With a little planning, supper can be stress-free and your favorite meal of the day.

If families had their wish, home-cooked meals would appear on the table most nights of the week and dinner would be a pleasant time to share a meal and connect with the family.

But making those wishes a reality is tough for families who aren't confident about cooking, are too busy to make it happen, or whose picky kids take the joy out of the effort put into cooking.

Leanne Ely, best-selling author and founder of savingdinner.com, has advice for families wanting to fulfill the family dinner dream: “If you want it to be a priority, you have to plan for it.” Planning for dinner means recording a weeks-worth of meals (or more), deciding which day you’ll make each one, and buying the ingredients you’ll need at the start of the week.

Making a meal plan takes a little work, but has a wondrous effect: Suddenly gone is the daily stress of deciding what to eat at the last minute, while managing hungry kids. Plus, knowing what is on the menu each night means you are prepared with ingredients in the pantry, you spend less by avoiding impulse purchases at the store and eating fewer restaurant meals, and cooking seems less of a chore when you feel on top of dinner plans.

Give meal planning a try and use these tips from Leanne to make dinner an enjoyable part of the day:

Check the schedule. Look at the week ahead when planning meals. Crockpot meals, premade casseroles and soups are great for super busy days. Save meals that everyone loves but require a little extra preparation for days when someone is home early to start the cooking.

Solicit ideas. If you sit down to make a meal plan for the week, but run out of ideas, hold a quick family meeting and ask, “Tell me your 10 favorite things I cook.” You might be surprised at your family’s favorites.

Be flexible on time. If you want to keep family dinner a regular event, you have to be a little flexible. Make dinner time work with the family schedule. For older kids who have their own schedules, pick two or three nights a week where the whole family is expected to be there.

Mix it up with a fun theme. Once in a while, breakfast for dinner is a great quick and easy meal, and a hit with most kids.

Use conversation starters. Try a daily routine like Pits and Cherries (each person tells the worst and best parts of the day), discuss something fun like the next family vacation or outing or mention a current news story.