Ugh. It is the monotony of the question that is so maddening. It happens every day, yet so often it feels like a surprise attack. While I don’t have the magic answer for you, here are a couple of simple suggestions (20 minutes to prep or less) to hopefully answer that nagging question for at least one night.
Sub Sandwiches
Often overlooked, sub sandwiches can be the hero of any weeknight dinner. Grab hoagie rolls from the deli section of your local grocer, some deli meat, lettuce and/or spinach, tomato, provolone (or any cheese of your liking), banana peppers if you want to get a little wild, and mayo or mustard. Viola. Dinner is served. The beauty here is if you have a variety of tastes you are trying to appease, you can simply put the ingredients out and have a BYOS (Build Your Own Sub) night. Add some potato salad, a regular salad, or some chips to the side and you have a meal.
BLT
So simple it is easily forgotten – the Bacon Lettuce and Tomato endearingly known as the BLT. It is precisely as stated, just add bread and mayo to make it a sandwich. If you are feeling feisty, avocado is a nice surprise addition (or mayo replacement). Like the sub sandwich above, add any kind of side to make it a full meal. Pro-tip on the bacon: to minimize the mess, bake your bacon on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet at 400◦F for approximately 15 minutes. Assuming the paper overhangs a bit, you can crinkle it up and toss it after prep for less of a grease clean-up.
Ramen
Okay, yeah, the feast of college students everywhere, but guess what? You can make fancy ramen. Boil your noodles, throw in some sliced mushrooms, precooked shrimp, maybe some water chestnuts, and a handful of sliced scallions and you have an upscale version of the college staple. If you are feeling downright extravagant, soft boil an egg to split in two and add to the top of your piping hot bowl. If soup is not a meal in your world, add a warm crusty roll to the side.
Grilled Cheese
Heavy emphasis on sandwiches, but typically at least some of the makings of a sandwich are hanging around in your fridge. You know the drill, butter (or mayo, depending on your persuasion) each slice of bread, throw some cheese in the middle, and grill it up. Know you don’t need to stop there. You could get a little crazy and add some tomato, or perhaps a little bacon, or maybe both. A southern twist would be a grilled pimento cheese sandwich. Basically, you don’t have to do what you always do, give yourself a creative license to make a masterpiece.
I wish you peace from at least one evening of “what’s for dinner?”
