Making homemade pizza is one of our favorite dinners, especially when my daughter was a young child. Here’s what we did.

I would line the kitchen table with newspaper for easy clean up, then we started making the dough on large cutting boards. When the dough was ready, I would give my daughter a small ball, a rolling pin and a little flour so she can roll her own pizza.

She would spend at least an hour playing with that dough! Now, she is in college and happily cooks her own meals.

If you do not want to make dough, buy store bought pizza dough and arrange for the kids to shred the cheese and slice their choice of vegetable for the topping. Then, let everyone build their own pizza. Use your homemade tomato sauce.

Another choice will be taco night. Use soft corn tortillas, chop the vegetables, make your own mashed beans and your own salsa. Let everyone build their own tacos!

Make fresh lasagna or pasta. Even if you ended up using store bought it is really fun, especially for kids.

Lasagna is an excellent choice for a dinner to freeze. When I make lasagna, I make two trays, one to eat right away and one to freeze. Make your own white sauce, basil sauce and red sauce using this recipe. Tip: Use lasagna sheets that don’t need to be boiled to save you time and headache.

Soups will be good hearty meal with garlic bread. Most soups freeze well and all that you need is a good tomato base, a couple of canned beans and a bag of frozen vegetables.

Stews and pilaf are also good choices for freezing. When you take the stew or soup out of the freezer make fresh rice or mashed potato to go with the stew.

Get everyone involve in planning the weekly menu. You do not have to cook everyday. Choose a few recipes and build around them. Food and meal time should be fun for the whole family!

About the Author

Sanaa Abourezk is a Gourmet Chef, Restauranteur, Author, Nutritionist, and Blogger. She’s passionate about the art of cooking and enjoys sharing delicious recipes.

Sanaa owns and operates a popular Middle Eastern Restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Engineering and a Masters degree in Nutrition.