Simple Dinner Ideas

When you come home tired at night, the last thing you want to do is cook an elaborate dinner. But it is also important to serve nutritious and healthy simple food to your family. Avoid the temptation to reach out for those take-away joints as you can cook delicious food in a matter of minutes with some simple dinner ideas.

Quick and Simple Ideas for Dinner

Linguine With Seafood and Spicy Tomato Sauce
Do not get intimidated by the long list of ingredients in this recipe. This dish takes very less effort to cook and tastes great too.

Ingredients

• 250 g linguine
• 100 g baby scallops
• 10 mussels
• 100 g shrimp
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• ½ cup red onions, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 4 tablespoons tomato puree
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons coriander, chopped
• ½ tablespoon freshly ground pepper
• sea salt

Method

Boil water in a large pot and cook the linguine with 2 tablespoons of sea salt until it is al dente. Drain the linguine from water and keep aside.

In a non stick pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and stir fry the scallops and shrimp. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the scallops and shrimp are cooked through and then remove from the pan. Heat the remaining tablespoon if extra virgin olive oil in the same pan and add the chopped onions, minced garlic and julienned bell peppers and cook for 4 to minutes till the onions turn golden. Now add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the mussels and cover the non stick pan with a lid. Check if the mussels have opened after 4 to 5 minutes and discard any that is unopened. Add the scallops and the shrimp along with salt and pepper. Now add the cooked linguine and sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Quick Roast Chicken Drumsticks
Everybody loves chicken and this is one of the quickest recipes. You can marinate the chicken pieces in buttermilk in the morning and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

Ingredients

• 8 to 10 chicken drumsticks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin powder
• 1 ½ tablespoons of mustard paste
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons sea salt

Method

Take a plastic zip lock bag and add the buttermilk, minced garlic, cumin powder, honey, mustard paste and the vegetable oil. Add the chicken drumsticks into the plastic bag and rub the marinade into it so that the drumsticks are well coated with the marinade. When you are ready to cook dinner, remove the chicken drumsticks from the bag and arrange it on a roasting tin lined with aluminum foil. Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and cook in a 320º centigrade for 30 minutes. Serve this with a tomato and feta salad.

Chicken and Mango Salad
This hearty salad is very filling and flavorsome and is among one of the best dinner ideas.

Ingredients

• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 1 mango, cubed
• 1 cup iceberg lettuce
• 4 tablespoons chopped spring onions
• 2 red chillies, finely sliced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons coriander, chopped
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Method

In a medium-sized bowl add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, sliced red chillies and salt. Keep this dressing aside. Cut the iceberg lettuce into bite sized pieces. In another bowl add the shredded chicken, mango cubes along with the shredded lettuce and chopped coriander. Add the lime and red chili dressing into this and toss until everything is well coated with the dressing.

Salmons with Shiitake Mushrooms
When you are making this recipe take care not to overcook the salmon. Overcooked salmon loses all its flavor and tastes dry.

Ingredients

• 2 salmon fillets
• 100 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
• 1 medium-sized onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ tablespoon black pepper

Method

Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper and then grill them for about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the salmon from the grill to a plate and cover with an aluminum foil.

In a pan, fry the sliced onions and minced garlic until they turn golden. Add the shredded red cabbage along with little salt and cook until the cabbage has wilted. Now add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and remove the pan from flame. To serve arrange a piece of salmon along with the shiitake mushrooms and red cabbage.

These were a few simple family dinner ideas. You can make some variations with the ingredients to suit your taste and come up with some delicious recipes. Cooking methods like stir frying and steaming not only cuts down your cooking time but also helps in preserving the nutrients of the food. Now that you know these simple ideas for dinner, go ahead and cook your family a tasty and nutritious meal.