Family Dinner Conversation Starters

This is a #Saucesome sponsored conversation but opinions are my own.

Is dinnertime at your house happy or stressful? Do you gather around the table with giggles or moans? Ragú® is intent on putting magic back in mealtimes, giving your family a #Saucesome dinner full of fun, frivolity, and meaningful moments. From unique recipes to silly moments to crazy weeknights… it’s all Saucesome with the delicious help of Ragú® Sauce.

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At our house, each dinner starts out with “Mom, what’s for dinner?” which is followed by a plethora of diverse comments like “Ewww… I don’t like that,” “Do I have to eat?” and “Can I have cereal instead?”

But, then there are nights when Ragú® comes to the rescue with great dinner ideas on their Facebook page, and instead of mutiny, I get a chorus of “This is the most awesome dinner ever!” or they just silently break into dancing.

For our family, Ragú® pasta sauces offers a simple solution to a complex problem… What’s for dinner? Plus, it’s easy so I can focus on being creative in other ways. For instance, we love setting up a pasta bar and letting the children fix their own plates.

Family Pasta Bar

This is a fabulous way for everyone to get exactly what they want, especially when the kids have friends over. Here is how I do it:

• Start two pots of water on the stove to come to a boil. One is for spaghetti noodles and the other for whatever I have in the pantry. (On this night, it was fettuccine.)
• Put frozen meatballs into a casserole dish and pour Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce over the top. Place in the oven to cook according to the package directions on the meatballs. Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce has a delicious taste your whole family will love.
• Sauté chicken to start the Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo. [Pin this and other great recipes from Ragú®.] Place the chicken in the oven to keep warm.

• Add broccoli to the pan where I cooked the chicken and pour Ragú® Classic Alfredo over the broccoli. Cover to heat through.
• Heat another jar of Ragú® Classic Alfredo in a saucepan.
• Drain and rinse noodles. Add a little olive oil if they are sticky.
• Pull out an assortment of shredded and/or grated cheese for topping.
• Set it all up on the counter and move them to the table for some family conversation!

Having a family pasta bar is tons of fun and you can add variations by changing up the sauce you use or providing toppings like cooked and crumbled bacon, diced tomatoes, chopped spinach, sliced black olives, pepperoni, or whatever your family loves.

Printable Family Dinner Conversation Cards

When the children are seated around the table, smiling, giggling, and feeling accomplished because they were able to serve themselves, we pull a Family Dinner Conversation Card from the stack of 48 different cards and start chatting.

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These cards include basic questions like “What’s your favorite color,” but also “What do you think makes a happy family?” and “What three qualities do you think make a good friend?” As parents, Bill and I want to move beyond the superficial and same-old questions and really get to know our children. I want to know what is going on inside those cute heads.

Get the Family Dinner Conversation Starter Card in the Busy Hands Survival Printable Pack.

You receive:

• 6 complete printable packs for preschool through early elementary
• 1 ebook with printables
• 1 printable bingo game
• 3 BONUS resources and printables

View the Printable Pack