Sunday Dinner.

When I was growing up, Sunday Dinner was a very special meal. We lived in a different community then, in a different province and had family all around us. Each week, we rotated between going to my grandparents homes and our home. Rarely, was it at our home and if it was, my dad would BBQ. But at my grandparents homes, dinner was always a "roasted" affair. My dad's parents loved to make a beef roast each time, with mashed potatoes and veggies. The only thing that I didn't like about visiting there was that my grandmother did not believe that I had food allergies, and she made me eat at least one spoonful of potatoes each time. The rest of the meal, I would try to gulp down my food over a very swollen throat. Potatoes are so bad for me now, my throat will actually swell closed. But I did enjoy the company, the warmth of their small house and the routine off helping my grandfather rewind the big clock before dinner and then watching Walt Disney and the Walton's before we headed home. We were the only grandchildren in town during this time on that side as my cousins were living overseas. Lots of attention for just my brother and I, and my mom and my dad.

Going for dinner at my other grandparents home was much louder, very busy with all the cousins, aunties and uncles, and tons of smoke in the air. Yes, they both smoked and that was the only thing I had a hard time with during those visits. Yuck! I still can't stand the smell and look away when I see someone smoke (thankfully, a rare sight these days). But the fun of playing with my cousins, exploring the garden and having my youngest uncle, who was still living at home at the time rough house with us more than made up for the smoke. My grandmother had a tea cup from England for each of us and after dinner, we'd get to have a cup of real tea, not just milk with a drop of tea in it! Dinner was often either a few roasted chickens or a turkey or goose. And no one made me eat potatoes. No sore throat, just itchy eyes from the cat and smelly clothes and hair from the smoke.

As our family grew, we've tried to create our own Sunday Dinner tradition. My dh came from a family that didn't have this experience and in my own small family, after we moved from one province to this one, we didn't have family dinner as often. I used to think how sad it was that our dining room wasn't used that much. I'm thankful that we've had a dining room in our last 4 houses and each was and has been used quite a bit. Our kids grew up knowing the dining room was a special place and we've had many hours of laughter and good food around the table. I hope this do this with their own families one day. With all of us spread out, we can't have them all over each week but it's nice to even have a dinner by Skype. Or when their is a special holiday.

Sunday Dinner was always a great place to try out new recipes. Some were hits, some, not so much! But at least our kids would try them, even if they complained. We've gotten in to a routine in our new house of having roast chicken each Sunday and it's fun to come up with new side dishes. This one we tried recently came from a Facebook post and when I went that day to buy some fresh brussel sprouts, the grocer had to go to the back to get some for me. He commented he had never seen brussel sprouts leave the store so quickly. He had actually refilled the bin 4 times just that morning and was worried he'd run out by noon. I told him about the FB post and he laughed saying it wasn't the first time a receipe online has depleted their stock. Here's the link if you want to try this delicious dish. Highly recommended.

It was pretty easy to make and so tasty. We had it

again this past week when our son was here to visit.

Browning onions makes my kitchen feel so cozy

and so "fall like" ~ very homey and warm.

All mixed together. This was before I had put the

cooked bacon back into the dish. Made it colorful.

Warm chicken gravy with spices and drippings from

the pan. So tasty and worth the time to make it.

There's the brussel sprouts all ready in the back with

the bacon added in. And the seasoned chicken, ready

for it's gravy, stuffing, potatoes, salad and fresh buns to

finish off this very scrumptious and easy Sunday Dinner.

Do you have traditional Sunday Dinner?

Or special dinners throughout the year?