10 Easy Dinner Ideas for Two

From simple weeknight meals with leftovers to date night dinners, consider the following easy recipes for two:

1. 1. Birria tacos: These Mexican Birria tacos are a showstopper. Birria tacos are made with goat meat that is marinated in a dried chile pepper paste, then braised until tender. The stewed meat is then fried, and the cooking liquid is reduced to a sauce, which you then dip the tacos in. Birria tacos are typically served with corn tortillas, birria sauce, Oaxaca cheese, onion, cilantro, and lime.
2. 2. Chicken piccata: Chicken piccata is an Americanized version of the classic Italian veal piccata, featuring chicken breasts pounded thin, dredged in flour, fried, and served with a lemon juice and butter sauce. In chicken piccata, dredging in flour—and sometimes bread crumbs—gives the chicken an irresistible crispy brown crust, while the acidity of the lemon and capers cuts through the fat of the butter and olive oil. To elevate this one-pan chicken dinner, deglaze the pan with white wine instead of chicken stock to make a delicious sauce.
3. 3. Filet mignon: Filet mignon is a steak cut from the narrow front end of a cow’s tenderloin muscle. It’s a very lean and tender cut, with hardly any marbling or connective tissue. Since it doesn’t have a lot of fat, filet mignon isn’t especially flavorful, but what it lacks in flavor it makes up for in tenderness: a properly cooked filet mignon is succulent and almost melts in your mouth. The fillets are usually the most expensive cut on the carcass, making it ideal for a romantic dinner or special occasion. Learn how to cook a filet mignon in a way that can rival a steakhouse, and serve it with decadent side dishes like mashed potatoes or sautéed asparagus.
4. 4. Italian meatballs: Italian meatballs consist of a combination of ground meats (like pork, beef, turkey, Italian sausage, and veal), breadcrumbs, cheeses, herbs, and other pantry staples. Home cooks mold this meat mixture into little balls, bake them, and then simmer them in a simple marinara sauce. Enjoy this classic Italian-American dish as an appetizer or main course. Try the protein on a meatball sub, on top of a plate of spaghetti or linguine, or with creamy polenta.
5. 5. Lasagna: Lasagna is a traditional Italian main dish and comfort food consisting of alternating layers of long, flat pasta noodles, tomato or cream sauce, and cheese (typically, mozzarella, parmesan, or ricotta, or a combination of all three). Lasagna may also include layers of sautéed vegetables or ground meat, like beef or lamb. The pasta is boiled before assembly, and then the entire dish is cooked further in the oven. Lasagna makes for romantic dinner and will give you leftovers the next day.
   
6. 6. Mediterranean stuffed bell peppers: These stuffed bell peppers consist of ground beef and quinoa and are baked and topped with Parmesan cheese. Stuffed peppers make for a fun and hearty main course. Try them with a side of Mediterranean chickpea salad or Greek salad with feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives. You can also pair stuffed peppers with an Italian Caprese salad made with fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and basil, or you can serve them alongside black beans and brown rice.
7. 7. Oven-baked pork chops: This baked pork chops recipe provides the foundation for cooking the most perfectly tender and juicy pork chops, perfect for easy weeknight dinners. Serve the pork chops with roasted veggies, such as Brussels sprouts or sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, or a simple salad.
8. 8. Pan-seared scallops: Scallops are often considered extra special, restaurant-only fare. They’re expensive and easy to overcook, which makes scallops intimidating for home cooks. But once you know how to cook scallops—which only take about five minutes on the stovetop!—they’ll become a quick weeknight treat. Serve scallops on top of mashed potatoes or pureed cauliflower, or make a quick creamy sauce of lemon garlic butter and serve with a green salad.
9. 9. Pumpkin chickpea stew: Pumpkin stew combines pumpkin and vegetables cooked in broth. You can make a pumpkin stew with beef, pork, or chorizo, or a vegetarian stew with chickpeas or quinoa. Pumpkin is high in vitamin A and C, making pumpkin stew a healthy dinner. You can also make this tasty stew with other winter squashes, such as butternut squash, acorn squash, or delicata squash.
10. 10. Short rib bolognese: This hearty variation of the popular pasta dish with meat sauce uses short ribs. This Italian meat-and-tomato sauce calls for tender shredded beef short ribs instead of ground beef and pork. Short rib bolognese sauce starts with a base of olive oil simmered soffritto—an aromatic flavor base of diced onion, carrot, and celery. Wine, stock, and tomato purée (or crushed tomatoes) form the braising liquid. Short ribs have a high fat and connective tissue ratio, so it’s a popular choice for hands-off, low-and-slow cooking methods like braising. Serve the bolognese with pappardelle pasta and topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

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