Over the weekend, my brother and his three little girls, ages 12, 9 and 7, came to Savannah for a visit. My nieces are homeschooled, and so, we decided to have a little fun with dinnertime to give them a true lunchroom cafeteria experience. I made old fashioned sloppy joes and served them with salted crispy tater tots, and because school lunches were always well-rounded and nutritionally balanced, green beans were our side dish.
We served this nostalgic meal on metal trays lined with pink striped cocktail napkins, and the girls carried their trays to the dining room and enjoyed the meal by candlelight. Hi-C fruit punch juice boxes were an upgrade from chocolate milk in a carton. They loved every bite, and it was fun to tell them about what it was like in grade school to carry a lunch tray through the cafeteria while looking for a seat with friends.
On Saturday, we were blessed with spring-like weather, with highs in the mid-80s and clear blue skies. That morning, we sat on the porch and drank coffee, while the girls rode their rip sticks through the neighborhood.
Then, we took the boat over to Hilton Head Island, and ate lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe. We did a little shopping at South Beach, picking up a postcard for my sister-in-law, and some new sunglasses for the girls. Cruising through the no wake zones, we saw wild herons, pelicans and witnessed dolphins feeding at dusk on the ride back home. A rogue wave made us all laugh when salt water sprayed our faces. I held a hand in the air mockingly roping, and hollered, “Yee haw!”
That evening, a one-pot meal of my Citrus Chicken and Rice, steamed broccoli and dinner rolls fed everyone well and we watched an animated kid’s movie in the living room to wind down for the day. A weekend with my nieces wouldn’t be complete without baking something, so we whipped up an easy Duncan Hines triple cookie bar recipe in an 8x8 casserole dish, layered with chocolate cookie dough, then sugar cookie dough and topped off with cookie dough frosting. The girls were tuckered out for the day when the oven timer went off, so I sent them home with a batch of cooled cookie bars to enjoy the next day.
Entertaining family members doesn’t have to be stressful. More often than not, it’s the little things that make life grand, like an unexpected candlelit dinner with a casual meal versus a fancy one, or belly laughs around the table discussing the highs and lows of the day. When the sun was shining on our faces Saturday out on the water, and everyone was content, I said to the girls, “These are the good days, my sweets.”
On March 20 we will welcome in a new season, and I hope your springtime brings all the good days and good times it can possibly hold. Here’s to quality time with family and friends, and doing more of what makes us happy.
Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a private chef and the author of the best-selling memoir “Some Kinda Good.” Featured in Forbes, on Food Network and ABC, she writes about Southern, coastal cuisine, locally sourced and in season. Connect with her on social media by liking Some Kinda Good on Facebook, or follow @SKGFoodBlog on Instagram and Twitter. To learn more, visit RebekahLingenfelser.com.