O.K. We’ve all heard it a million times. If you want to get dinner on the table for your family every night of the week, all it takes is a little planning, right? But where do you start? I’m a professionally trained chef and an at-home mom. But until recently, even I didn’t know how to tackle this seemingly easy task. So let me share some of the tactics I’ve discovered for planning weeknight meals a little less stressful.

Pick a protein, any protein. One night have chicken, the next beef, then pork, then chicken again, and one night fish. One night do pasta with no protein. Another night try salads with tons of veggies and beans.

To keep any meal balanced, think in terms of each containing a protein, a vegetable and a starch, such as potatoes, rice or a whole grain. In today’s carb-conscious world, however, you could certainly double up on the veggies and eliminate the starch for many of your meals.

By varying the “main” ingredient in the meal, you’ll be less likely to be bored with the daily grind of cooking. And your family will appreciate the variety.

Method acting. Varying your cooking method can also keep things more interesting. If every night of the week, you sauted whatever you were making for dinner, chances are you would get pretty tired of it.

And you’d go through your saut pans faster than you can say flamb. Bake a casserole one night. The next do a stir-fry. After that, grill if the weather is nice. Then broil a fillet of fish. This will keep you using all the parts of your kitchen, as well as put your pans, bakeware, and brains to work.

A cut above. Do you find that you’re bored with pork chops? Try tenderloin, ham, a roast or ground pork. Tired of boneless, skinless chicken breasts? (And who isn’t, by the way.) Buy bone-in, skin-on breasts the next time. You would be amazed at how much the bone and skin help to keep the meat moist. Try some thighs or wings. Why not roast a whole chicken yourself! It’s much easier than you may think.

As for beef, there are cuts for broiling, grilling, sauting, stir-frying…you name it, there’s a cut for it. Most grocery stores now even tell you, right on the label, the best cooking method for the cut of beef. Expand your horizons beyond ground round to eye round steak, a low-fat cut that is best braised.

Crossing the line. Cross-utilization of ingredients is essential in a professional kitchen. In a fine-dining restaurant I worked in, we had a strip steak on the menu. After cutting the steaks from a loin of beef, we used the scraps in an appetizer of Vietnamese-style lettuce wraps. You’ve paid for the entire loin of beef, so you’d better use it!

The same holds true for that bunch of cilantro you bought for the guacamole for tacos tonight. You probably won’t use the whole bunch. Find another recipe for later in the week that also calls for cilantro. It can be as easy as searching “cilantro” on www.epicurious.com.

Recipes, recipes, recipes! I’m shocked when I hear that a woman puts pressure on herself to come up with a complete dinner for her family all off the top of her head. Again, I went to culinary school, and even I don’t do that. In a word, recipes are GOOD. Of course, some of them may not be to your liking, but that is why you try them out.

Pick up a cooking magazine at the checkout line. Take it home and look it over, and if you see something you want to try, tear out the page and give it a shot. If it’s a hit, keep the recipe in a folder to make again.

It not, toss it and keep looking for more. Magazines, cooking and general interest titles can be a great source for new recipes and meal ideas. The internet, cookbooks and newspapers can also serve as inspiration. (More on recipe sources in a future installment. Stay tuned).

Take a break! Remember, you don’t have to cook every night. One night you can plan to serve leftovers. One night you can order pizza. One night could be for canned soup and sandwiches. Your local market is also full of frozen and/or pre-made options for dinner.

My daughter loves “make your own pizza” night. Buy the pre-made crusts, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and some toppings, and you’re set. And don’t forget the rotisserie chicken. God (and grocery marketing gurus) created rotisserie chicken for a reason. Use it. Add a bagged salad and a box of rice, and dinner’s done.

Now that you have some tools in your pocket, spend a little time thinking ahead so that you can plan your family’s meals two, three, or even five nights in advance. So, here’s to a little variety in your weekly meals. After all variety is the spice of life right? Enjoy your family, enjoy your meals, and most of all, enjoy yourself.

Jenny McCalip is a professionally trained chef who happily lives with her daughter and husband in Oakwood, OH. She is currently working to fulfill her dreams of instilling her love of food and cooking in other women.