My mom taught me well. The dinner hour is important - and for more reasons than the food! For my family (and I'm guessing most others) the dinner hour is the one time of day that we are all together. It neatly falls after school,work, and play activites. And comes right before meetings, movies, more school, and bedtime rituals.
The dinner hour gives us a chance to talk. About our day - we sometimes play a game called 'High/Low' I borrowed from the Bruce Willis/Michelle Pfeiffer movie "The Story of Us." (Don't watch the movie - it's bad-just play the game.) To play high/low, you simply take turns telling the very best thing that happened to you that day, and the worst. Maybe you got a raise, and a speeding ticket. Some days we make a statement and that's it. Other times we never make it around the table because the follow up questions keep the conversation going and going and going!
We talk about plans for the evening and the rest of the week. We plan camping trips, birthday parties, and sleep overs. We talk about shows we saw on TV, movies we want to go watch, and news articles we read at work. We've talked about vacations we want to take, desserts we want to make, and future grandkids we want to have.
As a general rule; nothing is off limits. Yes, some topics get a little gross, and we have to save it for later. But if that's when 'Kenna feels comfortable asking what sex is, then that's when I'm going to answer her.
What's sad, is how many families ignore this opportunity to get to know each other. They sit in front of the TV, eat separately as they drift in and out of the kitchen, or worse, dinner hour is spent eating out and getting to know the wait staff instead of their own family!
Yes, we all have nights that are too crazy to sit long enough to down a corn dog, but those should the exception, not the rule. Yes, we do eat pizza while we watch a movie, but that happens once in a while, not every night.
The every day expectation is that we're all home shortly after 5pm. Everyone helps get the meal on the table, by 6pm we sit own together, thank Heanvenly Father for our blessings, and we visit as we eat. We all clean up afterwards, and with any luck, we can extend our family time a little longer. Maybe through 8pm...maybe through college!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Date Night
Friday night is usually date night - a very important night of week as far as I'm concerned. It is the one chance Hubby and I get to really talk, about our lives, the kids, whatever. Throughout the week it's more like touch base, and keep on running. Friday night we get to slow down and just enjoy being together. And if I don't have to cook a couple nights a month, all the better!
This Friday we joined some friends and went to a local place - Bubba's. They serve delicious BBQ beef, pulled pork, chicken, and ribs. We've never had a bad meal there, and this week was no exception. For $9.95 a piece (minus a $5 coupon!), we each got a full plate of super tender very tasty meat. I chose the half beef-half pork, salad bar (fresh if not a whole lot of choices), & baked potato (butter and sour cream on the side). Grilled Texas toast comes with every meal. Hubby had all beef, fries (the thick cut steak fries), and broccoli salad (not as good as my homemade recipe, but the best purchased broccoli salad I've ever had.) We laughed when our friends ordered the same way we did!
The BBQ sauce at Bubba's is the key - and also where Hubby and I differ. I dip my fork in the sauce then pick up a bite of meat. Terry pours ALL of his sauce on the meat and mixes it before eating. The sauce is great - they charge .25 cents if you need mo
re! They also sell it by the bottle so you can take some home. I just prefer to taste the meat. And if I save a couple calories by going easy on the sauce, all the better! The kitchen was behind on the french fries, so they came out in baskets after the dinner plates were served. I think they ended up ahead - both guys had as many fries leftover as what they ate!
A few years back Bubba's had a fire that destroyed most of the building. The now rebuilt restaurant features a log cabin theme, easy going atmosphere, and casual dress. There is rarely a wait to get in, and the kitchen filled our orders in a reasonable about of time. This is the type of place that all locals should be familiar with, and our favorite destination when people come to visit and want to try someplace new. Give it a try...I'm going to go polish off my leftovers!
This Friday we joined some friends and went to a local place - Bubba's. They serve delicious BBQ beef, pulled pork, chicken, and ribs. We've never had a bad meal there, and this week was no exception. For $9.95 a piece (minus a $5 coupon!), we each got a full plate of super tender very tasty meat. I chose the half beef-half pork, salad bar (fresh if not a whole lot of choices), & baked potato (butter and sour cream on the side). Grilled Texas toast comes with every meal. Hubby had all beef, fries (the thick cut steak fries), and broccoli salad (not as good as my homemade recipe, but the best purchased broccoli salad I've ever had.) We laughed when our friends ordered the same way we did!
