Family dinners are the best. We don’t have them enough in my home, but we’ve done two in a row this week with all four family members present. I feel like I should get an award for all this home cooking. The best part? The kids devoured both meals with an enthusiasm I haven’t seen a lot in their restaurant eating.

Last night we had a Mexican fiesta and I made homemade tortillas (so easy), homemade salsa and we had cheese, chicken and veggies as our fillings.I do not have an oven (besides my trusty toaster oven) and I have a very small kitchen but I enjoy the challenge of finding my ingredients and the thrill of watching my kids gobble up my creations.

Here’s the recipe I use for flour tortillas in case you want to give it a try. My daughter loves to help me in the kitchen and she is an expert tortilla roller. We have a little assembly line and she rolls the dough while I cook them. It’s hard not to start eating the hot tortillas while I’m making the entire batch.

For my salsa, which I guess is really more of a pico de gallo, I am always experimenting. The key ingredients are chopped tomatoes, onions, fresh chopped cilantro (known and labeled as coriander at many stores in Shanghai). I also use a bit of lime juice, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. A chopped hot pepper is a great addition if you like heat. My kids prefer it on the milder side so I often make two batches.

Please share your favorite family meal ideas. I am always looking for suggestions.