Life gets so crazy sometimes that the goals we set as families can fall by the wayside. But one goal our family has been able to hold onto is eating dinner together. It doesn’t happen every night, but most nights it does.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t perfect. We have our share of unruly family dinners. Recently there was a night where Mom and Dad kept reminding the kids not to argue, only to end the meal with an argument themselves! We have more laughter than tears mixed in with our food, though.

Sometimes we turn music on after a blessing on the food, but usually there is no background noise, with the television off as well. It gives us a chance to talk about what happened to each family member during the day or about the world at large. I wouldn’t call our meals quiet; it’s finely orchestrated chaos. We have four children, and my husband and I take turns sitting by the two-year-old because it is a time-consuming and messy chore. It can be hard to make sure everyone is heard, but usually we do manage to listen to everyone.

We use paper plates a lot in our house because I struggle with my health, which limits how much I can accomplish. It isn’t pretty or necessarily friendly to the environment but it’s what we have to do right now to get along. For the same reason, we sometimes have take-out food, but guess what? You can eat take-out around the dinner table! Just because you aren’t a world-class chef doesn’t mean you can’t sit together to eat and talk.

The kids do their part to help too–setting the table, clearing it, filling the water pitcher, stiring the soup, etc. While the they might complain, we still do make them help. It is part of being a family – accomplishing something by working together.

Our family dinners are touchstones. We all meet together, really, only once a day. Oh, we’re crossing paths and in the same house throughout the day. But truly conversing together and thinking about the same things happens only at dinner. While we’re already gathered together around the dinner table we take a few minutes for what some would call a religious devotional. We call it scripture reading, where we will read and talk about the gospel, if everyone is congenial.

Our blessing on the food also happens to be our family prayer, where we pray for things in addition to the food (e.g., an extended family member who is sick, an area of the world with a natural disaster). We try to simplify our religious practices because we have small children, while still including religious principles we feel are important.

Eating dinner with my family is something I enjoy. Our food and our families are both great blessings from God; how fitting it is that we can enjoy and give thanks for them together.

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Inside are our family scripture study materials. Every night at the dinner table we study the scriptures while we eat. It was hard to find another time when everyone was home and awake so during dinner time I pull down the treasure box from atop the fridge and we discuss one scripture a night. My kids are still very small, so I found that focusing on one scripture a night allows us to keep their attention and have time to start a lively discussion about gospel principles. My oldest daughter is seven, so we have her try to find the highlighted verse in the actual scriptures so she can get a feel for how to use the scriptures. I placed our scripture study materials into a treasure box to reflect the truths in the following scriptures:

Treasure up in your minds the words of life. D&C 84:85

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matt 6:21

Treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love. D&C 6:20

Right now we are studying in the Book of Mormon. I use the Scripture Mastery scriptures from the Seminary program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for our study material. I printed each scripture on a different piece of colored paper to pull from each night. This is what our study print outs look like, but the picture below is from the New Testament scripture mastery program.

Since my children are still small, they are very receptive to my husband and me teaching them the scriptures. After reading the scripture aloud, and putting the meaning into our own words, we ask them to think of real-life examples that apply to the principle taught in the scripture. I have been astonished by the wisdom and understanding of my children.

Dinner time is still crazy. Milk gets spilled all over the floor regularly. Somebody always complains about the menu and our baby is always climbing on top of the table to grab food off of a sibling’s plate. But adding family scripture study to our family dinner has helped us “feast upon the words of Christ” and has brought us closer together as a family.

Modern-day prophets and apostles have stressed the importance and benefits of family scripture study. Here are some quotes that helped me decide that family scripture study was worth introducing into my home.

