Updated

We never know what to make for dinner. Maybe once every ten years we'll have a good idea, but the other 3649 nights, we rely on Food Network personalities for inspiration.

So needless to say, when we had the chance to ask Giada De Laurentiis about her go-to dinner ideas, we chomped at the bit.

"I think that planning is everything," says Giada, who, as a mother, admits "to plan[ing] out meals as much as possible."

That's swell, Giada, but please! Your ideas! We don't know if we've mentioned it yet, but we're starving over here!

"On Sundays, when I have a little more time, [I like to] prep for the week," she says. "I usually cook a pasta and keep it simple — no dressing at all — and I keep that in the fridge. And then I'll cook a protein, which is either a roasted chicken or something of that nature, or a pork loin or a steak, and then I'll keep that separate in a container. And then I'll cook off some vegetables."

"Then, on the weeknights, I pull those ingredients out and I transform them into whatever dish I want!"

But as Giada soon tells us, her all-time favorite easy meal is actually a fried pasta dish her mother used to make when she was little. And later, she reveals her two favorite non-pasta dishes, which we definitely plan on making when we're not craving macaroni (which only happens maybe once every ten years).

Watch the rest of Giada's interview above to find out more about her favorite pasta and non-pasta dishes.