Dinner at Home...

Imagine the photo on the left is of the cook. That's how frustrating I find cooking sometimes. I have all of 3 fool proof ideas for dinner and my family, although kind and patient always, is kind of sick of my ideas. Still, I love a nice dinner at home, not so much the food, (I love spicy and I don't know how to make it..) it's the company I love.

In addition to the company, we now have a family dinner game, thanks to my new friend Barbara. Thank you Barbara! She gave me this beautiful jar and inside were all these really fun questions. The idea is to get a great conversation started that includes your children.

Our question of the night... "What other country would you choose to live in and why." I said that I would like to live in Sorrento, Italy. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. It seemed quieter there and so beautiful overlooking the ocean. Little c thought she'd like to live in Sweden because it's so beautiful and balmy there. When we explained about the climate, she was more attached to her decision because she loves snow too. C said he'd like to live in Santiago, Chile. Who knew. I may have never known that C liked Santiago so much and that little c wanted most of all to visit Sweden. Maybe we should visit those places together some day.

All the questions are really fun and we've had a ball with them night after night. We've been through them all and changed them a little. We've made up some of our own. Little c says as I put the plates on the table, "Will we play the question game tonight?"

Barbara gave me a paper written by Shirley R. Klein associate professor, School of Family life at Brigham Young University which reads in part, "Children who do not eat dinner with their families are 61 percent more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs.... Teens who eat frequent family dinner are less likely than other teens to have sex at young ages, get into fights, or be suspended from school, and they are at lower risk for thoughts of suicide..."

My mother is homemaker extraordinaire. I ate every night on beautiful china plates. We always used napkins at the table and we always had a salad and usually two veggies. Don't get me wrong, we ate too many sweets and tons of ice-cream every year. We weren't perfect, but we had a beautiful meal every night together as a family. As an adult and a mother, I often think what an amazing gift that was. It's a gift that I'd like to give to my daughter as well. I'm not as fancy, but it's the being together and the veggies that really count.

So, what is your best 10 min. recipe for someone who doesn't love the kitchen part. I've already shared my healthy pizza recipe with you. Then, if you want to e-mail me at love.boxes@att.net and I will e-mail you back some of Babara's great questions. Then, cut them up and either fold them or roll them up and put them in a jar that can be set on the table at dinner time.

PS.. Ok. so, I didn't share my healthy pizza recipe, but here it is. French Bread halved. Pizza spread. Turkey pepperoni (it's truly delish folk and 80% less fat) low fat mozzerella cheese. 6 minutes at 400 degrees and 4-5 minutes under the broiler. Prep time is literally 4 minutes and served with salad.. it's a great dinner.