Our Family Dinner Gig

We have a pretty good dinner gig going in our family (if I do say so myself)! This gig has evolved over time. For a year or two we planned meals based on daily themes that looked something like this:

• Sunday - Asian, tofu
• Monday - Italian, pasta
• Tuesday - Soup, Salad, Sandwich
• Wednesday - Leftovers
• Thursday - Pizza
• Friday - Mexican, nacho night
• Saturday - ???

The themes were really helpful in narrowing down what recipes to choose each week. These weren't necessarily hard-and-fast rules, but guidelines that facilitated decision-making.

Now that we have a 13-year old and a 16-year old they have taken on an increased level of responsibility in the weekly meal planning. On Saturday evenings we gather together with our calendars to look at, and plan for, the week ahead. Each of us chooses one day of the week when he/she will plan and prepare dinner for the family. This has been such a win for everyone on so many levels! Everyone is guaranteed at least one dinner of something he/she enjoys. Everyone takes responsibility for meal planning and prep thus lessening the burden for the same one or two people.

Tonight's dinner was prepared by the 16-year old boy and it was scrumptious! He can always be counted on to prepare a delicious seitan roast or yummy vegan sausages from the VeganDad blog. This week he was in the mood to try something different. He chose to make a mexican pizza. Since we are all fans of mexican cuisine, we were all pleased with this choice. Then it was dinner time and we were beyond pleased with the results. Yummmmmy!

It was one of those meals I had thought a lot about making, but never quite followed through on. Instead I acted as consultant to the boy. He wanted to make the crust from scratch. So, I recommended that he use a tortilla recipe from VeganDad that I use frequently. Instead of making individual tortillas, he rolled out the dough to make a large pizza-sized crust. Next he added canned refried beans. The final topping was a Quick & Dirty 5-Ingredient Vegan Cheeze Sauce from the oh she glows blog. The toppings were sparse, but black olives, jalapenos, salsa, corn, and guacamole come to mind for future inceptions.

It's super amazing having a teenaged boy who cooks. He's going to make someone a nice husband/room mate/friend/cook some day! :)