Works for me Wednesday – Fun dinner ideas

It’s been a long time since I have done a WFMW, but as I was using up some leftovers the other night I was reminded of WFMW.  For more creative and helpful ideas check out WFMW at We are THAT Family.

When ever the left overs start to pile up in my fridge, and I want an easy dinner and want to get rid of the leftovers, we have “Mommy’s Smorgasbord.”  I heat up all the leftovers, add a few other fun things that I don’t normally have for dinner (i.e. goldfish crackers, fruit rollups, cheese sticks) plus I cut up fresh fruit, and what ever else I can find.  I then ring the dinner bell, and line up the family to go through the smorgasbord line.  I set up all the food on the kitchen counters, and we all enjoy different things for dinner that night.

Here are a few other FUN ideas to make the dinner time fun and a great bonding family time.  I KNOW it can be VERY hard to have dinners together, with 2 busy sports kids, it is a challenge!  But it can be worth the effort.

Mystery dinners – Mom secretly prepares dinner ( I put a big sheet up around the kitchen so no one can peek in) and place each dinner item on a plate.  I set each plate at the table and cover it.  I then call the family out for dinner. I then let each family member sample a bit of each item by “feeding them” the food, after everyone got to try everything they all try to guess what each item is.  It makes for a amusing dinner! 

Breakfast week- I make breakfast items for dinner all week!  This has always been a big hit.  Pancakes and sausage are always a family favorite!

Family Favorites week – Each family member gets to have one of their favorite meals that week.

Backwards dinner – we all wear backwards clothes, and eat dessert first!!!!  How can you go wrong when dessert is first!

Green Dinners – (Or any color theme you want to go with) Serve everything green, this one is a bit rough if you are squeamish about the color of your food

Green food coloring in milk or mashed potatoes is really fun, also serve green beans, peas, green apples, ham with a green glaze ( use food coloring).  You can really have an entertaining dinner with this one. It’s a great opportunity to get those   creative juices flowing.  My kids really loved these dinners when they were preschoolers.  They still talk about it, always with fond memories.

Enjoy taking the time to eat dinner together!!  It has become a forgotten art!