It took time and mostly finding the right recipes and researching the simple questions, but I am pretty proud of how far I've come. I can now cook meals that people rave about and ask for seconds and even the recipes for. I can cook meals that my family loves and scarfs down and that James brings to work with him to brag to his co-workers about how amazing his wife is. I still cook a handful or more of less than adequate meals, but I am still pleased with where I'm at. However, family dinners got even trickier when we had kids and they got picky and schedules got busy, etc. I was constantly overwhelmed with the the question, "What's for dinner?" It would stress me out so much. Now it wasn't about how to cook, it was about what and how much time did I have? So, about 7 or 8 years ago I decided to make a meal plan. Instead of an actual menu, I decided to simply my evening choices and pick themes for each night. This has SAVED my dinner anxiety so much! We have dinner together every night and very rarely miss a night and I am grateful for this tradition and standard we have that brings our family together at the end of each day. I get asked all the time about my meal themes whether from people my kids have told or people who have overheard me mention something about it. Our family often talks about these themed nights like they are the worldwide norm, so I am constantly explaining it. We love it and maybe it would help someone else too.
Sunday- Spaghetti Sunday
No, we don't have spaghetti every Sunday, but this theme reminds us that Sunday nights are pasta night. We DO have some variety of a pasta dish every Sunday. This can look like normal spaghetti or spaghetti in all its varieties (baked, etc). This can also look chicken alfredo or spaghetti squash as a substitute, tortellini, ravioli, lasagna and so on. The possibilities are endless, but not overwhelming because we've narrowed down the category.
Monday- Mexican Monday
We love Mexican food here. My overall favorite dinner is taco salad, so having a night that is just about Mexican food works well for us. (Though I've toyed with the idea of making this Meatless Monday, I still can't get away from Mexican food.) There's enchiladas (ones that no longer taste like cardboard), tacos, flautas, quesadillas, fajitas and so on.
Tuesday- Try Something New Tuesday
This is a fun day that I often look forward to. This is the day I open up my pinterest food folder and pick a new meal I want to try. The kids know that this is the day to be adventurous and brave and it has, for the most part, been successful. Sometimes the new dish is simply a new side with a traditional meal, but there is usually something new and different on the table every Tuesday night.
Wednesday- Wake Up Wednesday
By far the kids favorite and most talked about theme. Breakfast for dinner. Need I say more? With the craziness of school mornings, our breakfasts are less than exciting, so this is the time when I make a huge breakfast and we enjoy it for dinner. The possibilities, again, are endless, but I do try to always have some eggs or a green smoothie or something to bring more nutrition to some traditionally non nutritive meals. Though it's amazing what you can find for healthy AND fun breakfast ideas!
Thursday- That's What Momma Made Thursday
This is our most traditional day. This is when I make meals that we grew up with that are tried and true staples for many homes. This is a night when a kid can request their favorite, or we remake a new recipe that we enjoyed or it's simply a night for leftovers or for creations mom can throw together with what's in the fridge!
Friday- Fun Friday
Kid friendly dinners is what this night is all about. 9 times out of 10 my kids pick pizza, so I also think of this as my night off. Though we do have exceptions to that where we'll do hotdogs, mac and cheese, or basic kid favorites like this.
Saturday- Soup, Salad, Sandwich Saturday
I love the simplicity of this night, but also the variety options. We can go as basic as grilled cheese and tomato soup, turkey, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches. Or we can be fancier with a large Cobb salad (my favorite), hamburgers (not that they're fancy, but they are a little more involved) or meatball subs, etc. We do usually lean more towards the sandwich side of this theme, but soups and salads are a fun alternative.
Obviously these themes are completely customizable. The idea is just to simplify your choices to make the task of choosing what to make a little less daunting and maybe even a little more exciting. Family dinners are important, and they don't have to be fancy or delicious. And they certainly shouldn't be stressful. They should be a time when a family reconnects and turns off the world around them for a little bit.
"Growing up I learned life's important lessons at the dinner table." -Chef John Besh
"A strong family has well worn seats at the dinner table." -A Few Lovely Things
Here's a few of our favorite recipes if you want to give our themes a try! Or make up your own themes!