The BBQ sauce at Bubba's is the key - and also where Hubby and I differ. I dip my fork in the sauce then pick up a bite of meat. Terry pours ALL of his sauce on the meat and mixes it before eating. The sauce is great - they charge .25 cents if you need mo
re! They also sell it by the bottle so you can take some home. I just prefer to taste the meat. And if I save a couple calories by going easy on the sauce, all the better! The kitchen was behind on the french fries, so they came out in baskets after the dinner plates were served. I think they ended up ahead - both guys had as many fries leftover as what they ate!A few years back Bubba's had a fire that destroyed most of the building. The now rebuilt restaurant features a log cabin theme, easy going atmosphere, and casual dress. There is rarely a wait to get in, and the kitchen filled our orders in a reasonable about of time. This is the type of place that all locals should be familiar with, and our favorite destination when people come to visit and want to try someplace new. Give it a try...I'm going to go polish off my leftovers!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
National PB&J Day
National PB&J day! Did you know there was such a thing? Of course now days there is a day/week/month to celebrate or bring awareness to just about anything.
Well tonight's dinner menu was peanut butter and jam (we prefer jam to jelly) with BBQ chips and milk. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point during childhood, I had BBQ chips while eating pb & J, and have liked it ever since. The ultimate comfort combination. Healthy - you get lots of protein from the peanut butter, calcium from the milk, fiber from the whole grain bread. I even like to count the homemade raspberry jam as a fruit. The chips add a nice side of crunchy saltiness to offset the sweet jam. And on a cold snowy day, what more could you ask for. Good food for the body and soul.
Well tonight's dinner menu was peanut butter and jam (we prefer jam to jelly) with BBQ chips and milk. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point during childhood, I had BBQ chips while eating pb & J, and have liked it ever since. The ultimate comfort combination. Healthy - you get lots of protein from the peanut butter, calcium from the milk, fiber from the whole grain bread. I even like to count the homemade raspberry jam as a fruit. The chips add a nice side of crunchy saltiness to offset the sweet jam. And on a cold snowy day, what more could you ask for. Good food for the body and soul.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fool's or April's Fool?
I always wanted to be one of those super creative types that WOW'd their families with fun April Fool's day meals. Tacos for breakfast? Chocolate cake molded into meatballs for dinner? Yet for 15 years I have never gotten around to it. My kids will be leaving home in a few years, and still no April Fool's fun at dinner time.
This morning as I was getting kids ready for school, 'Kenna (9) came into the bathroom to get her hair done wearing last years too small capri's. Keep in mind we woke up to an inch of snow, and I had previously told my kids that they were not allowed to wear summer clothes until after Easter - still two weeks away. She was upset and stomped off to change. 5 minutes later, she was throwing a fit about having oatmeal for breakfast. (No way was I cooking something fun for April Fools Day, I had to be to work by 8am!) Then we had it out over how she wanted to comb her hair for school, while not usually an issue, today she wanted any style I wasn't offering. Minutes later time was up, I needed to be out the door. End result: no hair style.
While this was going on upstairs, Sabee (15) and Walk-dog (12) were starting World War 3 over who's turn it was to shower. Sure they have assigned times, that they had both skipped. Sure I had already yelled down the stairs twice to remind them to talk nicely to each other. They still insisted on screaming, name-calling, and slamming doors. 10 minutes later it's time for family prayer and Hubby and I to head out the door. This is when Sabee decides she no longer wants to give us hugs good-bye. I was mad!
It took until 10am to calm down enough to fake a good mood at work. By 5pm when I headed home I had no desire to stop at the store for special ingredients, let alone any time to let the creative juices flow. This years April Fool's dinner: French toast. I guess the jokes on me - they scarfed it down, never once concerned that tonight's meal wasn't anything special. After years of not receiving anything different, they had no expectations, other than to get fed.
Hopefully we don't fool ourselves on a daily basis that what we serve for dinner will bring world peace. As long as their tummy's are full, kids are happy. Being together at dinner time is what's important. And that's no joke!
This morning as I was getting kids ready for school, 'Kenna (9) came into the bathroom to get her hair done wearing last years too small capri's. Keep in mind we woke up to an inch of snow, and I had previously told my kids that they were not allowed to wear summer clothes until after Easter - still two weeks away. She was upset and stomped off to change. 5 minutes later, she was throwing a fit about having oatmeal for breakfast. (No way was I cooking something fun for April Fools Day, I had to be to work by 8am!) Then we had it out over how she wanted to comb her hair for school, while not usually an issue, today she wanted any style I wasn't offering. Minutes later time was up, I needed to be out the door. End result: no hair style.
