Man Food: 6 Ideas of What to Cook for a Guy

My feminist friends are going to hate me for this but I can explain.

If you like to cook for yourself, chances are there’s going to come a time in every relationship when you offer to cook for a guy for the first time. Now, we’ve all heard the whole “way to a man’s heart” theory, and there seems to be some sort of old-fashioned thing about men liking women to cook for them, but that’s not the point of this post.

I’m not telling you to “learn how to cook well so a guy will want to marry you because what else could you possibly want in life.”

I’m writing this to give you tips on how to impress your date when or if the time comes. Because, after all, you want to impress this dude, not burn his or your apartment down.

Oh and there’s a back story.

I spent the better half of a month bragging about how great of a cook I am and how much I love doing it. So when it came time to actually test my skills, I decided to make butternut squash risotto.

I needed to use my farmer’s market squash, I had made risotto before, I was good to go. Problem #1: Butternut squash is not man food. Problem #2: I forgot half the ingredients I needed. Problem #3: I burnt the crap outta the squash. (blame it on the wine?)

Needless to say, it was a man food fail. Luckily, I chose to cook for a nice one who lied and said it was good.

Okay, so before you decide to take the cooking plunge, keep in mind:

• Don’t choose anything too difficult, or too healthy.
• If he doesn’t cook for you back or help you cook (or at the least do the dishes), take some time to consider whether or not you really want to even offer. Because, equality.
• If you have a man food fail and he’s not nice about it, ditch him. Or force him to eat it anyway. Or something.
• I’m not a red meat fan, but if you are, meat + potatoes = failproof man food.
• Don’t try to do too much at once, and do as much prep work as possible.
• If you can’t cook, visit my best friend Trader Joe’s. He’ll hook you up with some delicious frozen meals.
• Garlic not suggested, for obvious reasons. But if it’s for the sake of flavor …. Trident.
• When in doubt, include bacon.

Since I’m not a red meat person, I’ve searched the web for some healthy man-approved recipes that will open his eyes to a world without steak. These are easy enough and will make your man buy you expensive things (well, a girl can hope).

Oven-Baked Chicken Parmesan– I’m pretty sure almost every guy likes chicken parmesan, and this recipe doesn’t require frying (which is both stinky and messy). Although it’s baked, it’ll still be crispy and delicious – promise.

Skinny Crockpot Chicken Chili – this recipe is actually sneaky healthy, but packed full of flavor!

Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup – because who doesn’t like a little meat and potatoes!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Spaghetti – a super easy pasta recipe …. with bacon. Need I say more.

Shrimp Stir Fry from Tide and Thyme – Make sure he likes shrimp, and if so, definitely make shrimp stir fry. It’s super healthy, yet it tastes delicious! It also happens to be easy to make, and very hard to mess up. You may even trick him into eating it over quinoa.

Bundt Pan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables from Iowa Girl Eats – It’s nothing super special, but what guy doesn’t like meat and potatoes? Cook a whole bird with the vegetables in the same pan – it’s super easy and comforting. Let him do the carving.

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake from Half Baked Harvest – Okay so this one isn’t necessarily the healthiest, but it’s cheesy so who cares. Plus, it only takes 15 minutes prep time before going into the oven!

Creamy Bacon Pasta Carbonara from Dashing Dish – Woah. They might as well call this engagement pasta. This lightened up version of the very rich pasta dish is sure to go over well – serve it over spaghetti squash to make it healthier!

Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken from SkinnyTaste – Okay, so you’re sensing a trend here: cheese! Well, cheese makes everything better. Stuffed chicken recipes are great because they’re super easy but taste amazing. Also, try stuffing chicken with broccoli and swiss – amaze.

What’s your guy’s favorite “healthy” dinner?