Today, we have the privilege of having a sweet sister in Christ, LeAnn Rice share about the beauty and joy of gathering with those you love. Her new book, The Loving Kitchen has just been released and it’s a MUST HAVE for every woman who longs for her home to be the place where memories are made and her children will linger even when they are adults.
By: LeAnn Rice
No matter what you’ve done for yourself or for humanity, if you can’t look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished? —Lee Iacocca
When I was growing up we sat down together at the dinner table every night. Everyone did. Kids played outside until they heard mom or dad call them to come in for dinner. Lifestyles have changed, and sadly, family mealtime seems to be heading for extinction. Between shuttling kids to science fairs, playdates, and dance classes, sometimes all we can manage is a quick trip to the drive-through window before heading home to put clothes in the dryer, feed the dog, and get the kids into bed. We are being pulled further and further away from the family table, and activities are pulling us in too many exhausting directions.
Statistics show eating dinner together as a family can have significant benefits. Children who eat with their families do measurably better in school, develop healthier eating habits, and have more confidence in themselves, which leads to smarter choices with their peers. Stronger family bonds, mutual respect, and a general consideration for each other are enhanced as a result of family mealtime.
Nothing compares to gathering around the kitchen table and simply being together to share what’s going on in our hearts. But sometimes it’s fun to make dinner an event. Here are some ideas for conversation starters and mealtime activities that will have everyone looking forward to family dinner:
- Have a “picnic” in the living room. Spread a blanket or tablecloth out on the floor. Eat off of paper products (easy cleanup is an added bonus!) and serve typical picnic food. You can even add some plastic ants for fun!
- Eat by candlelight or use your fine china for an everyday meal, not just on a special occasion.
- Eat dinner backward. Start with the dessert and end with the appetizer.
- Each night at dinner ask everyone at the table to share their best and worst moments of the day.
- Let the kids set a unique table. They can make place mats, place cards, a centerpiece, and napkin rings.
- Have everyone speak with an accent during the meal.
- Make a new mealtime tradition for a specific night of the week. Some ideas: Taco Tuesday, Fondue Friday, Family “Date” Night (rent a movie and eat dinner together while you watch the movie), Breakfast for Dinner Night, or Dippy Dinner (everything you serve comes with a dip).
- Go around the table taking turns sharing where you saw God that day.
- Have a pajama party. Everyone puts on their silliest pajamas, eats pizza in front of the fireplace, plays Twister, and then eats popcorn while sharing silly stories.
- Have everyone bring an interesting vocabulary word to the table. See if anyone knows what the words mean. Try to stump each other.
Play a word game during dinner! Here are a few that will have everyone laughing:
- Categories: Take turns saying a word in a chosen category (music, movies, food, ice-cream flavors, names of candy, cities, etc.) or words beginning with the same letter. For example, if the category is music, take turns listing music-related words like sing, note, drums, concert, song title, etc.
- Alphabet Game: In alphabetical order, take turns listing items you would take with you on an imaginary trip to a silly location. Before listing an item, you have to repeat the intro sentence and all the previous items. For example, it’s your turn and the letter is G. You must say, “I am taking a trip to Timbuktu and I have to pack my suitcase. I will be bringing anchovies, batteries, cow, doorknob, envelopes, football, and a _____ (your G word). I have never made it all the way to Z!
- Tell a “Chain Story.” One person begins to tell a creative story. After a couple of sentences, the story is “passed” to the person on the right who continues with a few sentences and then passes to the next person on the right . . . The result will be some very interesting, creative, and silly storytelling.
Have theme days:
- Color of the day: Everyone wears and eats only items of that color.
- Food Item Day: Eat foods that are made from one food item. For example, if the food was an apple, you would eat things like apples, dried apples, baked apples, apple pie, applesauce, candy apples, biscuits with apple butter or apple jelly, apple-glazed chicken, and drink apple juice and spiced hot apple cider.
- Foreign Food Day: Choose one country and eat food from that region all day. For example, if you choose France, have Crépes Suzette or croissants for breakfast and Coq Au Vin for dinner. You can turn this into a family educational experience by having each person research different things about the country to share during dinner.
- Instead of choosing a country, make up your own! Decide where your country is located, what foods they would eat, what the weather is like, what is the standard mode of transportation, what their words are for certain items, what the houses look like, etc. Create a menu to go with your country and let everyone help with the preparations.
I know it isn’t realistic to think we can all gather around the kitchen table every night of the week. But remember the importance of family and the immeasurable benefits of eating together as often as possible. Reaching out with love should begin in our own home.
Family Recipe!
One of my favorite dinners when I was growing up was Sloppy Joes. Not only were they delicious and messy and fun to eat, but I have a brother named Joe who was (and still is) an incredibly messy eater. We were pretty sure these yummy sandwiches were named after him.
On the “mom-friendly” meter, these come in pretty high. You can prepare the filling a day or two in advance and keep stored in the refrigerator for a quick and easy weeknight family dinner. All you have to do is reheat the filling and prepare the buns. Dinner will be on the table in fifteen minutes! Eating sloppy Sloppy Joes is a great family bonding experience. The bigger the mess, the bigger the laughs!
By the way, in my house, these are Sloppy Nicks!
- 2.5 pounds ground sirloin
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and very finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 3 teaspoons prepared mustard
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
- A couple dashes of cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
- 8 slices Cheddar cheese
- 8 sesame seed buns
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground sirloin to the hot skillet and brown, stirring frequently, as you break up the clumps of meat. When the meat is almost cooked, add the onion, green pepper, and garlic. Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, Worcestershire, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened.
- Preheat the broiler.
- Place a slice of cheese on the bottom half of each bun. Lightly butter the top half. Place under the broiler and broil until the cheese is melted and the top half is golden. (This will only take a few minutes so keep a close eye on them.)
- To serve, spoon the meat mixture on the bottom half of the bun, then top with the toasted half. I know it seems odd to put the cheese on the bottom, but it helps keep the meat mixture from dripping through the bun while it’s on your plate. Although that would make them sloppier!
About LeAnn
After several years living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, LeAnn and her son, Nick, moved down south to sweet tea country for a fresh start after the death of her husband. The longer she lives in the South, the more her tongue seems to curl as she speaks, and the more “y’all,” “I reckon” and “bless their hearts” slip from her lips, much to the amusement of family back in Washington State.
She is passionate about sharing grace with others through preparing and serving delicious down-home food with warmth, humor, and unmistakable Southern charm and hospitality. LeAnn’s heart is in welcoming the neighbor, nurturing the family, and bringing people around the kitchen table to share good food, laughter, and treasured conversations while creating lasting memories.
LeAnn reaches tens of thousands through her popular food blog, www.LeAnnCooks.org, a site she developed to share recipes, glimpses into her life and the more than occasional kitchen disaster. Her first cookbook, The Loving Kitchen, published by Thomas Nelson, will be available May 20, 2014.
When she’s not blogging, going to the theater, packing a care package for her now college-age son, or trying to appease their high-maintenance cat’s unreasonable demands, you will find LeAnn creating new recipes to try out on brave friends who don’t let an occasional oven fire frighten them off! She doesn’t strive for perfection, and has been known to laugh, grab a fork, and sit down in the middle of the kitchen when a whole cheesecake falls to the floor.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if there are still dirty dishes in her sink or if she ran out of time to update her Facebook page. What matters most is that her son knows he is loved unconditionally and that she didn’t turn her back on a friend or someone in need of a warm bowl of comfort or a seat at her table.
Visit LeAnn on her blog, www.LeAnnCooks.org
Connect with her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeAnnCooks and Twitter: @LeAnnCooks
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