Scripture study as individuals and as a family is most fundamental to learning the gospel. Daily reading of the scriptures and discussing them together is a powerful tool against the temptations of Satan. This practice will produce great happiness and will help family members love the Lord and his goodness. Home is where we become experts and scholars in gospel righteousness. President Spencer W. Kimball

Do you understand that we emphasize the teaching of the scriptures because they are the constant? From them we learn the purposes of life, the gifts of the Spirit. From them we learn about personal revelation, how to discern good from evil, truth from error. The scriptures provide the pattern and the basis for correct doctrine. From doctrine, we learn principles of conduct, how to respond to problems of everyday living, even to failures, for they, too, are provided for in the doctrines. Elder Boyd K. Packer

Never let a day go by without holding family prayer and family scripture study. Put this, the Lord’s program, to the test; and see if it does not bless your home with greater peace, hope, love, and faith. I promise you that daily family prayer and scripture study will build within the walls of your home a security and bonding that will enrich your lives and prepare your families to meet the challenges of today and the eternities to come. Elder L. Tom Perry

If you would like to read more about our beliefs about the benefits of family scripture study, please follow the following links.

Family Scripture Study

How to Make Family Scripture Study Fun, Interesting

A Discussion on Scripture Study – Elder Henry B. Eyring

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Dinner time can be stressful, especially when you have swim team, soccer and PTA all on the same day.  One day, our friend Merica suggested we start a frozen dinner swap. We have been eating better foods, and with much less stress ever since. Here is how you to can start a frozen dinner swap group.

Step 1: Find 4 friends or neighbors who have families in similar size to yours.
Step 2: Pick a regular day to do your swap. We do every other Friday.
Step 3: Find a book at the library on frozen meals to get you started on what freezes well and what doesn’t. Casseroles freeze really well and so do things that marinade.
Step 4: Purchase gallon size freezer bags and quart freezer bags, and a lot of aluminum foil.  Having aluminum disposable casserole dishes around is good too.
Step 5: Make 4 -5 meals at once. This can take a long time but you can choose a time that is good for you.
Step 6: Find a side dish or dessert that matches up with your meal. Frozen bread, vegetables or ice cream sandwiches are fun. (Some groups omit this step and just do main dishes.)
Step 7: Swap till you drop!

These dinners are also excellent things to premake for a friend who is having a baby, or surgery, or health struggles. Here is one recipe we’d like to share with you.

Lindsay’s and Emily’s Excellent Empanadas

Place a 2-3 lb pork roast (boneless) in a crockpot. Add one can of diced tomatoes (juice and all), and one can of diced green chilis in with the meat. Sprinkle cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper all over the top of the meat. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-8. When cooked, REMOVE meat from crockpot (so it won’t be too soggy) and place in a bowl to shred. You can add more cumin or s & p if desired. We also like to add one more can of diced tomatoes, drained, while shredding the meat.

For the dough: (this makes 8 empanadas. If you need to make more empanadas to use up the meat, do the
dough in batches–don’t double or triple the recipe.)
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 c. cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 c. cold water
Combine dry ingredients, then cut in the cold butter until mixture is crumbly. Add just enough cold water so dough comes together. Divide the dough ball in 1/2 and knead each half 2-3 times. Cut each 1/2 into 4 equal pieces. Cover. Let stand to rise for 20 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of dough into a THIN 8-inch round.  Place meat and a small amount of monterey jack cheese (optional) onto one half of the circle (don’t add too much or it won’t seal). Fold over the other half, brush edge with water and crimp with a fork. Seal well, or it will burst open in the oven. You can individually wrap these now, and freeze them.
When ready to eat, thaw for a few minutes while the oven preheats and bake as below. Brush tops with butter or an egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water). Bake empanadas at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown.

FYI-If you have leftover meat (and don’t want to make more dough), you can freeze the meat and then thaw later and re-heat in a frying pan for tacos/burritos. It’s still yummy.

Dinner is an important time of the day. It is a great time to reconnect with family members and talk about what happened that day. Frozen Dinner Swap has made our dinner prep time stress free. And our families love it!

[You can find more recipes like the one featured above at www.frozendinnerswap.wordpress.com]

~Lindsay

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