Thanksgiving is a huge family holiday. We gather around together, we eat, we give thanks and it is a wonderful day full of memories and traditions. I enjoy creating meals that bring that kind of family togetherness all throughout the year.
Family togetherness is very important to me. I grew up as an only child, so my mom made sure I was surrounded by cousins at big family gatherings often throughout the year. I looked forward to these gatherings so much as a kid!!
As a mom myself now, I love meals that bring laughter and us into the kitchen and around the table together. When I meal plan now, I always try to incorporate these type of family meals, so that it keeps dinner fun and exciting for everyone and of course healthy too. Build Your Own meals also help reach everyones food preferences and lets them use their creativity to make their meal the way they personally would like it. So more food is eaten, more tummies are full and everyone is happy at the end. Mommy win!
With my kids now 10, 8, and 4 they can contribute more with the prepping of the dinners now as well. My oldest has confidence with the knife and I trust her with it as well. So she will cut up tomatoes and other veggies for these dishes. My 8 year old is still using the plastic knife set and will cut the romaine lettuce on taco nights and set the table with plates. My little guy puts out napkins and silverware. Then after dinner we have the table cleaner, the floor sweeper and the dish rinser. I would love to hear what jobs you give to your kids at dinner time.
Now for our Bair Den’s — Build Your Own Family Meal recipes!! I am sure I will be adding to this list but right now these show up often throughout the month.
BYO Homemade Pizza– What do you see here? I see a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a girl with pig tails!! I love their creative minds. Just make sure to make the dough an hour before dinner time and you are set for this FUN Build Your Own Family Meal.
BYO Tacos– This meal brings back memories from childhood! Now my kids get just as excited as I did. We make cheese quesadillas, soft or hard tacos and my favorite is a taco salad. I am big on simple ingredients so of course I make my own taco shells too! You can make them 30 minutes before dinner and you are good to go!
BYO Baked Potato– I love this BYO meal because it is great for using up leftovers and everyone has fun creating their own meal from it. I am more of a sweet potato fan so I bake a few of those in the bunch as well. The possibilities are endless on this one and is so delicious!
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