Spaghetti Sunday: This is my sister's baked spaghetti recipe that is definitely one of our favorites:
BAKED SPAGHETTI
1 pkg (16oz) Spaghetti
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (we also like to sub italian sausage)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 (10 3/4oz) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce (you can also just use spaghetti sauce)
1 C water
2 TB brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (or more, who measures cheese anyways?)
Break Spaghetti in half; cook. Meanwhile, in dutch oven (or large pot, or just use a large frying pan), cook the beef, onion and green peppers over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the soups, tomato sauce, water, brown sugar and seasonings.
Drain Spaghetti; stir in meat sauce. Add 1/2 C cheese. Transfer to a greased 13x9 in baking dish.
Cover and bake at 350 for 30 min. Uncover; sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 10-15 min longer until cheese is melted.
Think of me and enjoy ;)
Mexican Monday: A very tasty and kid friendly dish we love is...
MEXICAN CORNBREAD CASSEROLE
Some alterations I make to this recipe is I swap black beans for the olives. I also use a box cornbread 9 times out of 10 for convenience. But when/if you do this, follow the temperature cooking directions on the box because it'll likely be different than their from scratch recipe. I also often use ground turkey instead of beef just to cut down on our red meat intake. I top it with cilantro and sour cream. yum!
Try Something New Tuesday: Here's a new one we tried recently that was a success.
ALOHA PINEAPPLE CHICKEN RICE CASSEROLE
A super great thing about this recipe is that is is easy to cook as a casserole OR you can cook things separately and then piece it together like I did. It turned out delicious! I made the sauce and the spooned it over the rice so the rice wasn't soggy or completely saturated in the soy sauce mix. I made it with my sister in law's coconut rice recipe because it's my absolute favorite rice. Just throw it all in the rice cooker and it's perfect. Here's the recipe for that:
Coconut rice: 2 Cups of rinsed Jasmine rice, 1 CAN of coconut milk, 1 1/2 C water, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, optional cilantro and or lime can be added before or after cooking.
Wake Up Wednesday: Our favorite day. It's hard to pick just one favorite, but here's a definite breakfast standout that we love!
BREAKFAST ENCHILADA BAKE
MMMM! This is so yummy! I prefer it without the added sausage inside, but James was impressed both ways. Definitely don't forget the bacon on the top! I have tried sooooo many pancake recipes over these past several years, but our favorite is the ihop buttermilk pancake recipe found on pinterest with this caramel buttermilk syrup https://www.creationsbykara.com/buttermilk-caramel-syrup/.
That's What Momma Made Thursday: The dish I picked for this one is a recipe I often make when I'm taking someone dinner. It almost always gets a recipe request! CHICKEN POT PIE
So for this one I usually use a premade pie crust because I'm a busy mom and take a few short cuts here and there. I get a quality one, usually pillsbury. Then you can modify the veggies and etc to your liking, though for the filling I do usually stick to the recipe because it is just so good! Serve with some homemade rolls and a side salad and you'll feel like a million bucks putting this on the table for your family!
Fun Friday: While we do tend to do pizza most Fridays, we have found many alternatives to fun, kid friendly dishes that we love. This is one of our favorites!
PRETZEL DOGS
Get yourself a high quality hot dog to really make this recipe measure up to its potential. I love the oscar meyer weiner all beef dogs the best. These pretzels are delicious! Serve with a side of homemade fries or just some fruits and veggies!
Soup/Salad/Sandwich Saturday: This is our day that could go super fancy, or way basic. In need of a new kind of sandwich recipe, I'm your girl to ask!
SLOPPY JOES
You guys, this recipe will be the only sloppy joe recipe you will ever want. I use ground turkey again to cut back on red meat and we love it with a quality potato bun, but I'm sure it's delicious with any bun. Definitely toast those buns with some brushed butter for amazing flavor and to keep the bread from getting soggy. Serve it up with a side of chips and chopped veggies!
There you have it! Let me know if you try any of these and what you thought!
