Points For Trying

I came home from school Thursday fully prepared to cook dinner.  I'd done the 30 Day Shred again (more successfully, I might add) with Julie, so I was feeling pretty good. 

We've been very spoiled by my wonderful friends at school with meals about twice a week since Brian's diagnosis, so we haven't had to cook much.  But the meals have slowed down a little now that it's evident that we have things under control right now (more or less), and Thursday was a night we were on our own.  No worries.  I like cooking. 

I decided I was going to wing it.  I don't need no stinking recipe.  You see where this is going, I'm sure. 

The idea was to make a shepard's pie.  I had potatoes.  I had hamburger meat.  So, I peeled potatoes and got those to boiling.  Started defrosting the slightly freezer-burned meat....

Then I went to the pantry for the tomato soup and peas and carrots.....uh-----yeah...I could have sworn I  had those up here.  Now what?  I looked back helplessly at the stove where the potatoes are cooking.  And over at the microwave where the meat is defrosting.  Think fast, cupcake. 

Green beans.  We had green beans.  So, I could do hamburger patties, mashed potatoes and green beans.   Ain't fancy, but it will feed us. 

So, I pulled the meat out of the microwave and I could see that I had a problem. It didn't look so good.  The meat that I thought was only slightly freezer burned actually had frostbite. 

I seasoned it with onion flakes and Worstershire sauce, was looking for the garlic and realized there was no way this meat would hold together in a patty.  I briefly considered cracking an egg or two in it to bind it, and then finally just hung my head in defeat. 

Brian walked through the kitchen on his way to the garage, surveyed the situation for a second and said, "Why don't you just order a pizza?"  I was indignant for a millisecond and then realized that I had just been thinking the same thing.

I had never had a meal fall apart on me.  Our cancer warrior, Amy, told me today that I can't be perfect all the time.  So I guess this time I just get points for trying.