Family Dinner Friday

You may...or may not...have noticed that Family Dinner Friday took a summer vacation.

So, school is back in session and it's time to get back on schedules and start eating regular dinners together as a family.

Yes, I know many of us have crazy busy schedules once school starts.  Softball, soccer, dance, volleyball, piano, cross-country, homework, etc, etc, etc.

This is why it's even more important to plan dinners together.  Make sharing dinner together as a family a priority rather than a last minute run thru a drive thru.  Making time to sit down together as a family and connect over dinner helps keep families grounded and connected.

Our 'Family Dinner Friday' family this week is the Bahr family.  The Bahr's have been attending Redding First for about 8 years.  Their family is very involved in our church (have you called the church office recently, you probably had the pleasure of talking to Carmen) as well as connected and busy with various other activities around Redding.  This is one busy family, yet they make family dinners a priority.  

the beautiful Bahr family {Mitch, Izzy, Isaac & Carmen}
photo by Solange Duarte Photography

Meet the Bahrs:

Question:  How many people are in your family and the ages of the kids?  

There are four people in our family, Isabelle is 9 and Isaac is 7.

photo by Solange Duarte Photography

Q: How many times a week do you eat dinner as a family?

Nearly every night we eat dinner as a family.

Q: Do you have picky eaters in your family?

Yes, Isaac is our pickier eater though he doesn't like to be labeled this way.  I make him try at least a little bit of everything and have stopped giving him other food options.  Meat is not his favorite thing so he often eats a lot of vegetables and fruit. 

Q:  Do you have any weekly activities that make dinner together hard?

Yes, during the school year we have Mitch's meetings at school, the kids music lessons, and sports.

Q:  Do you ever feel like NOT making dinner?

Yes, often!  If it could be made for me that would be awesome!

Q:  Have you found something that makes dinner together easier?

I try to have us work together as a team.  One child sets the table, one child clears it, Mitch and I clean up together after dinner.

Q:  What is something you think is important about eating together?

It is an opportunity for all of us to sit down together and hear about our days and how things are going.  It's a time to connect when the least amount of distractions are happening.

Q:  Do you have any major dinner time rules?

We usually have the tv off, but a "crucial" Giants game could change this fact.

Q:  Where do you grocery shop?  And who does the grocery shopping in your family?

Mainly Trader Joes and Costco.  I do nearly all of the shopping.  Mitch will occasionally stop by the store for something I need or forgot.

Q: And what is one of your favorite throw-down meals (a meal that doesn't take much time to throw together/down)?

Throw down meals that we often eat are tacos, taco salad, spaghetti with marinara sauce from a jar, breakfast burritos and other breakfast foods...

The meal that I'm sharing today is fajitas.

I've tried many versions of fajitas, especially early in our marriage.  Mitch actually prefers the fajita mix purchased in a packet in the mexican food section of the grocery store.  

All you need to do is slice a bell pepper, onion, and about a pound of chicken and follow the directions on the back of the packet.  Sauté the veggies and remove from pan, cook the chicken, add the veggies back to the pan, and add the seasoning mix and water.  

We enjoy having grated cheese and guacamole with our fajitas.  We use either a flour tortilla or lettuce leaf and add the meat, veggies, cheese, and guacamole to it.  Enjoy!

Thank you Bahr's!

Let me know if you have an easy family friendly throw-down meal and would like to be featured of Family Dinner Friday!