101 Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Families

I found this list in my email drafts from waaaay back – maybe before kids even? I think I was trying to come up with a list of dishes I knew how to cook so I could rotate through them instead of the same 5 things every week.

Recipes my mom taught me:

1. Asparagus Blanched with Mayo
2. Asparagus with Egg Stir-fry
3. Asparagus with Sesame Oil
4. Bacon Fried Rice
5. Baked Tofu Salad – cilantro, green onion, sesame oil, soy sauce or roast beef soy sauce
6. Beef, Onion, and Pepper Stir Fry 
7. Cantonese Style Fried/Steamed/Baked Fish
8. Cauliflower soup
9. Chili with Meat and Peppers
10. Chinese Roast beef – great with shank or the one with a round bone in the middle of it. Cook for 3-4 hours on low heat with soy sauce. Add turnips, potatoes, and/or eggs. Can cook with baked tofu
11. Cucumbers Pickled in Rice Vinegar
12. Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
13. Egg Drop Soup with corn, tomato
14. Egg Rolls
15. Green Beans with Sesame & Garlic
16. Fried Chicken Tenders
17. Fried Five Spice Pork Meatballs – ground pork, cabbage, green onion, five spice, black pepper, shrimp, handful flour, 1 egg
18. Hamburgers
19. Hot Dogs with Meat Sauce and Cole Slaw
20. Jicama soup – Jicama, Cilantro, Pork/Chicken, Onion, Sesame oil
21. Katsu: Breaded Fried Chicken or Pork Loin
22. Mapo Tofu (Pork and Tofu Stir Fry)
23. Miso Soup with egg, seaweed
24. Napa Cabbage Soup with pork, green onion
25. Oil Rice (Yóu Fàn)
26. Omelette Chinese style with pickled turnips
27. Omelette Chinese style with Ham, Egg, Green Onion
28. Potato Salad with Mustard, Pickles, Mayo, Onion
29. Rice Cooker Pork – pork belly, marinate with soy and five spice powder, garlic, cover each with cornstarch, then brown the pieces in pan, then transfer to rice cooker with water in container with 1 garlic and soy sauce, let the cooker pop up twice. garnish with green onions.
30. Sautéed Broccoli
31. Sautéed Cauliflower
32. Seaweed Soup
33. Sesame Chicken Soup with Somen Noodles
34. Shrimp & Egg Stir Fry
35. Skillet Fried Potatoes w/ pepper, salt
36. Snow Peas and Garlic
37. Soft Tofu Salad: tofu + soy sauce + sesame + garlic + green onions. hot or cold
38. Stir-fried Pork with Celery
39. Spaghetti
40. Steak Marinated in Soy Sauce & Garlic
41. Steamed Egg Soup – egg, water. stir fry green onions, then add ground pork, shitake mushrooms, soy sauce and pour on top
42. Steamed Fish with Miso
43. Steamed Pork Meatballs – pork ground, soy sauce, make balls around edges, soy sauce. Smash 1 garlic and steam in thick bowl in pot of water, turning ball once until juice is clear.
44. Taiwanese Braised Spare Ribs
45. Taiwanese Fried Noodles:  napa cabbage, celery, carrot, green onion, onion. fry green onion and yellow onion together first.
46. Taiwanese Fried Rice: with ham, egg, peas, carrot, onion
47. Tomato, Egg, Shrimp Stir Fry – scramble eggs and remove. add ginger,  peeled tomatoes, re-add eggs, shrimp, green onions, sugar if you want
48. Turnip soup. same as jicama soup – turnips, Cilantro, Pork/Chicken, Onion, Sesame oil
49. Wonton soup

Recipes I’ve learned along the way:

1. Broccoli Soup (dairy free, creamed)
2. Bruschetta Pasta with Chicken
3. Char-Siu Barbecue Chicken
4. Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken
5. Chicken Piccata with Noodles
6. Chicken and Noodle Casserole
7. Indian-spiced Cauliflower Potatoes
8. Indonesian Chicken
9. Instant Pot Barbecue Pulled Pork
10. Instant Pot Beef Pot Roast
11. Instant Pot Chicken Pho
12. Instant Pot Pork Ribs
13. Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
14. Enchilada Casserole
15. Japanese Curry
16. Miso baked Fish
17. Potato Salad with Cucumber and Ham
18. Peanut Butter Noodles
19. Oven Fried Sweet Potato Fries
20. Oven Roasted/Air Fried Vegetables (Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Kale)
21. Filipino Beef Steak
22. Pizza Dough in a Bread Machine
23. Salad with Pine Nuts, Avocado, Alfalfa
24. Shepherds Pie w Turkey
25. Sloppy Joes with turkey
26. Slow cooker Turkey breast
27. Sous Vide Chicken Breast
28. Soy Mustard glazed fish
29. Spam Musubi/Spam & Rice Bowl
30. Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
31. Teriyaki Salmon
32. Thai Basil Chicken
33. Thai Fried Rice
34. Thai Coconut Shells with Ginger, Garlic, Lime, Green Beans or Asparagus
35. Tuna Salad – Red Onion, Relish, Tuna, Celery, Mayo. Can be made with Chicken.
36. Turkey Meatloaf with Quinoa
37. Turkey Stroganoff
38. Vegan Mac and Cheese
39. Vegan Chicken Alfredo
40. White Fish with Cantonese Sauce
41. Zuppa Toscana with Sausage, Potatoes, and Kale

Did you notice?

Ok, there aren’t quite 101 Dinner Ideas in this list. I’m still working on it! Let me know if you have any suggestions I should add or any unlinked recipes that I should prioritize first.