A few easy ones we like


Cabbage and Kielbasa

Cut up kielbasa, half a white cabbage, and onion or two, dump in the pot

dump in a bag of baby carrots, and some little potatoes (or bigger potatoes that you scrubbed and cut, but it's way faster if you buy the already washed bag of little potatoes. You can leave out the potatoes if you are lower carb)

Add 1/2 a cup to a cup of water (I don't measure)

Put a lid on, bring to a boil and then turn low, let it steam for about 1/2 an hour.

This makes good leftovers.

Roast Chicken Dinner

Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store,

baked sweet potatoes in the microwave (or sweet potato fries in the oven/air fryer if you have more time),

frozen peas cooked in the microwave with a little butter.

Sausage and apples

Crumble Italian sausage (we like hot for this now, but my kids liked sweet when they were little), brown it,

while it's browning, cut up some granny smith apples and add them,

keep stirring until apples are soft and sausage is crispy.

Serve with caesar salad from a bag, or steamed broccoli, or something else green.

Fried Rice

Heat some oil in a pan,

add some garlic (minced from a jar) and cauliflower rice (get it raw, not frozen, it makes a big difference) and and some chopped onion stir till it gets a little browned,

(if you have leftover rotisserie chicken, or pork chop or other meat, you can add that here, and stir till it's a little browned, you can also add ground pork or ground chicken)

add brown rice (steam in the bag, or precooked is fine, or white rice left over from when you ordered Chinese food. Once it's heated and browned a little,

add soy sauce to taste (literally drizzle some in, stir, taste decide if you want to add more),

make a well in the middle, crack an egg, stir, then let it cook until it's opaque,

mix the egg with the rice, repeat that a few times, I usually aim for 1 egg per person

Add frozen shelled edamame, and frozen peas and carrots. Stir till they are heated through.

For easy dinners we do stuff like:

Baked potatoes topped with what we have (sometimes traditional like cheese/sour cream/bacon, but also stuff like leftover veggies to use up, chili, etc.)

Cornish game hens (roast in the oven), steam a veg, and serve with couscous or rice.

Stuffed shells (a mix of spinach and ricotta) paired with a bagged side salad.

I don’t follow intricate recipes on week nights.

Meatballs are easy and you an make a ton ahead and freeze them. It is not any more work and would get you through a couple of weeks. I like these:

https://pinchofyum.com/best-anytime-baked-chicken-meatballs

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a27533008/chicken-cordon-bleu-meatballs-recipe/

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021328-chicken-zucchini-meatballs-with-feta

Sheet pan sausage and veggies: Set oven to 400. Grab sausage (pre-cooked is fine, my kids like sweet Italian) and your favorite vegetables - a good combo is peppers, onion, potato, broccoli. Toss in olive oil, Italian seasoning, 1 or 2 cloves minced garlic (or you could use the jar) and salt and pepper. Cook for ~15-20 mins, or until vegetables are crispy. If you don't like sausage, diced chicken would work. Tossing it with parm would be tasty.

Rachel Ray Peasant Pasta: This is easy and kids like it.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/peasant-pasta-recipe-1940350 If you are lower carb, Dreamfield's penne tastes like normal pasta. My family will always eat pasta. Raos, lower carb noodles, throw in some spinach, add shrimp or sausage. Easy!

Soup is generally not hard. This is a good one -- https://www.cookingclassy.com/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli-soup-copycat-recipe/ -- https://www.cookingclassy.com/vegetable-soup/

Agree that tacos are super foolproof. I like this recipe: https://www.skinnytaste.com/madisons-favorite-slow-cooker-beef-tacos/

Shrimp is really easy and quick. Get fresh or frozen raw, deveined so you don't have to deal with cleaning them. If frozen, thaw in cold water. Pat dry and toss in a bowl with a splash of your favorite white wine, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp in a hot pan til opaque, tossing halfway through. Serve with steamed or roasted broccoli (25-30mins @ 400 tossed in salt, pepper, olive oil, and parm, squeeze lemon over top when done). Serve with rice or pasta if your family needs a carb.

I tend to disagree with the Half-Baked Harvest recommendation. I find her recipes overly complicated for not a lot of pay-off. They tend to have extra steps and ingredients that you don't necessarily have lying around.
Skinnytaste, Damn Delicious, Budget Bytes, and places like Delish are websites I personally prefer.

Good luck OP!

Quesadilla Night! Tortillas, grated cheese, black beans, shredded chicken (can buy from deli). You can also have some tomatoes if you want and sour cream, guacamole.

Tacos- just buy the kit and all you need is some ground beef and whatever you like on tacos.

Breakfast for dinner- pancakes, French toast, birds nests (hole cut out of bread with glass and then crack an egg into it

Meatloaf is really easy- just mix up ground beef and spices and an egg and bake it. Add some steamed broccoli and instant mashed potato.

Make your own pizza- buy pizza crust and toppings and kids can make their own. Mine like to make pictures or words with toppings.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup

Baked Ziti- basically noodles, sauce and cheese and bake.

Just start looking at some recipes online and see what’s good. Baking is easier for me than pan cooking meat. You could also look at some sheet dinners.

This will horrify the real cooks here, but this is one of my favorite simple meals: put several boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a casserole dish, pour on one can of cream of mushroom soup, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350-400 for 30-45 minutes or until it tests done. Serve with rice and a fresh steamed veggie. It’s surprisingly delicious.

Another simple meal: sauté some pork chops seasoned with pepper, rosemary, and garlic powder in a little olive oil until browned, pour in a half cup to a cup of water and cover. Turn down heat and simmer until tender (about an hour) then remove cover and add about a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a splash of gravy enhancer (Kitchen Bouquet?). Swirl in a half tablespoon of butter at the end. Serve with boiled red potatoes and a fresh or frozen veggie (peas, spinach, corn taste best from frozen).

Cooking does not have to be hard or complex if you are willing to take some shortcuts and keep it simple.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020290-one-pot-pasta-with-ricotta-and-lemon

This is super easy and tasty

OP if you like sheet pan dinners, we made this one from the NYT this weekend and it was dead simple. And very tasty - possibly the most perfectly cooked piece of chicken I’ve ever had. I’ve made the NYT chicken shawarma everyone raves about on here - and this is as good, but probably even simpler
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020486-vinegar-chicken-with-crushed-olive-dressing?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

Also, these are EXCELLENT. The most moist ground chicken item I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a lot with ground chicken)

https://littlespicejar.com/rustic-chicken-piccata-meatballs/

Salads with boiled eggs and good bread on the side

Roasted veggies and chickpeas over couscous

Falafel and pita with tzatziki or tahini sauce

Mezze or tapas style dinner

OP here. Sheet pan dinners are a good idea. And quesadillas are the one thing I make already!

Quesadillas

The nyt had a section of sheet pan dinners and many are great. That site is good because the commenters know there stuff (unlike a lot of five star recipes on the general Internet where people rate the recipe without making it: "wow that looks great!"(

You might also like a cookbook like "the joy of cooking" or "how to cook everything." Deborah Madison's cookbook for vegetarians is excellent.

Seconding sheet pan dinners

I find this website has recipes full of flavor but the directions are simple and straightforward.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/sticky-ginger-soy-chicken/

Roast chicken. Just don't forget to take out giblets before you put it in the oven.

Look at the budget bytes website...the food is inexpensive and there are very clear directions with step by step photos. I bet you will find something that sounds good to you! Other ideas to look up: shakshusha (serve with store bought pitas and sliced cucumber), tortellini soup, baked ziti or lasagna, mjaddra (if you can slice onions, the rest is very simple). You may also like sheet pan meals.