Help! What should I make for dinner?!

[stayawake]

Both kids are finally down for a nap, and I have four loads of laundry to do and the house to tidy, and I have a big scary meeting tonight that I have to run off to about 15 minutes after DH gets home from work tonight...
so tell me... what is your family quick and (somewhat) nutritious meal standby? (oh, and it's super hot here and we have no air conditioning so minimal cooking would be a bonus!). We've already eaten pancakes for supper this week, last night was super easy brocolli soup. I have a little one who eats most of what I put in front of her and a husband who will eat anything. I just can't for the life of me think of what to make! HELP!

[ColleenSwerb]

Order out

[Paula]

What about beef stroganoff? That's pretty low key and easy.

[pomi]

Pasta plus anything (tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, olives, whatever the fridge has to offer), yoghurt with some salt + pepper + anything (garlic, mayonnaise) = salad.

[Brooke W]

What about a nice,lush cold salad filled with lots of goodies?

[Paula]

Brooke's idea is awesome. What about a chef's salad with all the salad stuff, sliced ham or chicken, boiled eggs and cheese?

[stayawake]

out of chicken...but have boiled eggs in the fridge, and all the other salad stuff. Hmm. Definete possibility.
Also sounding good is throwing some tomatos, pasta, fresh basil from my garden and some hunks of mozzarella together...

[DawnMarch]

I agree with the pasta recommendation. We always keep some frozen ground Italian sausage in the fridge. Just brown up a little of that, add jarred spaghetti sauce and simmer for a few minutes while you boil up the pasta. Easy and yummy.

Another easy one is tacos -- we use the taco seasoning added to browned ground turkey (another thing you can keep in the freezer) for the meat. Add some lettuce, tomato and salsa (or hot sauce). Easy and not too much cooking.

[mummytothree]

My family of 6 loves this!!! (kids aged 10, 6 and 3)

Taco Dip
1 lb ground beef (optional)
12 oz of cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 c salsa
2 c shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c diced tomatoes
1 can (4 1/4 ozs) sliced ripe olives
Totilla chips

Brown your ground beef, drain and add taco seasoning, chili powder and salsa.
Spread into a 9 inch pie plate. Beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth, spread over meat layer. Layer with lettuce, cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, tomato and olives. Serve with chips.

You can make this without the meat, after you beat the cream cheese and sour cream stir the taco seasoning, chili powder and salsa in with that. Then layer as directed!!

[ColleenSwerb]

I could eat tomato and mozzarella salad every day for the entire summer until I explode. In fact, I'm going to go home and slice up a tomato and have some tonight

[LeeAndra]

I ditto the taco recommendation. If you want something even easier, make quesadillas.

Just cook in skillet: burrito/tostado/whatever shell, cheese, chix (optional), tomato, cheese, shell. Flip once. The end.

[robinforman]

You said you had eggs... what about egg salad sammies?

[schock77]

I have no plans for dinner either (which is why I jumped on this thread)- but those ideas sound yummy so I'm stealing that egg salad idea!

[Kimberly's Mommy]

I was just going to throw some burgers on the bbq but now I'm thinking that the tomatoes and mozzerella sound very yummy so I may have to stop at the store on my way home for that too.

[sugarink]

I've recently discovered Dream Dinners - definitely worth checking out if you have one in your area...

It really has helped minimize my time in the kitchen so that I can just enjoy eating with my family and spend less time planning a menu for the week.... The food is pretty good and healthy for you. Even my kids who are usually picky eaters seem to be pretty pleased.