How To Get A Simple, Beautiful Meal On The Table

It really isn’t difficult to get a good dinner on the table every night, but I will say that it can be a little time consuming until you have practiced it a while. If you are having trouble in this area, this post is for you.

I grew up in what you could call the “End of the Betty Crocker Era”. The women around me were feminists for the most part and making family meal time a beautiful, enjoyable experience wasn’t high on their list of priorities. Because it wasn’t a high priority, many daughters didn’t learn how to pull a simple,homemade, sit-down meal.  However, my Mother and Grandmother, through they both worked outside the home, were terrific homemakers and I learned a lot from them about making food beautiful and dinner a special time of day.

We go in spurts around here eating every dinner at the table. We like to watch TV together and a lot of times we eat while we watch. I personally find it difficult to eat without a table, so I sit at a table in the living room while everyone else sits on the floor or sofa. Its fun! And now that the children are older its not so messy. But I always long to get back to the table where there are no distractions and we are focused on one another. I like making the table pretty and the meal enjoyable.

There is no sweeter sound to me than the sound of my family at the dinner table. Forks clinking on china, ice in glasses, laughter and conversation. Sometimes I just sit back in my chair at the end of the long dining table and take it all in. I breathe deep the love and make memories as I listen and watch my family. You just can’t get that if you’re all in front of the TV or in different rooms.

Here are the steps to getting a meal on the table:

1. Plan – Plan your meals a week at a time at least. If you know what is for dinner tomorrow, you will know to take things out of the freezer, set out ingredients and plan your time. Plan which recipes you will use. Place your weekly recipes in a plastic box or folder in your kitchen where they will be handy. Planning also helps keep the grocery budget under control.

2. Get Your Hand Maidens Working – Use a crockpot or pressure cooker to make your job in the kitchen easier and less time consuming. Use a hand or stand mixer to mash potatoes and mix up batters.

3. Everything Looks Better – in a nice bowl or plate. Food is conveniently served straight from the pans, and there is not thing wrong with that!  But even the most ordinary food looks and tastes better when its served in a pretty dish.

4. Keep It Simple Sweetie – Don’t plan and try to make complicated meals and meals with tons of dishes every day. That’s not what makes a good meal. Stick to one main dish and one or two sides. Then add a salad and bread if you like, and maybe a dessert. We don’t have dessert every night, just a couple times a week. And you can add some ambiance if you like…. what child (or adult for that matter) doesn’t like a candle lit at the dinner table now and then?  A few little flowers brought in to brighten the table is a great idea, too.

Here is an example of a simple, beautiful meal:

Chicken quarters, bbq’d in the crockpot
Mashed instant potatoes with sour cream and butter
Steamed broccoli with butter and lemon juice
Spinach leaves served with a boiled egg and drizzled with homemade French Dressing
Pickles

I put the chicken and bbq sauce in the crockpot in the morning on LOW.  I boiled the eggs and peeled them, put them in the frig.  Right before dinner I made mashed potatoes, steamed the broccoli, placed pickles on a plate, sliced the eggs and placed them on top of the spinach, drizzled it with dressing and took the chicken out of the crockpot and put it on a plate.
It was so simple, but my husband loved it.

Here’s my secret mashed potato recipe: Make your favorite instant mashed potato recipe, mine is Idahoan brand, but reduce the amount of milk you use by about 1/4 cup. Exact measurements are not important.  Then add sour cream to the potatoes as you are beating them. Taste and add more if you like!  Add more milk to make thinner potatoes. Add butter and salt to taste.

This doesn’t mean that you have to have two veggies and a meat on the table every night!  A bowl of soup and some bread is fine some nights, a big chef salad and some crackers is great. I just want you to know that you can make dinner time special no matter what you serve.

Really, when it comes to making dinner, simple is best!