What's a good simple dinner idea?

This is a simple and quick recipe I made up. (Well, I say I made it up, to me it's made up, but prolly every family has the same variation)

You will need:

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breats, cut into roughly 1" chunks. 

1 small onion, chopped or minced, depending on your family's onion tolerance. 

Fresh garlic, or bottled, granules or powdered, your choice, your amount

Salt/pepper

cooking oil.

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies

water

1 tbsp (or so) of liquid chicken oxo (or a cube if you use that)

1 bottle of your favorite Asian sauce.

In a very large frying pan, cook the chicken, onion, garlic and salt and pepper in a small amount of oil, until the chicken is golden and no longer pink in the middle (I use a non stick pan so I skip the oil)

Once the chicken/onion mixture has made it to this stage, remove the mixture from the pan and add the veggies, oxo and enough water to cover the veg about half to 3/4 way. Cover the pan and steam until the veggies are tender and most of the liquid is gone. 

Return the chicken/onion mix to the pan, add the Asian sauce and mix everything together, and heat on low long enough for the sauce to bubble. 

Serve with your favorite side. 

I generally make orange chicken rice. Just substitute half of the cooking water you use for orange juice, and add some chicken flavoring to the liquid. 

Prepare your rice as usual.

*I have also made this using tofu instead of chicken, if you would like meatless protein.

*I also add way more veggies than this, generally a can of water chestnuts, mushrooms, green or red pepper, bamboo shoots, baby corn, what ever is on hand, but the basic veggies will always be a bag of frozen.

*This makes a mountain of food, so for myself I only use one chicken breast, and this will be enough for at least two days meals. Judge for yourself how much protein you need. 

*Also if you are into herbs and spices, go crazy. I personally love chives and will add that to everything.

Good luck.

The simple idea for dinner is vegetable with chappati, rice and salad. This is the most simple dish to be prepared and to serve.

Salmon topped with salsa/picante & a little butter if desired & whatever spices you liven up you salsa with.

 Wrapped in foil & grilled, about 12 minutes.

 Broiled if you have no grill.

 Less simple..

 Cut up the fresh peppers, onions & thinly sliced tomato.

 Then pick your sauce or wine to put a thin coat over the lot before wrapping & cooking..

well it requires 4 hours in advanced but Chicken Strips/Fries. It's just the Preparation that's harder. Cut Potato into fries then soak in Water for 2 hours, let dry for 2 hours. Cut Chicken Breast into Strips, season with salt and pepper and soak in Buttermilk for 4 hours. After four hours, dip chicken breast into seasoned flour, egg then again seasoned flour and fry until golden brown. 

Chicken Parmesan with Cacio e Pepe

Thanks for your input, but I currently make pasta.  Any other ideas?

Spaghetti with meatballs a salad and a glass of V8 fruit juice cocktail along with garlic bread simple and effective

Chicken is a great go-to for fast and there are so many things you can do with it.

A simple "go to" I used to do all the time:

Set the oven at 350.

In a 1-1/5-2 quart pot (I use a vintage porcelain bean pot with a small vent hole but any 3-4" deep ceramic, glass or stainless pot with a cover or covered with foil will do) layer:

A tablespoon or so of olive oil or butter

a layer of separate onion rings

boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a single layer (you can also use bone in and/or skin on, adjust cooking time for bone in)

Another layer of separated fresh onion rings

Garlic, whole, sliced, minced or not at all

Herbs or seasonings of your choice sprinkled over

A splash of lemon juice or white wine (or juice or beer or whatever, just a little fluid)

Cover and bake til chicken is cooked through.

You can put veges under the chicken.

You can also put potatoes under the chicken.

My favorite way to season this is with a couple pinches of tarragon leaves, fresh, dried, whole or minced and a handful of olives - any kind of olives but I avoid the ones with pits.  If you have a tablespoon or so of capers toss those in as well, and maybe a chopped tomato.

This was my go to for years, I'd put the chicken on, wander out to my studio and no matter how long it cooked or how distracted I got, it was always a lovely meal.

