How do people cook dinner every single night

If you have access to freeze stuff batch cooking a few different meals on a couple of days can work well. It does depend on how many you are cooking for. I do this a lot as don't always have time or energy to cook every day.

For veg depending on price it can sometimes be easier to buy frozen.

A big time saver is if you have access to it is a slow cooker as it is the case of adding everything in and leave it running until done. Serve with bread or rice when done. They are also good to use up spare veg and for meat options regular cuts are fine.

Prep vegies and meats like do washing and cutting early beforehand so when youre ready to cook you just needto cook and season. Less mess afterwards to clean up that way too.

Awhile ago I did all the cooking for six, three adults and three kids. I’d bake a big lasagna on the weekend and drag it out for reruns 1or 2 nights in he week following. Ditto foe a roast chicken. The leftover chicken would reappear of open-faced sandwiches with gravy and then I’d make a big pot of chicken soup.

Pasta with red sauce or with oil and garlic or with pesto could happen twice in a week. Fish, steamed, grilled or baked about once a week worked well. Premade, prewashed salad only needed tomatoes or cucumbers meet the need.

Get a rice cooker and give the pasta a break occasionally, and potatoes to give the rice an occasional break :)

I've grown up on eating bread for dinner so I'm not even used to cooked dinners, it's a bit of an odd concept to me. 😅 So cooking dinner is a bit of an event for me, not something usual.

I have 6 people in my house.
There used to be more. I totally get where you are coming from

This is what I do, sometimes.
When I buy groceries I buy based on the meals I plan to make, like most people. But when I get home I take an hour to prep and chop all the vegetables. If Im really concerned about time, I even separate them out into amounts or combinations as they will be used, depending on what it is for.

Or, more than likely., I will cut up a bunch of whatever I'm using that night to make dinner and save the rest because I know I'll use it later. Later me is grateful, present me is pretty annoyed about this still.

If I'm making something I know everyone likes, I will make. twice as much and freeze one half for later.

I always make sure there is food for people who are picky as fuck to grab and eat rather than eat a meal with the rest of us. Often times I am that person. it's a selfish endeavor maybe, but it works for me.

My partner and I mostly eat the same, but tonight for instance, he's having king prawns and I'm having tuna fishcakes. I'll make a vegetable stirfry and have my half with the fishcakes and he'll add his prawns to his half. Quick and easy. Or yiu can do the same with pasta or noodles too.

Another easy meal is meatloaf.

In my world there are usually two choices, take it or leave it but no complaining about it.
I find it handy to cook something big that will last several days.

I cook for my family every night except I give myself one night off each week

We do a lot of salads veggies and simple meals that don’t take more than 30 minutes. And while I’m cooking that night meal, I think ahead to the next night and pull out what I’m going to need for defrosting or setting aside.

I’d say look on the food network website. My favorite chefs there are Alton Brown & Rachael Ray. They’d have creative meal ideas

I just choose a protein, salad and carbs or mono fats. But I only have to do it for me 😬
I've worked in restaurants and oof it's a lot.

Take it in turns then you would only have to cook once a week.

that's what the Micro Wave is for.........Quick and easy..........Salad is also quick and easy.........

create a menu for each day of week\month and stick to it.

I am single so I need a knife.
You need a Cuisinart.

the smartest way to do it, is to cook at the beginning of the week and then freeze most of it that way there is food ready to eat throughout the week, more cost effective that way

I meal plan at least two weeks ahead and shop accordingly, usually when something is on sale, and stick it in the freezer until I'm ready for it.