(The missing) Monday: Meals

I’m guilty as charged. Yes, I skipped a day of blog entering. I know I have all the excuses up my sleeve: I’m working on a special supplement for our publication, and the deadline is Thursday; two co-workers are out with the flu leaving the rest of us even more exhausted. All said and done, I skipped, and that’s a big no no.

This leads me to the next great question: What do I serve my family for dinner, when I don’t have the strength to lift a pot – let alone cook, and my eyes are so tired I can barely read the ingredients list in my cook book!

And so I gave it tem minutes, not more. “It” meaning dinner. I realized I better put together dinner in that time frame, or I will be eating – and serving – grass to my family.  I set my timer, and the game was on. I emptied a bag of pasta to cook in one pot, (2 min.) and warmed up in a sauce pan a mixture of some tomato sauce, fresh parsley (chopped),  mozzarella cheese, spiced with some garlic and a touch of oregano. (3 min.)

With five minutes left, I threw together a large salad. Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and fresh cilantro worked hand in hand to form a great tasting jumble. (Thank heavens for pre-chopped lettuce…)

I was down to 60 seconds. I rummaged through the fridge, and found a tub of Hummus. (Google it if you don’t know what it is…) I laid it out nicely on a serving bowl, added some whole wheat crackers on the side, and presto! We had dinner ready!

Of course the kids snubbed the sauce, and wanted plain old ketchup. (I’m thinking of suing Heinz…) I was about to lecture at length about “having worked hours to prepare supper” and how they “don’t appreciate all the time that goes into it,” but just then the timer buzzed, reminding me all too well – it was only ten minutes.

10-minute pasta dinner:

1 bag pasta (preferably ziti – but if you are cooking 10 minute dinners who can be picky)

1 can tomato sauce

Parsley (not a necessity)

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (if you like it cheesy – move this up to 2)

garlic powder

oregano

While pasta is cooking, heat the tomato sauce in the sauce-pan, add the parsley. (Not too much of those leaves…) When the sauce is hot add the cheese, spices, and stir. Lower flame. (Get busy with the salad now…) Keep on giving an occasional stir here and there.