the accidental dinner

In theory I was off work today, although it didn't really work out that way. I went in for a few hours, had a hair appointment this afternoon, went to the grocery store and the library and Voila! the day was almost over. The plan was for a really simple dinner, no stress, no fuss, not many dishes to wash, and fast. On the menu? Hamburgers, frozen french fries and canned baked beans. Disgusting? Possibly. But easy, fast and kid friendly. Sign me up.


I always buy frozen hamburger patties because it grosses me out to touch hamburger. But Sasquatch, the resident carnivore, asked if I'd buy real hamburger and he'd do the patties. Then walking through the store I saw some really nice looking baby red potatoes and threw them in the cart. Across the aisle was some gorgeous corn on the cob, so I grabbed several ears. While I was at it, I replaced the sunflower seeds the kids had polished off, with visions of our beloved ramen noodle cole slaw in my head. Shopping bags in hand, I headed home. Suddenly, I had a different idea about dinner.


An hour and a half later (and about fifteen minutes of actual work) we sat down to eat. Real hamburgers. (And Boca Burgers for Gumby and I). Oven roasted red potatoes with olive oil, garlic and sea salt. Corn on the cob and sweet butter. A huge bowl of tangy cole slaw. It didn't take a lot longer than my original plan but the difference was huge. Instead of food thrown together in a flash, it was a real meal. And it was delicious.


Why do the small things make such a difference?