What’s for dinner? There’s an app for that

By Brian Nordli

Thursday, June 12, 2014 | 10:30 a.m.

Editor’s note: There are more than 1 million apps available for download from Apple's App Store and a similar number of Android apps available on Google Play. Staff writer Brian Nordli weighs in on one of the applications he deems worthy of being the Sun’s App of the Week.

App: Appetites

Where can you find it: Apple’s App Store

Cost: Free

What is it: Appetites is an app for people interested in spicing up their cooking repertoire.

It can be easy to rest on the same five meals every week, but as good as meat loaf is, five months of “Meat Loaf Tuesdays” can get a little old. Appetites offers users a tantalizing menu of restaurant-grade meals they can learn how to cook.

One week of selections might include roasted tomatillo chicken with pinto beans and rice, or marinated lamb chops with roasted fennel and apple. Such menus may seem intimidating, but rather than leave users stranded with a list of ingredients and no support, the app teaches you how to prepare the dishes.

Every menu item has a Food Channel-style cooking class that takes users through the steps of cooking the meal so it tastes like a master chef prepared it. Classes can be downloaded and revisited at any point for the user’s convenience.

There is one hitch. While the app offers same-day delivery on recipe ingredients to users in nine major U.S. cities, Las Vegas is not one of those. To prepare the meals here, you have to go out and buy the ingredients.

Still, for those tired of “Meat Loaf Tuesdays,” this app offers a chance to spice up the dinner table.