Lemon pepper salmon, asparagus, and rice pilaf

Baked rosemary chicken, little roasted potatoes, green beans

Parmesan crusted pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli

Summer spaghetti (spaghetti noodles, olive oil, garlic, pepper, parmesan, crushed cherry tomatoes, basil) & garlic bread - you could add some grilled chicken to it for protein if you wanted or sometimes I'll add grilled eggplant or zucchini

In winter, I do a butternut squash lasagna.

In summer, I do cedar planked salmon.

When my parents were visiting weekly, I did nothing special. They ate whatever we were having for dinner.

When someone is coming over and it's not a regular thing, I either do a baked chicken thing, a baked ziti, chicken parm, or ask DH to bbq a steak. Sometimes he'll make homemade pizza and I'll make a salad.

Our guests always bring dessert. I try to keep vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on hand to add to their strawberries or pies or whatever.

OP what do they like, what are their restrictions?

I'm almost always pretty stocked on groceries, so I usually do one of two things.

First meal would be to bake some chicken in the oven (usually frozen, and usually with bbq sauce and a little soy and garlic). I also will roast some potatoes in the oven in a huge baking dish with olive oil and salt and pepper, and when they're about halfway done I'll also pop in another pan of veggies to roast (usually with a little balsamic/s&p/lemon): any combo of peppers, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, etc... I'll throw some basil on at the end. Once those things go in the oven I make a green salad. Serve with dressings and bread, if I have bread. It takes about 15 minutes to prep and an hour to cook. When it's all ready I just pull it out and serve.

Other meal I have started making for my vegetarian in-laws is to take one large eggplant, layer it in a big baking dish with thin tomato slices, salt and pepper and garlic, olive oil, some red peppers, and lots of oregano and basil and parsley. I stack these things and when it's all assembled I usually add some tomato sauce (jarred, canned, or homemade) to the pan in the empty areas - there are not many empty areas though, and you can skip this step since the veggies juice a bit in the baking process. After baking for 40 minutes or so, I top the stacks with fresh mozzarella and bake another 10 minutes to brown it. Serve over pasta and with a big green salad and crusty bread.

I like to make meals that I can prep for a short period, get going, walk away and attend to again 10 minutes before we eat.

I have a great vegan chili recipe I make a lot. It satisfies my father, who is kosher, my husband's cousin, who is a gluten-free vegetarian, my brother, who is a carnivore (although he keeps telling me it would be even better with meat), and myself, who is vegetarian.

My parents visit regularly and expect a decent dinner. What do you cook that is easy, quick and cheap? It needs to be relatively healthy and balanced.