Simple Summer Menu

This is my first Sunday dinner menu post and I know that I have a lot to learn....looking at this picture I'm thinking that it doesn't make the food look that appetizing.  Oh well....I know it was good and my family ate it up!  Here's our Sunday dinner menu of the week:

Teriyaki grilled chicken, (See instructions below)

Fresh steamed green beans (Our first harvest from the garden!)

Seasonal fruit (The Georgia peaches were perfect)

Baked Potato topped with sour cream

(It's not in the picture...not because it wasn't good, but because I was full from snacking while cooking!)

Chocolate Ice cream Sundae with homemade Heavenly Hot Fudge

(See recipe below)

My first harvest of green beans this year.  So exciting!

Teriyaki Chicken

This is a super easy recipe......that is easy to make for any number of people.  I simply place chicken breasts that have been cut into filets in a zip lock bag.  To the bag add 1 cup bottled Italian dressing and 1/3 cup of bottled teriyaki marinade and sauce.  Seal bag and allow chicken to marinate over night in fridge.  Place chicken breasts on heated grill on a low temperature, allowing chicken to cook evenly on both sides until juices from chicken run clear.  Remove from heat.

Heavenly Hot Fudge

This favorite family recipe came from my Aunt Jane (Jane Homer Heaps).  We use it as a warm topping for ice cream and for chocolate fondue.  This truly is a family favorite and my children are "chocolate sauce snobs" when it comes to Chocolate Sundaes.  It's so much better than the manufactured stuff you find in the plastic bottles in the grocery store.  When I was little I would sneak spoonfuls out of the container in the refrigerator!  So yummy! This was loved so much by my son, Landon that he learned how to make it so he could have it anytime he wanted it!

1 1/2 sticks salted butter (yes, the real stuff)

6 TBSP cocoa

3 cups sugar

1 can evaporated milk

Using a double boiler over medium heat melt the butter and then slowly stir in the cocoa.  Gradually add the sugar to mixture, stirring until all sugar is mixed in.  It will become very grainy and hard to stir.  After sugar is all mixed in, add the evaporated milk, a little at a time while stirring constantly. Continue to stir until sauce becomes smooth and sugar is completely dissolved.  Serve warm.  Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator.  Can be reheated over stove (stir to prevent scorching) or in the microwave.

Time for Dinner!

Drum roll please……I’m here to introduce my new blog, “Sunday Dinner Diva”!  I've been thinking about doing this for awhile now.  Let me explain…..Sundays have always been an important part of my life.  I grew up going to church every Sunday morning with my parents and brothers and sister.  Now that I’m grown, I still go to church with my husband and children to be uplifted and edified spiritually and to learn how to be more Christ like.  It’s a very integral part of who I am and what makes me tick.  When our Sunday meetings are over each week the family jumps in the car and we head home.  Invariably the question is asked, “What’s for Sunday dinner?”

Sunday dinner is the constant in our home that brings our family together.  We rest on Sundays from the cares of the week and spend quality, uninterrupted time together bonding as a family.  Growing up in my family mother always prepared an amazing Sunday dinner and placed it on an elegantly set table with candles, a centerpiece, china, silver serving dishes, and a perfectly pressed linen tablecloth for us to enjoy the gourmet feast.  She treated Sunday as a special day, a day different than any other day of the week.  We ate in the dining room on the dining room table that was reserved only for special occasions.  What better occasion than observing the Sabbath?  When “Time to Eat” was hollered we would all graciously come to the table with the anticipation of eating a most delicious meal, a meal different than our normal weekday fare.  We still had our church clothes on which was an unwritten requirement for participation in Sunday Dinner.  We practiced using good manners while we ate and had impromptu lessons during dinner from Mother about various sophisticated eating standards like which fork in our place setting was the right one to use or what the little plate placed above the fork was to be used for.  The food that was lovingly prepared was always delicious. The menu was well-balanced and carefully planned to not only taste wonderful but to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye as well.  We learned from my mother that “presentation is everything”.  The presentation of the food always looked as good as it tasted.

Because of the weekly Sunday dinners I had while growing up, I continued the tradition with my family, following my mother’s example.  I wouldn't say every meal I create is as exquisite as my Mom’s but I do my best.  And I must be doing pretty well because my children still ask each Sunday with anticipation, “What’s for Sunday dinner?”  This Sunday dinner thing is a constant in our lives that brings us closer as a family.  Now that I have grown children, the numbers at our Sunday dinner table are dwindling and I sometimes have to recruit guests so that we have less “empty chairs” in the dining room but it’s still important for me to continue this tradition.  In order to help pass on this legacy to my children and to continue to feel motivated to cook phenomenal meals even though I have less people to cook for, I thought that a blog would be a good forum to showcase Sunday dinner menus and recipes so that future generations of family had access to them.  Many of our family favorites have come from family and friends over the years and I am happy to share them.  I have a tendency to tweak my recipes a little to make them my own.  My daughter, Ashton always calls me in frustration wanting to know what I did to change an old recipe.  She knows that she can never just follow a recipe of mine because I never cook it quite the way it is written on the cute, little stained recipe card.  

Just a little disclaimer….I’m not a professional food blogger or professional food photographer.  As you browse through my Sunday dinner menus and family recipes I hope you will be inspired to create some Sunday memories around your dinner table with your family.  There's a lot a laughter and story telling to be shared in your home......So here’s your official invitation to join us for Sunday dinner!