One night a month, take your family on an exotic "vacation" with food, music, games and other goodies from your favorite place on the globe. Start with Italy, whetting everyone's appetites with an opera sing-along before dinner. Serve up a traditional dish like Italian Sausage & Peppers with Penne. You could even serve grape juice in wine glasses for the kids. Afterward, encourage kids to sculpt, paint or otherwise create their own Italian masterpieces, DaVinci-style!

Give everyone a chance to shine with a regular dinner that recognizes recent achievements, big and small. Make the favorite entrée of the child who got all "A"s this semester (try Three Cheese Baked Ziti with Spinach) and the favorite dessert of the child who finished all of his chores last week without being asked. And be sure to hand out certificates or other "family awards" to make it even more special.

Have one night a week that's always super-busy? Declare it Sandwich Night, and serve up a different brown-bag favorite each week. A good one to try is Quick Chicken Mozzarella Sandwiches. For a kid-friendly touch, cut them into small pieces. You can even ask the little ones to help stack on all the fixings. Add chips, baby carrots and cookies, and enjoy "lunch" by moonlight!

Saturday nights are perfect for bringing the family together to enjoy some homemade pizza—and a little friendly competition. So break out the board games and crank up the oven. This Puff Pastry Vegetable Pizza is a great one to try. Winner gets the last slice!