It used to be that going out to dinner was a special event to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or a monthly family night out.  Now it has become a way of life.  I know people who eat out or order in 3-5 times a week.  What happened to making a nice home cooked meal for your family?  We lost something along the way here.  The opportunity to sit down to a healthy, low cost meal, prepared by you is something that brings everyone together.

Working parents should find the time to make a home cooked meal once in a while.  I don’t know how many times our kids have commented on how good and fresh the meal was . . . what they were noticing was the lack of the mass-produced, prepackaged taste even restaurant food has today.  Even the supermarket sells ready to heat complete institutional tasting meals now.

I am not saying we don’t like to get a couple of pizzas on a Friday night or some Chinese food once in a while, but the kids like my “pizza breads” (like Stouffer's only fresh not frozen) with my homemade gravy and my homemade stirred-fried chicken with oriental vegetables better.  Sure, we can go to McDonald’s and get pancakes, but my wife’s from scratch batter pancakes are 100 times better.

We do go out once in while, but I can’t count the times we broke down, went to a restaurant, and got disappointed by the food and the service.  We tend to find a few places we like and stick with them now.  We also try to remember that going out to eat is supposed to be a special event and maybe a change of pace . . .