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Having dinner together is one of the most important things you can do as a family. Spending time together can help strengthen relationships, teach your children emotional and social skills, and it can also promote healthy eating. Life can get very busy, but when you make it a routine to have dinner together all the time, it will easily end up becoming your favourite part of the day. You can add even more enjoyment to the routine by letting your family members pick the meal and help you cook.
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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
It’s hard to turn down a freshly baked cookie, especially when it’s baked with love. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are often a family favourite because of how easy they are to make and how tasty they end up. One of the best things about oatmeal cookies is that there are many variations you can try to mix things up. Just some things you can try are:
- Butterscotch chips
- Hazelnuts and chocolate chips
- Coconut flakes
- Double chocolate
- Peanut butter chocolate chip
- Strawberries and white chocolate
You might already have your family’s favourite variation in mind, but if not, you can get adventurous and try out one of these.
Macaroni and Cheese
Whether it’s a side dish or the main course, nothing screams comfort food quite like homemade macaroni and cheese. There’s classic macaroni and cheese that just about everyone has had, but then there are other kinds that add variety and new flavour combinations. Most classic macaroni and cheese recipes call for basic ingredients such as short pasta, butter, flour, whole milk, and plenty of cheese, but some popular variations are:
- Italian mac and cheese with fontina on top instead of cheddar
- Lobster mac and cheese with cooked lobster and chives
- Smoked mozzarella
- French-style stovetop with garlic and brie
- Bacon chipotle
Macaroni and cheese is fun to make as a family because there’s a job for everyone in the family. The little ones can add the cheese and help stir, while older children can help shred cheese and gather ingredients. If you have picky eaters, you can chop some veggies up really small and sneak them into the mix as well.
Pizza Pockets
Pizza pockets are a great meal to make with your family and for your family, because everyone gets their very own and can customize it however they want. For a quick weeknight dinner, you can use a sheet of puff pastry. You would just need to cut it up into the proper serving sizes and add your ingredients. If you want to get adventurous, or you’re a sucker for everything homemade, you can make your own dough using Bob’s Red Mill flours. Pizza pockets can be very simple. Typically, they only require very few ingredients. To make pizza pockets, you just need a puff pastry or dough, pepperoni or any other toppings, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and egg wash.
Tater Tot Casserole
A family-friendly favourite among many households is tater tot casserole. Not only is it filling, but it’s easy to make, and it’s something that many picky eaters will not turn down. This casserole is basically ground beef or turkey with onions, salt and pepper, cream of mushroom soup, and green beans. Then it’s topped with cheddar cheese and frozen tater tots. You can get the little ones excited about this meal by letting them place the tater tots on top.
Making time for family dinners is one of the best routines you can establish as a family. It gives everyone a chance to sit down together and talk about their days and really just get more involved in each other’s lives.
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