What foods should I 100% try to cook?

I'm sick and tired of making the same foods all the time. It's either mac and cheese or sandwiches. Don't get me wrong I love a good sandwich and it's affordable but I just need something different. Hoping for some food recs! 🍴

if you're a fan of pasta and grilled chicken I have this amazing tomato and chicken pasta recipe its not like a marinara sauce its more of a creamy tomato sauce I can give you it if you'd like!

Tomato Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

- 1 pack of pre-cut chicken thighs

- 1 lb of pasta

- Sun-dried tomatoes with oil (about 1/4 cup)

- 2 tsp butter

- 1 shallot

- Salt to taste

- 1 tsp Italian seasoning

- 1/2 tsp onion powder

- 1 tsp pepper (or to taste)

- 1/2 tsp paprika

- 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon

- 6-8 cloves of garlic

- Olive oil

- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

- A handful of spinach

- Basil (to taste)

1. In a large saucepan, heat about 1 tbsp of sun-dried tomato oil and 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat.

2. Cook the chicken until no longer pink, then set aside and cut into bite-sized pieces (or as desired).

3. Reduce heat to low and add in another tablespoon of butter along with the shallot and seasonings. Cook for 2-3 minutes (add olive oil if needed). Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

4. Pour in the chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer.

5. Add the pasta and stir. Cover and simmer until al dente, about 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

6. Once the pasta is done, add the heavy whipping cream, chopped up sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan. Stir until melted.

7. Add the spinach and cooked chicken. Then serve. 

also I have to add the recipe is mainly for like 4 people since I usually make this for me and my mom and siblings so you can always just half the recipe if it seems like too much not unless you live with other people then maybe you can use share with them if you don't feel comfortable halving recipes! 

also for the pasta you can use whatever pasta you like, I like to switch up what pasta I use from time to time but I mainly like using Pappardelle Pasta, if you don't like that type of pasta you can always just use your favorite type of pasta!  

dare you to make this

I tend to go for decently easy and I think pot pie is a decent choice assuming you don't try to dice a whole pork shoulder by yourself like I did once (<<'). Slow cooked bean soup is nice too, and so is homemade chili. I get a lot of inspo from cookbooks I own lol. 

Bonus: Hot chocolate is stuuuupid easy to make and you can adjust the sweetness ultra easy

I'm all about simple. I switch proteins every other day and have leftovers for when i get bored of the other. I bought a stainless steel pan and learned to cook more homemade burgers / salmon / steak.

Having an airfryer or oven can spice things a bit too. Instead of cooking bacon on a skillet, I learned to just plop it into the air fryer for 400f for around 12 mins with a thick cut. Lot less messy :) 

Find some spices that you never tried and see if it works. Blend 3. One that works for me right now for chicken is smoked paprika, garlic powder, and black peppers. (a little spice, garlic, and earthy aroma goes a long way). 

Learn about food storage too so that the food you cook doesn't go bad right away,