
thursday -- marsala chicken with mushrooms and broccolini
firday -- salmon with mustard dill sauce
saturday -- chicken with burst tomatoes

dinner usually doesn't take more than an hour from start to finish, and it's great to sit down and chat about our days over home cooked food!

i'm still a beginner when it comes to cooking, so i keep an arsenal of cookbooks and magazine recipes on hand to keep our weekly dinners from becoming boring!

every saturday, we plan out the meals for the week and write them on our 'dinner calendar' -- then we make a shopping list of all of the ingredients we need for that week's dinners, along with whatever we'll need for breakfast/lunch that week, and then we go to the supermarket together to shop for everything. we also go to costco every other week for staples like frozen chicken breast, and most of our meats. we save money that way and Steve even likes to go to costco & the supermarket with me

Hayley, that's so smart to plan ahead- i guess that's what my problem is - I don't plan ahead so I don't have a clue. You've totally inspired me- thanks!!

we don't do too simple, but we do have a couple recipes that take under 40 min of prep time.... We deal with mid-week by making 6 serving dinners.... so they are 2 dinners and one lunch and we don't have to cook every night

our standard is an invention of mine we just call 'mexican'

2 packs sliced white mushooms
one huge onion-diced
3 large green peppers-in large/crude dice
1 can drained/washed beans (black, kidney... what ever's around)
1.3 lb ground sirloin
1 6-8 oz can plain tomato sauce
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t cayenne (or to taste)
1/2 t ground corriander
1t sweet paprika
1/4t smoked paprika (in hispanic & gourmet stores)
salt
olive oil
pack of low fat shredded cheddar

heat oil in a cast iron skillet on high heat. Fry mushrooms. while frying, prep veggies. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a large serving bowl. add onion to skillet and fry until cooked (a little brown on edges... as you would for fajitas). transfer to bowl, and add peppers and fry. When brown on edges, transfer to bowl. Add more oil and fry beans. When getting a bit crsip on skin (before getting mushy and splitting) transfer to bowl. Add oil, all spices, and beef to skillet. When 3/4 cooked, add tomato sauce. When completely cooked dump into bowl. Add cheese, and stir to combine.

we eat it with yellow tortilla chips and guacomole. It's very tasty, and reasonably good for your health (as long as you don't eat too much tortilla and guac!)

for another weeknight recipe....

mix 4 oz of goatcheese with 2 large crushed garlic clove, and a bunch of parsley (chopped) and 4 diced scallions. Wrap thin-sliced chicken breasts around a small mound of cheese mix. Secure with toothpicks, bread, and fry until breadcrumbs are golden (only a few minutes). Then bake at 350 until chicken is cooked through... roughly 30 min.

serve with steamed broccoli and cauliflower in a cheese sauce

Tara-

I am the queen of simple dinners...

Some examples of our simple dinners follow...

Breaded Chicken cutlets w/ rice or pasta (you can bake or fry them. I soak them in milk prior to cooking...makes them super tender...)

Roasted chicken Breasts (you can use any part you want). I pour a bit of chicken broth in the bottom of a corningware dish and put the parts skin side down for half of the cooking time (which varies depending on the part) then turn them over for the duration-till they are golden and crispy. You can season any way you want--I just use salt and pepper, but you can get fancier if you like. You can also marinate them in various ways.

Pan Pork chops- I get the boneless center cut pork chops and season them with salt and pepper (though whole foods has some amazing rubs) I sear them on each side and then lower the heat to cook through.

Steak & homemade fries. DH and I splurge on our steaks. Again, just make a rub from salt, pepper and olive oil and broil (or grill).

I make everything with lots of steamed veggies and a salad. Sometimes brown rice. I have a bunch of other stuff that I am blanking on right now. My Mom (grew up in Belfast) is the queen of peasant food, so I learned simple cooking from the best...