Some women despise the non-stop chore of laundry, but I dislike preparing meals. Does that make me sound like a bad mom? After all, I feel like feeding my family should be this beautiful way to nurture my family. Yet it is a never ending chore that I loathe most every day.

I’ll admit I’m not very creative and not known for my cooking skills.  It probably stems from a lack of interest, lack of knowledge and lack of confidence in the kitchen.  My husband, on the other hand, is a complete whiz in the kitchen. For the first five years of our marriage he shouldered the responsibility for the meals in our house, but once I left the working world, it fell to me.  In the decade I was primarily a stay at home mom, I’ve struggled to get dinner on the table. Now that I’ve returned to working, it’s only gotten worse. You would think I’d have given in by now and started buying take-out.  Right?

We actually sit down to a home-cooked family dinner together (or mostly together depending on the kids’ activities) at least five nights a week. That’s wonderful and I appreciate the together time, but it’s a chore for someone who doesn’t find joy in the culinary arts to constantly prepare breakfast, sack lunches and dinner for a family of five.

In the midst of my worst years of worrying through dinner, Pinterest entered my life. Ahhhh. The pictures, the food, yum! I resisted pinning at first fearing it would turn into another to do list in my life that was pressuring me. But it has turned into a go to place for meal ideas we can share.

I love the ease with which I can organize food I’m interested in making and then turn to the board, even on my phone, to see what I can make for dinner.  Which I’ve been known to do in the middle of the grocery store.

I’m pretty choosey on what I pin with regards to food.  Things with complicated directions or lots of ingredients might get oohed and aahed over, but do not get pinned from me. It needs to be straightforward and typically contain only ingredients we have on hand or regularly buy.

Ok, there are a few pins in there that not simple or straightforward.  Like this glorious looking scallop and risotto dish.  I pinned it in hopes that my husband would make it for me.  Hint Hint!

Since I’ve been cooking from Pinterest, we’ve discovered several meals that have become regular dinners in our rotation.  And, dare I say, that there have even been several meals made from Pinterest recipes that made my family say WOW.  They were seriously surprised I made it by myself and they went back for seconds.  That’s a success!  And it was a tremendous boost to my cooking confidence.

I guess my title that Pinterest is saving THE family dinner is a bit of an exaggeration.  All I can be sure of is that it is saving MY family dinner.  And it sure is.  Thank You Pinterest!!

Do you use Pinterest to help you prepare meals for your family?  If you have a go-to recipe on Pinterest, please share them with me over on Instagram @SoundMindandSpirit  I’m always looking for more ideas to feed my family.

And then check out our Pinterest profile @SoundMindSpirit for more food suggestions.