While this was going on upstairs, Sabee (15) and Walk-dog (12) were starting World War 3 over who's turn it was to shower. Sure they have assigned times, that they had both skipped. Sure I had already yelled down the stairs twice to remind them to talk nicely to each other. They still insisted on screaming, name-calling, and slamming doors. 10 minutes later it's time for family prayer and Hubby and I to head out the door. This is when Sabee decides she no longer wants to give us hugs good-bye. I was mad!
It took until 10am to calm down enough to fake a good mood at work. By 5pm when I headed home I had no desire to stop at the store for special ingredients, let alone any time to let the creative juices flow. This years April Fool's dinner: French toast. I guess the jokes on me - they scarfed it down, never once concerned that tonight's meal wasn't anything special. After years of not receiving anything different, they had no expectations, other than to get fed.
Hopefully we don't fool ourselves on a daily basis that what we serve for dinner will bring world peace. As long as their tummy's are full, kids are happy. Being together at dinner time is what's important. And that's no joke!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Theme nights
In creating my monthly menus, I found it tremendously helpful to have a theme for each night of the week. (i.e. Taco Tuesday) Then, when creating the menu I had only to decide which Mexican dish to serve, rather than; "which recipe out of the thousands I have up in the cupboard; should we have chicken-fish-vegetarian; what even sounds good, what will the kids complain the least about?"
For my family the weekly themes go like this:
Sunday - Nice big sit down after church dinner
Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Tour of Italy
Wednesday - Wendy's night (I'll explain later.)
Thursday - Chinese/Vegetarian
Friday - Fish/Date night
Saturday - Soups/sandwiches
I don't think my family is even aware of the nightly themes. I don't advertise it, and it does have exceptions to the rule. For instance in May, Cinco de Mayo will be on a Tuesday. So we'll have Mexican on that night, and something else on Monday.
I've used variations on this formula for years. Not only does it make the meal decision easier, but we end up with a greater variety of food choices. My kids never complain about having, "spaghetti again", because they only get it once every other month or so. It also helps to avoid a fast-food default. You can't pick up soups and salads at Burger King!
For my family the weekly themes go like this:
Sunday - Nice big sit down after church dinner
Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Tour of Italy
Wednesday - Wendy's night (I'll explain later.)
Thursday - Chinese/Vegetarian
Friday - Fish/Date night
Saturday - Soups/sandwiches
I don't think my family is even aware of the nightly themes. I don't advertise it, and it does have exceptions to the rule. For instance in May, Cinco de Mayo will be on a Tuesday. So we'll have Mexican on that night, and something else on Monday.
I've used variations on this formula for years. Not only does it make the meal decision easier, but we end up with a greater variety of food choices. My kids never complain about having, "spaghetti again", because they only get it once every other month or so. It also helps to avoid a fast-food default. You can't pick up soups and salads at Burger King!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dinner time
All moms know that dinner time is THE hour of the day. As soon as lunch is finished, kids will start to ask, "What's for dinner?" Hubby comes home from work and wants to know, "What's for dinner." For a short time out of a busy day all eyes turn to the head chef and expect great things.
Of course this often leaves us panicking to come up with a menu, stressed to get food on the table in a timely manner, and debating the merits of ketchup as a vegetable.
Years ago I started making dinner menus days ahead so that I could shop for groceries more efficiently. That morphed into monthly menus in an effort to increase the amount of food we had on hand in case of an emergency. Now that I am working full time, those monthly menus have become an invaluable tool to keep the evenings running smoothly. Not only is the dinner decision made days/weeks ahead - when the kids ask what's for dinner, I simply refer them to the posted menu. When I'm running late, my oldest daughter will sometimes check the menu and start dinner for me. It evens helps the littlest one know what dishes to set the table with.
Is it perfect? No! Do we eat gourmet meals every night? Hardly! Can it help someone else make their dinner hour a little better? I hope so!
Of course this often leaves us panicking to come up with a menu, stressed to get food on the table in a timely manner, and debating the merits of ketchup as a vegetable.
Years ago I started making dinner menus days ahead so that I could shop for groceries more efficiently. That morphed into monthly menus in an effort to increase the amount of food we had on hand in case of an emergency. Now that I am working full time, those monthly menus have become an invaluable tool to keep the evenings running smoothly. Not only is the dinner decision made days/weeks ahead - when the kids ask what's for dinner, I simply refer them to the posted menu. When I'm running late, my oldest daughter will sometimes check the menu and start dinner for me. It evens helps the littlest one know what dishes to set the table with.
Is it perfect? No! Do we eat gourmet meals every night? Hardly! Can it help someone else make their dinner hour a little better? I hope so!
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