Disclaimer: This post is part of Heinen’s #HeinensSundaySupper campaign. I was given a gift card in exchange for a post about what eating together as a family means to me. As always, my thoughts are 100% my own. As a weekly Heinen’s customer, I was happy to be a part of this campaign. 

Growing up Sunday breakfast was the most memorable meal of the week. We typically went out to the same restaurant after church (hello chocolate chip pancakes!). If we didn’t head to the restaurant, my parents would make pancakes or waffles and we’d have a big brunch at home. While the Sunday breakfast tradition lives on in our house (these are the best pancakes, BTW), it’s Sunday dinner that I love.

Sundays are all about food, is what I’m saying.

I’m proud of the fact that we eat meals at the table, as a family, most nights of the week. I imagine as the kids get older this might become harder to do, but for now we try to cook at least 4 nights a week (with one night out, and 2 nights of leftovers). As you can imagine, with 2 working parents many of the meals are quick meals… pasta, tacos, soups and crock pot meals are in regular rotation. As someone who loves to cook, that leaves Sunday night as the night I get to really play in the kitchen. And Sunday Supper will always be something I protect as our schedule gets busier.

Sundays are the days to get a little fancy, try something new, get the kids to help in the kitchen (without Mark or I losing our cool like we sometime do during the weekday scramble to get food on the table). Sunday is the day to introduce our kids to our favorite meals from our childhood and a chance for me to try new cooking techniques.

Sunday’s suppers are for slow-cooked oven-BBQ chicken, steaks cooked to a perfect medium rare to go with mashed potatoes, my signature roast chicken with a simple salad made from local greens. Sunday’s are perfect to make those things that take a long time – like braised short ribs or pizzas made on the best homemade crust around. In the summer it’s the night we grill out – the kids helping me shuck corn on the back patio while Mark mans the Weber.

Sunday’s suppers usually mean dessert, too – homemade brownies or cookies made earlier in the day with the kids, or just a scoop of ice cream (Jeni’s or Mitchell’s, please) with my family-secret-recipe hot fudge on top.

Sunday Suppers mean family time, gathering around the table and breaking bread with the ones I love. It means spending my time and energy creating something delicious to nourish their bodies while creating memories that will last a lifetime. What do Sunday Suppers mean to you? What’s your favorite Sunday recipe?