Desperation Dinners!!

Before I was married, I would dream about the life I would have with my husband and children. I dreamt how I would make them a homemade meal every night. I would be an expert at making bread from scratch daily. Surely I would be able to whip up a London Broil with a few flicks of my wrist. Homemade chocolate chip cookies would be a staple that never ran out in my cookie jar. I would have my own custom-designed pink apron with polka-dots that would never get dirty. Then I came home from my honeymoon and Andrew asked me one of the most horrifying questions that has continued to torment me every day for the last 12+ years of marriage, "what's for dinner tonight?" With horror I asked Andrew, while trying to disguise my fright, "what would you like for dinner tonight?" Then I received the dreaded answer that I have received most nights over the last 12+ years, "whatever is fine with me." GGGRRRRR!!!

Most every night between 5:00 and 6:00, I turn into a desperate woman. The kids are hungry and whining, the baby's crying, I'm exhausted, and my husband is nowhere to be found. There's also a huge chance that I haven't been within miles of a grocery store in days. Deep down in my heart I want to create a delicious meal for my family, but cookbooks do little more than taunt me with picture-perfect food far beyond my abilities to prepare. And a box of macaroni and cheese makes me feel guilty! OH, the guilt! There's GOT to be some middle ground between a 2 hour-long stint as a stove slave and elecrocuting hot dogs!

Over the past 12 years of marriage, I have discovered that my life includes more desperation than I would prefer. It took me awhile to realize that the main obstacles that stand between me and my homemade bread and other gourmet feats are...KIDS! If one of them spikes a fever, cooking time gets traded in for the doctor's office. And then there are homework assignments and car pools. Figure in working 12-hour shifts, trying to sleep a little bit after work, volunteer efforts, housework, gardening, LAUNDRY, and studies that show we should get our daily aerobic exercise dinner will never get made! Add any single unexpected interruption, be it a long-distance phone call from an old friend or a flat tire, you'll have to wait until breakfast to eat dinner at our house. On most nights, I don't even WANT to hear about the joys of fresh thyme!

Fortunately, I wouldn't trade my kids for anything. I love them dearly and all of their needs go above any of my own. I have been lucky, though, over the years to have developed many dinners which I like to call "Desperation Dinners" because they can be prepared in 20 minutes or less. Hooray! I also love my slow cooker, which with a little planning, saves me HOURS in the kitchen and still provides a great homemade meal for my family that warms the very soul.

Every Monday I will post a new Desperation Dinner. I hope you will share yours with me, too.

Happy cooking!!