So instead of asking your mom, take some initiative and cook it yourself.
I'm starting a list of dinner ideas and you guys add on as we go.
I have mostly simple dinner plans because when I cook its for 4-5 people.
My very picky 2 year old daughter, my dairy allergic dad, and my way to paranoid about food mom and younger sister.
________________________________________________________________
I'll start with my way too fancy sounding dinners and work down.
Main dish: NY Strip steak (I recommend cooked to medium) with basil pesto on top.
Side/Appetizer: stuffed mushrooms (I stuff mine with stove top stuffing) but nobody has to know.
My daughter doesn't eat steak so I fix garlic mashed potatoes.
You can substitute steak for chicken.
________________________________________________________________
Bruschetta my way:
Preheat oven to 350f
Topping: seeded diced tomatoes (2 med tomatoes =3 slices of bread)
crinkle leaf parsley finely minced (1/4 cup / 2 tomatoes)
fresh garlic minced (to taste) I like a LOT of garlic
Italian seasoning (I use mcormick) to taste
salt and pepper to taste (not necessary)
add feta cheese, as much as you want. (I love feta and pretty much dump a cup or more into my topping mix)
You can replace the feta with any cheese you want but try to keep it to something that won't melt all over the cookie sheet.
cover and place in refrigerator while you toast and oil the bread
Bread: Cut garlic parmesan italian loaf into 1/4-1/2 inch slices how ever many you will need (1/person)
place on cookie sheet and toast until the bread is crispy, flip and repeat.
Remove the bread from the oven and baste one side with olive oil (brand doesn't matter as long as it doesn't taste nasty)
Remove your topping from the fridge and pile it onto your toasted bread. I mean really really stack it on, there's no reason for you to have any leftover topping.
Place your topped toast back into the oven until the tomatoes start to look a little shriveled.
Let stand until they won't give your mouth 3rd degree burns.
Serve as a side to any pasta dish, works best with pasta containing a marinara sauce. I usually serve it with tortellini.
________________________________________________________________
My Chicken Enchiladas:
pre-heat oven to 350f
in a large frying pan add a small amount of EVOO to keep the chicken from sticking, cook 3 pieces of chicken thoroughly! never ever ever eat chicken that's not thoroughly cooked.
When chicken is mostly cooked use 2 forks to pull the chicken apart (it will give you a bit of a fight and this might take a bit of time) you can wait until it's fully cooked and chop the hell out of it but it's better pulled.
after the chicken is fully cooked remove from heat and add 1-2 small cans of old el'paso enchilada sauce and 1 tiny can of diced chilies (brand doesn't matter but old ortega tends to have a better taste)
after mixing chicken, chilies, and sauce together until slightly cooled add any brand of shredded cheese. I use colby/jack.
now get your flour tortillas (lg 10 pack) and add 1/4 cup of the filling
fold over the top and both sides then roll into a closed end burrito.
place into a long glass dish (cake dish/pyrex) lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick spray (you'll thank me later)
repeat until all tortillas are used. You may have leftover filling or shells.
cover with another small can of enchilada sauce and top the whole thing with cheese.
bake in the oven until the cheese on top is melted.
remove cool and eat.
Sour cream is awesome on top of these.
You usually end up with left-overs that you can reheat and eat the next day as well.
for the quick and dirty version use a rotisserie chicken
________________________________________________________________
Hamburgers My Way:
1.50 lbs of ground meat = 6 regular sized burgers + 1 mini burger (great for my daughter)
you can use garlic powder or fresh but again I'm a nut for fresh.
if using fresh
peel and mince 5-6 cloves of garlic, mix the garlic in with the entire pack of meat thoroughly. Pat out patties and cook. My mom and younger sister ONLY eat these well done but I do medium well which leaves the burgers more tender and flavorful to me.
serve fries with ranch dressing for the side.
________________________________________________________________
Mexican grilled cheese:
grab a frying pan, grab 1 flour tortilla, grab some shredded cheese.
(you can add jalapeno's, chicken, or whatever else you want)
put one of the tortillas in the frying pan and cover half of the tortilla with cheese.
add whatever you want on the cheese then cover with the other half of the tortilla.
when the cheese is sticking the sides together flip to make sure the other side is heated.
I love quesadillas because my daughter will eat them without an issue when nothing else is making her happy and is actually easier than a regular grilled cheese.
________________________________________________________________
