I almost never cook on Wednesday nights, because Donnie works really late that day.
But last Wednesday he surprised us by showing up for dinner.
Uh...what dinner?
Luckily, I do shop on Wednesday, so I had something to throw together.
Found these great noodles. I should have taken a picture of the package, but I thought I'd write down the name of them.
I didn't.
I had just put the ground beef in the freezer that afternoon, so if had only just started to freeze. I really had very little time, because Donnie had to leave again for church, so I made fake meatballs to go on top.
The meat is real. The shape is the fake part.
My kids love meatballs, but I didn't have time to mix, squish, shape, and cook. So I pressed the meat into the pan and sprinkled on some seasoning. (I don't measure--I just look through the spices, say "yeah, that sounds Italian," and go with it.) When the bottom starts getting brown, break the "patty" into smaller pieces and flip them over. Voila. Fake meatballs.
Ick. Is there a flattering way to photograph cooking meat? Sorry.
Then I grabbed two staples that I always try to keep in my pantry:
The brand doesn't matter to me, but the diced tomatoes make the sauce seem more gourmet for the grownups.
The kids eat around them.
We all liked the noodles. They were hollow, which was a novelty, and they don't twirl easily, but they're curly so who cares, right?
And the kids ate the meatballs as if I had taken the time to actually make them. I know the difference, but this always works in a hurry.
I know for my chef friends out there, this is a no-brainer. But I am almost lost in the kitchen, except for a few basic tricks. AndI thought someone else out there might be, too. This mom thing can be challenging--we gotta stick together!
What do you do for dinner when you don't have a plan?
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