Sharing another dinner menu to help encourage families to eat dinner as a family. With my children home during the summer I even had them help me make our menu. I love planning my dinner menus for the month. It’s just a little extra work that saves so much time. More time for family game nights or staying at the table long past dinner because we are so busy visiting. I love the blessing of eating dinner as a family. I know it is helping my family grow closer together and teaching them social skills, like sharing things from their day and asking other member of the our family about their day. I love when my almost 3 year old tells Dad things that happened that day. Or if it’s really traumatic she will keep telling Dad. She is still telling Dad about the time Yoda had to get his shots.
In addition to creating a monthly dinner menu I also like to plan our family nights. This helps me plan teaching opportunities that our family needs. Or to brainstorm ideas so when Monday night rolls around I am a little ahead of the game. I challenge your family to set aside a night for family togetherness. If things are really crazy, keep it short and simple. It’s much more effective to have regular, short but consistent family nights than only getting together once a month. Wherever you are with your family night, make it a goal to improve.
Last month we finished up a series from LDS Living which really blessed our family. I find it easier to plan our Family Night lessons by having certain weeks that we study different areas, like General Conference, this Prophet Series, or fun lessons I find from Pinterest. Now that we have finished the Living Prophet series I want to start a new idea where we study Old Testament Stories and act them out. You may have seen our Daniel reenactment on Instagram. Be sure to follow us on Instagram to see more scripture stories we will share. We will be using the hashtag #fhescripturestories. If your family acts out a story be sure to use that hashtag so we can see each others families learning about the scriptures.
I am trying to be better with one on one time with my kids. I decided to let the kids pick an activity they want to do, and if budget allows, we can put it on the calendar. I know putting it on our family calendar will help my kids hold me accountable. They seem to excellent memories when if comes to doing a fun activity. Remembering to brush their teeth is another matter…
Monthly Dinner Menu
- Black Bean Tostadas
- Grilled Caprese Sandwiches
- Creamy Chicken Piccata with Hubby’s Mashed Potatoes
- BBQ Chicken with Baked Beans and Pasta Salad
- Stir Fry (using leftover chicken)
- Double Decker Tacos (Gandalf’s pick)
- Turkey, Avocado, and Bacon Flatbread
- Grilled Turkey Sandwiches
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Grilled Mushroom Burgers
- Quesadillas (Yoda’s pick)
- Chicken Tacos- Taco Tuesday!
- Chicken Taco Salad (using leftover chicken)
- Baked Potatoes (Draco’s pick) Best Baked Potato Recipe. Ever.
- French Bread Pizza
- Balsamic Chicken with Tomatoes and Asparagus
- Nachos
- Grilled Chicken Sesame Salad
- Happy Anniversary
- BBQ Chicken Salad
- Omelettes (Draco’s pick)
- Chicken Caesar Salad
- Hawaiian Haystacks
- Pioneer Day Dinner
- Enchiladas (Gandalf’s pick)
- Pizza (First Day of School Celebration)
- Burrito Bowls
- BLT’s
- Garlic Summer Pasta
- Waffles
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup (Harry Potter’s Birthday!)
Family Night Lessons:
July 4th- Family Swimming and S’mores
July 11th-General Conference Talk Elder Ronald A. Rasband (Lesson posted soon!)
July 18th- Old Testament Scripture Stories (Click here to learn how to increase Scripture Study)
July 25th- Scout Advancements
One on One Time:
This month I will spend time time with Gandalf and Yoda, and Grady can be with Draco and Georgiana. In case you missed his cute post talking about their Sam’s Club Date, you can read about it here.
Gandalf- Dairy Queen Date
Draco-Target Run to look at Minecraft Sets
Yoda- Read Harry Potter together
Georgiana- Play Barbies with Dad.
What Dinner are you looking forward to try this month? Comment below! Or be sure to tell us what you like to do for your one on one time.
And don’t forget Cow Appreciation Day is July 12th!!!
