Letting the family secret out

Sometimes we need to bring our A Game.  We need to step it up.  To give our families what they need.


Last night was one of those nights.  Brian was traveling.  And for the few hours I saw them over the span of the day, they kids were on edge.  I was on edge.  My car died.  The repair was expensive.  The weather tanked.  My mums flew right out of their pots in the wind and blew all over the neighborhood. Eli threw one two-year-old tantrum after another.  And, and, and.


So I pulled out the big guns.  The dinner I make that seems to put a band-aid on life.  To make it all better.  The meal that wipes away a day of drama and sends everyone to bed happy.


It would be selfish to keep it to myself, so I am going to open the secret family recipe vault and share this miracle dinner with you.

Here we go.


1. Boil water.  Don't watch it, it seriously will take longer.  While it's heating, I encourage you to take a break yourself.   Tonight, it was Diet Coke for me.  Granted I had to wait awhile to enjoy it as I dropped it running up the stairs.

2. Open a giant bag of meatballs that you bought from Sam's Club or Costco.  You know, the kind that fills half of a shelf in your freezer, but was such a good deal you had to get it. 


3. Dump a bunch of meatballs in a second pan.


4. Open a jar of pasta sauce.  Pour it over the frozen meatballs and turn the burner on low.

5. Big step.  When the water comes to a boil, dump spaghetti noodles in there.  You'll need to stir them to get them to submerge.  It's tricky, but it can be done.

6. Cook according to the package directions.  Really, that box knows that it's talking about.


7. While cooking, begin to prepare your Parmesan cheese.  And by "prepare," I mean open.

8. Meanwhile, make sure your kids are appropriately dressed for dinner.  This is a classy meal.  If they are a toddler, this usually means a bib.

If you are really fancy (and smart), it means no shirt under the bib.

If you are a kid like Caleb, this means you are too old for a bib, but still, an undershirt is best.

9.  Get out the cloth napkins.  This is going to be a good one.  And there is always bleach.

10.  Strain the noodles, top with sauce and cheese.

Swirl and enjoy.

11. Of course, be sure that everyone takes their time and takes appropriate sized bites.  And, of course, napkins always go in laps.

And when it's all over, scrape the plates, put them in the dishwasher or the sink and walk away.

Feel good about yourself.  You fed your family.  You made them smile.  You sat down to dinner. 

And that is what counts.