The much dreaded question…

What’s for dinner?

What’s this got to do with going to Idaho? Wait for it. Lance asked me yesterday why I haven’t posted a blog lately. Followed up with ‘not complaining, it’s just a question’ (and I believe him). I have ideas, then forget them. I have ideas (today at 4am) and write it all up in my head, decide what photos I want and then get overwhelmed by the plan. Excited to write about it, but until I’ve had 2.5 cups of coffee, that plan ain’t gonna happen – yet. SO… I thought, why do I have to have photos for every post? The day I did, the hyperlinks wore me out (as learning new things tend to do to all of us). This is MY blog and you’re here to read it cause you love me, hate me, are bored or just because it showed up in your inbox or status updates and you’ve got nothing better or convenient to read.

So, no photo shoot, no tasty dinner ideas, like my FB friend and supermom Sasha has to post each day. Maybe I could just link you to her. Her life is rather full and she cooks the tastiest looking dinners! Her life is pretty rich!

It sure takes me a long time to get to my point… Last week a friend posted on her status something about hating the pre-dinner hour because her husband won’t answer her inquiry, “what would you like for dinner Mike?” I remember hating to plan menus for the week because I’d be making the same boring meals again and again. I was tired of making them. My family had to be tired of eating them. For a few months I tried ‘scheduling’ the days. I don’t recall what I did, something like Monday is meatloaf, Tuesday pork chops, Wednesday spaghetti…. Sunday EAT OUT. It sure made it easier to get the kids up for church, when eating out afterwards was the plan.

Growing up, my amazing mother (She really was. I’m not just saying that cause I think she subscribes to my blog – in heaven). There were 7 kids in my family: 1 sister and 5 brothers (I cannot imagine feeding 5 teenage boys and 2 fickle girls). Dinner was ALWAYS served at 5:30. I think my dad got home a little after 5. This allowed him enough time to come home, change into his Mr. Rogers cardigan, and show up at the head of the table. How did my mom think of things to have every night for dinner (not to mention shop, buy, cook and clean it up)? She wasn’t a spectacular cook, but she got the job done. I do not remember the infamous ‘hot dog soup’ my oldest siblings speak of, but I do recall meatballs and spaghetti, pork roast, meatloaf, baked chicken, ham and baked beans. Growing up Catholic, Fridays usually needed to be meatless. I actually loved her tuna casserole, the frozen then baked ‘fried’ shrimp, not-so-much. Prolly why I don’t like shrimp (or pork roast) today.

If you live in a household where someone cooks you dinner, the very least you can do is to give them some ideas for meals. Even if they don’t ask, ‘what would you like for dinner?’. Make them a list of the meals you like or find a new recipe for them to try. Thinking of something new isn’t that easy. There was a blogger out there that made a different meal in her crock for 365 days. Nice adventure for her family (or not). If a recipe has more than 6 ingredients in it, I think long and hard about making it. Heck, why not surprise the regular cook in your house and cook dinner for them.

My life has changed dramatically in the last few years. Dinner time is almost nonexistent. Yes we eat, but not at 5:30 every night. Yes we cook, but not every night, sometimes not even once a week. When we do cook, we usually triple the batch and eat leftovers. Or Lance loves rice and can do things with a bowl of rice that will stimulate any palate. I am the pesto queen, so easy and so yummy. It turns any bowl of pasta into a delicious meal. We’re actually a good team, joining my likes and his.

What has this article got to do with Idaho? Well, potatoes, my friends, potatoes. Every time we mention to someone that we’re moving there, they think they are so funny when they say…”You must really like potatoes” (it WAS funny, the first 2xs I heard it). But, funny thing is, we do! We make a meal out of a potato (I always want to add an ‘e’, but the ridicule Dan Quayle got tends to help me auto correct myself). So now I shall reveal our easy meal plan. Zap as many taters as you want til ‘almost done’ rub them in oil and sprinkle with SeasonAll (you know, that tasty seasoning some places coat their fries in). Place on pan and bake in the oven at 400 for 15-30 minutes (we eat the skin, so crispy is best). Cut open your potato, and if you must, put butter (I skip that part) and then (here comes the weird part)……. a couple of huge dollops of cottage cheese, followed by bacos, then salt & pepper. It sounds ODD, but it is SO yummy. One of my favorite meals, actually. Yeah, Lance and I, we’re not your average couple. For that, I feel blessed.

Next blog, provided I getter done, will be about Changes (I add this last line to remind myself so I don’t forget my plan).