“What’s for dinner, Mom?” A question I hear numerous times a week. Usually, I’m prepared with the answer because I try to have a flexible menu planned out for each week. Dinnertime is an important time for our family to be together, chat about our day and, usually, have a good laugh. September is National Family Meals Month and I’m partnering with DinnerCall and taking the Billion Dinners Challenge to help bring awareness to the benefits of family meals.
What constitutes a family meal? Two or more people enjoying food together – yep, that’s it. It’s easy. My challenge for the next 2 weeks is to have 10 meals with my family and/or friends and track them using the DinnerCall app. You can take part in this challenge too! Head on over to billiondinners.org to learn more about the the DinnerCall app and the benefits of meals together with your family. Read more about how to participate at the end of this post.
Getting the crowd together for dinner isn’t always easy, that’s for sure. But it doesn’t have to be perfect, your family will benefit from an evening spent together over any meal you can pull together. To help you plan for the challenge, I’ve included ideas for 10 easy meals below…
Easy Italian Meatball Soup {serve with an Italian Salad and Mini Garlic Monkey Bread}
Cheesy Mexican Rice Skillet {serve with chips and oven roasted salsa}
Best Slow Cooker Pulled Pork {serve with Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin and Family Favorite Cole Slaw}
Pizza Grilled Cheese {serve with Tomato Feta Soup and fresh fruit}
BBQ Chicken Twice Baked Potatoes {serve with Autumn Chopped Salad}
Ravioli Lasagna {serve with Easy Garlic Focaccia Bread}
{slow cooker recipe} Honey Garlic Chicken Sliders with Asian Slaw {serve with chips and fresh veggies}
Sloppy Quesadillas with Cilantro Dipping Sauce {serve with Simple Southwest Potatoes}
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pita Pizzas {serve with a green salad}
{slow cooker recipe} Cafe Rio Chicken Tacos {serve with Garden Fresh Salsa and chips}
The challenge
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join @CrumbsandChaos in tracking 10 family meals for the next 2 weeks, use the #billiondinners hashtag
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eat together- a family dinner is 2 or more people sharing a family-style dinner while being fully present
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ignite a social movement – track your meals using the DinnerCall app to add to the number of family meals being shared and to encourage your friends to join you
*I’ve been compensated for my time to write this post, but I really believe that bringing people together over a meal is a powerful action.