Sit-down dinners

Since we got married, we always agreed that dinner time would be sacred for our family. We made it a priority to sit down together for dinner every night with all other distractions like TV, computer, phones shut off.

We love having dinner together- not only just enjoying delicious meals together, but also just being able to catch up with each other's days, be silly with the kids and have a good laugh! I recently came across a great show on FoodTV called "Fixing Dinner". ( http://www.foodnetwork.ca/ontv/shows/Fixing-Dinner/show.html?titleid=83516) It has some great tips on how to help the modern super-busy family make dinner time together a priority! Delicious, fast and easy recipes are developed by Sandi Richard- who also happens to be a mother of 7!!!!

I've gotten so many good tips like:
-washing your fruit before you store them in the fridge so it's easier for kids to just grab and go
-freezing your pre-portioned and sometimes pre-marinated meat flattened in ziplock bags; it's way quicker to defrost and you don't have to deal with raw meat every meal!
-splitting up prep time for meals
-using cheaters
-having a meal plan for each week
-involving other members of the family to help with food prep

I'm a firm believer that involving children in the kitchen is great for teaching the life skill of cooking, responsibility and just a love of food! A family that eats together, stays together!

Do you have any good tips?