A Quiet Dinner for One....

Pre-cooked Dinner

After my dinner plans had changed, I decided I needed a wholesome meal. Last night I had a bowl of oatmeal soaked in the last of the maple syrup that has been sitting on my counter for months and I think I ate that merely because I was tired of looking at that syrup. Whatever is in maple syrup, oatmeal or milk that can cause a heartburn, went immediately to work burning it's way to my esophagus.. An 11PM Prilosec saved my life that was hanging by a thread. Did anyone ever die of heartburn? My friend Randi used to supply me with Prilosec and in her absence I'm dangerously close to looking for a new pusher.

I inventoried my food stash and it looked pretty bleak. Today I bought Jew bread. I have to make a run to my Jewish bakery every month or so for fresh rye bread. Nothing else makes a sandwich happen like rye. It's all I have left of my Jewish heritage. That and I'm just a little cheap sometimes... but I think that's from watching my father pinch dollar bills so hard that he was finally sure there weren't 2 stuck together and it was safe to hand it over to whomever he was reluctantly paying. My father NEVER liked paying for anything.

In my freezer I found a freezer bag of New York Strips from Costco. I proudly carry a Costco card and actually read their flyers. One time I found pool chlorine on sale for less than half the regular price and bought about a 2 year supply. Maybe I AM pretty cheap?

So, I had steak and potatoes that I'd recently purchased, sounds like a meal to me! I knew I was pretty low on gas for the grill, but crossing my fingers I somehow made it through the steak and I have to make a mental note to buy some gas tomorrow. I carefully cleaned my large potato and put it in the microwave for about 6 or 7 minutes while I preheated the toaster oven. I guess I've been single long enough to learn my way around the kitchen, just a little. So I cooked and defrosted and planned my meal. As most of you know, cooking a steak rare is an art. An art I've never really learned. When my steaks come out good, it's usually just luck, not expertise. I tried my best to coordinate the times so the 2 foods in question would be ready at about the same time. I took my steak off the grill, that through the will of God didn't run out of gas before the meal was ready and as I approached the toaster oven the dinger dinged just as I reached out my hand. Ah, perfection! I stopped at the fridge to get the butter and grabbed a steak knife and fork. I was ready for a meal fit for a king. Bogie sneaked his way over and was laying at my feet when I finally cut into my well done piece of meat........hmmm. A little A-1 steak sauce is definitely in order... If I overcook a steak, the only thing that saves it is A-1. Now I cut into my large baked potato and got resistance while cutting it in half... That's what happens when the entire inside is rotten! How long do you have to let a baked potato cool before you can successfully toss it into the trash???

As I sat there gnawing my way through this overcooked piece of saddle leather, I thought about savagely attacking my wallet, as it might have more appeal than this overdone, sauce-soaked, slaughter house offering.. Tomorrow night I'm ordering a pizza!