Most Americans aren't gourmet cooks. That's right, they live full lives. Sometimes fast food is their only alternative in the midst of a busy day. Often it's not a matter of cooking itself, but rather of coming up with dinner ideas for quick, healthy, inexpensive meals for the whole family. People who have trouble with this, however, must not be paying much attention. A seven day menu isn't all that hard to plan for people who know where to look. The entire family will like these dinner ideas.



Fairs and street vendors often have corn dogs, an American favorite. It's delicious and easy, even though not exactly healthy. The batter is flour, corn meal, salt, sugar and baking powder mixed with milk. Then coat the dogs and fry until golden brown. If you want the feel of the fair, insert a popsicle stick.

Way back when, in colonial times, dinner was a lighter snack followed by supper later in the day. As time went by this changed based on social class and schedule. People who performed manual labor continued with the tradition of dinner to keep up their energy. As times change and we move away from regular meals at home, dinner has become the anchor that keeps families together and signals the end of the out of the home portion of the day and the beginning of at home leisure time. The meaning of supper and dinner have merged. The evening meal doesn't have to be huge, though. Go the traditional dinner route with a light soup or roast chicken salad.

Try crock pot cooking. Set it up in the morning then enjoy a great meal at night. Great food is possible in a crock pot, the entire meal too. Try pot roast and potatoes. Stop on the way home for a hot loaf of bread. You can also let the bread slide if you're worried about the waist line.

The possibilities are endless with simple but delicious meals like veal cutlets, pork chops, even steaks on the grill. Use Google to find more great dinner ideas. The Internet is loaded with them.