Last night Clyde asked me what I was going to fix for dinner. I thought of serving the leftover tortellini pasta and pesto, but said, "I have a roast I can cook." I knew I had a frozen roast. Clyde said, "that would be good." So I planned to cook a roast, but I decided to put it in the crock pot on low over night - so it would be really tender for Sunday dinner.
I smelled it cooking in the early morning hours and by 9:30 am it was done! I took it out at 10 and put it in the fridge, with the juices for gravy in another container.
I never really shopped for the week yesterday on my Costoco run - I only picked up toilet paper, some nice pears, grape tomatoes, black grapes and that's about all. Camille had just left last night for Costa Rica and I wanted to use up stuff in my fridge and freezer so I didn't even have a plan for the week. It's clean out time.
At church, my Visiting Teachers wanted to stop by at 3:30 and that was fine with me. I wasn't going to think about dinner until after they left. Clyde kind of surprised me when he vacuumed the family room at 3:15 and I just figured he never got around to it on Saturday so he decided to do it on Sunday. Random, but whatever.
So one of my VT sisters told a long story about all these step children living in her house, and in the background I hear dishes, glasses, silverware - I though Clyde had decided to empty the dishwasher but it sounded like things were being set on the counter and not put in drawers or the cupboards. At 4:15 pm Clyde hollers from the kitchen, "remember we have dinner guests coming in 15 minutes."
YIKES!! Then I remembered that he had made arrangements to host 5 MFHD students at our house for dinner!! I had completely forgotten until that very moment.
I shooed my VT sisters out the door and went to work!
Here's all the lucky things that fell into place:
1. I had just found my 1/2 full big bag of red potatoes in the pantry - I hadn't seen them until Saturday and put them where I would remember to use them. Clyde washed and cut them quickly and into the pressure cooker they went. Luckily I had a cube of butter and small container of sour cream for the mashed potatoes!
2. I heated up the meat juices and added water and flour for gravy.
3. I found a 1/2 full bag of peas in the freezer - quickly put those on to heat through.
4. I had a 1/2 box of baby spinach and also a box of sassy mix lettuce that had not even been opened - but had it been in the fridge a week?
5. I had just purchased a container of grape tomatoes - perfect for the salad.
6. I had just purchased a box of Costco pears - perfect for broiled pears!!
7. There was barely enough ice cream left from last week's dessert to add to the pear dessert if we were really skimpy on the servings.
8. Clyde sliced the meat and we heated it up in the microwave!! I have never in my life cooked a roast and not served it as soon as it was done. This was a first for me.
9. One guest was on time, but the other 4 persons were late and did not arrive until about 4:50.
That gave me enough time to make the salad with sliced almonds and goat cheese I had on hand, make the mashed potatoes, thicken the gravy, and find salad dressings.
We were sitting down by 4:55! It is like a miracle to me - I had not planned to have guests at all, nor did I shop to have nice meals to prepare. I'm going to Calgary soon so it's time to clean out the fridge.
The funny thing is that when Clyde asked me what we were having for dinner he assumed I was planning on the students, but he never mentioned the student guests to me last night or anytime today. The vacuuming did not even clue me in. I did think it was strange he wanted to know what I was making for dinner - he never asks that!
We did have plenty to eat and the mashed potatoes were a big hit with one 8 year old who came with his mother. They'll never know that I usually serve rolls with my Sunday dinner - I didn't even have time to think about putting bread on the table.
This was my version of the loaves and fishes - miracle or just lucky?
I'm just grateful we pulled it off and there was enough of everything I needed.
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