Most Americans aren't gourmet cooks.

They have a lot of other things to do. Often they don't have time to think about home cooking. The issue isn't always cooking but rather planning nutritious menus. People who have trouble with this, however, must not be paying much attention. Because between cooking shows, the Internet, and a wide variety of easy prepare wholesome foods at grocery stores, it's not hard to come up with a seven day menu that satisfies everyone at the table. The entire family will like these dinner ideas.

Fairs and street vendors often have corn dogs, an American favorite. While not a healthy food, it is a tasty one that is easy to prepare. Make a batter with some flour, corn meal, salt, sugar and baking powder mixed with milk, dip the hot dogs and then deep fry them until the batter is golden brown. You an even add a corn dog stick to make it feel authentic.

Way back when, in colonial times, dinner was a lighter snack followed by supper later in the day. Social status and job type dictated changes in this over time. 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. Most people call the big meal either or both of supper or dinner. The evening meal doesn't have to be huge, though. Go more the dinner way with a lighter meal.

Try crock pot cooking. Set it, forget it, then return home to a well cooked meal. The crock pot can handle the entire meal. Try pot roast and potatoes. Stop on the way home for a hot loaf of bread. Or, skip the bread to avoid the extra calories.

Excellent home cooking isn't hard – try pork chops, or steaks on the grill. Search for the term dinner ideas on a search engine like Google. The Internet has more than you can handle.