It is important to us to eat our nightly meal as a family. It's our time to sit down, reconnect, and take the time to enjoy each other's company. I have different "go-to" meals depending on what kind of night we are having. I can't say that we're going to sit down at 6 PM every night. We have too many factors that change when we eat our family dinner. If my son has a late soccer practice, we may eat at 5:15. If my husband has a conference call, we may not eat until 7:30. The time we eat isn't as important as the actually eating together part. It's not complicated to have a family meal, it just takes some planning and some flexibility.
Here are some of my favorite "go-to" meals depending on the kind of night we have planned:
- Busy Nights- The crock pot is my best friend! Throw in some frozen chicken breasts and bar-b-que sauce in the pot in the morning, set it on low and let it simmer all day. The shredded chicken is amazing on soft Kaiser rolls or delicious on its own. Pair it with a crisp green salad for a meal the whole family will devour.
- Regular Nights- I consider a regular night to be one when I have about 30 minutes to cook a meal. Nothing special is going on, but I don't feel like making a gourmet meal. On nights like this I turn to my standards. I like to do chicken stir-fried with fresh vegetables, a breakfast-for-dinner meal, or even a quick pan seared fishfillet with roasted red potatoes and a salad on the side.
- If I have time to indulge- There are nights when we have nothing going on (rare I'll admit, but they do occur.) When I have time to be indulgent and take all the time I want to cook our nightly meal, I love to go homemade all the way. One of my favorite meals is homemade meatballs (using ground turkey), homemade tomato sauce that can simmer away for hours, a salad with lots of ingredients (not just lettuce!), and homemade rolls (with LOTS of butter!)
- Entertaining- We have little kids, so we don't entertain a lot. But when we do, I still have go-to meals. Two of my favorites are to let everyone create their own gourmet pizza or to set out a taco bar. For the gourmet pizza, I make (or sometimes buy) a good quality pizza dough and then set out tons of different toppings. From freshly chopped pepperoni, assorted cheeses, Greek olives, and a rainbow of veggies, it's fun to see what pizzas my guests create. My other favorite entertaining meal is a taco bar. I cook ground beef, onions, and taco seasoning in a crock pot all day until its super tender and flavorful. Then I set out soft flour tortillas and crispy corn taco shells. I fill little bowls with lettuce, cheese, onions, chopped tomatoes, salsa, olives, and sour cream. Serve withre-fried beans and rice, and you have an awesome taco bar that adults and kids alike will enjoy. When we entertain, I like to actually spend time with my guests. I want to hang out with my guests, not be stuck in the kitchen, that's why the gourmet pizza and taco bar ideas are my go-to entertaining meals.
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