Sometimes when there’s “nothing to eat” around the house, it’s possible to throw a dab of this and a dab of that into a pot, and end up with a delicious meal that would even make an Iron Chef proud.
Take the other night, for example, when I was feeling a bit like Old Mother Hubbard. “And when she got there, the cupboard was bare …” I rummaged around in the cupboards and dark recesses of my refrigerator and freezer, and wound up throwing together the following:
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2 lbs. of pre-cooked ground beef hiding in my freezer
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a chopped onion and a bit of garlic
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a zuchinni, quartered length-wise and sliced
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a second small zuchinni, grated (to thicken the mixture)
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two cans of Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
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about half a cup of salsa
I threw everything together into a large saucepan and cooked it all until the veggies softened and the flavors had a chance to blend.
In the meantime, I boiled up some broken pieces of lasagna noodles from an opened bag I found cluttering up the bottom of my pantry shelf, and then I glopped the ground beef mixture on top of the hot cooked noodles. I sprinkled the whole mess with grated cheddar cheese, gooped on some sour cream, and then everyone — even my pickiest family member — ate it with gusto. They even asked if we could have it again sometime.
Well, sure kids. Next time there’s nothing to eat, we’ll eat it again. But I supposed I’d better come up with a more appetizing name than “Mom’s Goop.”