This tecnqiue works well with salmon too.  I've cooked so many variations of this dish I could make it in my sleep.

There are a couple things I do that make meal prep through the week easier.

I'll buy a big package of bone in skin on chicken breasts, rub them liberally with olive oil and seasonings, usually salt, pepper, garlic, lemon and some sort of herb - if I"m doing a really big batch I may do two each of different kinds of herbs, and roast on a large baking tray at 375 skin side up till cooked through.  These can be kept in the fridge for a few days and reheated as necessary or frozen for much longer periods.

I sometimes also buy large quantieties of stew beef or lamb, usually on a weekend, brown the meat and cook it with a braising sauce and seasonings til entirely tender, then freeze the meat and braising fluid in 2 serving quanties.  When I want o eat it I put the frozen meat and fluid into a very heavy bottom covered pot with whatever veges I want over low heat.  (I'm ususally using enameled cast iron but any very heavy covered pot works - be sure the heat is low).  By time time I"m done with evening chores, I've got stew or soup depending on how I decided to cook it.

For very very simple meals a multi level steamer is great, you put everything in the steamer, get it going and in little time you've got a very lean meal.  These tend to be pretty bland but very healthy.

I also love to "cheat" meals - I've always lived alone and while I love to cook I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen after work (not most of the time anyway).  My cheater meals tend to be something that is partially prepared that I "doctor".  I love to do this with soups.  Lentil soup is fantastic with a couple big handfuls of baby spinach and maybe a freshly chopped garden tomato (I am partial to trader joes lentil soup in their cold section but Progresso is also good).  

Tomato or tomato red pepper soup is great with eggs poached in it.  I usually also add a dash of balsamic vinegar or tapatillo to it.  And usually a couple handfuls of baby spinach.

Check out your local stores prepared foods, they can often be hacked, very inexpensively, into much more elaborate meals which can be helpful when you are very busy.  And don't be afraid to take their expensive ideas, like their pasta salads, and figure out how to make them at home.  One of my favorite pasta salads that I make came about like this, it's basically whole graine penne pasta with mayo, parmesean, a little brown rice vinegar, diced smoked mozarella, a pinch of cayenne and some baby spinach.  This is actually a fairly famous salad, they change a fortune for a tiny portion and I make huge quantities of it to take to parties.

I'm always looking for healthy, colorful and flavorful, so most of my "cheater" meals, which I guess would be labeled as hacks these days, are simple prepared foods that I tweak a bit to make them more balanced and healthy by adding either protien, vegetables or sometimes just the comfort of cheese.

And for easy peasy meals check out trader joes.  They are my favorite store.  I love their frozen tamales over a bed of homegrown diced tomatoes topped with a salsa, takes about 10 minutes and is a lovely meal, especially the chicken and cheese tamales.

Hm... and learn to make a pan sauce.  That's where you cook your meat in a skillet or saute pan and while it's resting you add some seasonings and a little fluid to the pan, stir up the brown bits, let it reduce and top your protein with your pan sauce.

It might also be helpful to get a basic book on how to cook.  I am very partial to Marion Cunninghams's 'Learning to Cook'.  It's basic enough for a rank beginner but interesting enough to keep an accomplished cook interested.  I used to help with a cooking school and love to teach in my home kitchen and often purchase this book to give away.  You can pick it up for about $4 onThriftbooks.com.

Season and cook a bunch or boneless skinless chicken breasts then freeze them individually or to save that step wrap each one in plastic wrap and freeze for future use, (ex Chicken, Rice, broccoli, Chicken sliced on a salad with crusty bread, diced up and turn it into chicken salad for sandwiches - same with salmon. 

When I need something really simple, I make spaghetti or other pasta. For one person, I add a cup or so of mixed frozen vegetables and about half a cup of whatever meat is lying around the refrigerator (diced). I serve it with homemade spaghetti sauce (Bolognese), powdered parmesan cheese, and sometimes a bit of garlic powder, salt, and pepper.