Dinner in a FRENZY

Lately, my life has been a bit more than I can handle.  Yes, I said it.  Life is not full of all the warm fuzzy feelings all the time and there are some things in my life that are just not getting resolved.  My frustration level is through the roof and it is a struggle to relax.  By dinner time everyday I feel like a failure.  And by this time everyday I have done a zillion things and I look around at what appears to be disaster around me and then, it is "crunch time"..... "crunch time" is that time when everything has to happen quickly to get the next goal accomplished.  Last night that goal was Wednesday night church services and at 5:00 PM I realized I had not made a plan for dinner.  Ughhhh!  And everyone needed to be at church by 5:45 PM.  Oh my!  Overwhelming!!  And I was throwing myself and all out fit in the process trying to figure out what on earth I was going to do.  My husband's solution was just to simply stay home and miss church since that is a rarity.  And I do get that, but I think the kids needed to be there.  So, the scramble began.  I pulled out some hamburger meat and threw it in a pot with a bit of water to super fast thaw it and cook it at the same time.  I cranked the stove up to high and was pleased to see this working even though I had no idea what that hamburger meat was going to be.  I also opened a couple of cans of green beans and got those seasoned up and going on high, of course. 

And just to say... I can not really able to convey to you the ridiculousness of the scene at hand.  I was crying and acting a fool.... yes, this is a "real" moment folks!  I am a poor planner.  I stink at it these days.  I wear way too many "hats" and I really need some other people to take over some of these "hats".  And I know where the problem stems and I know the solution {so this is not a good time to give me advice in this area}.  I just need some WILLING parties to step up.  Until they do, I am stuck in this situation. 

So, back to the scene... As I open every cabinet I realize I am out of just about anything that would turn this into an actual meal.  Mostly, the pantry stays stocked, but there are always those 4-5 items that you need at that moment that seem to have dissappeared.  But we did survive and I did come up with something and guess what?  I came up with a new dish my WHOLE FAMILY liked!!!! 

And God got me through this ridiculous moment! 

So, later when I am feeling absolutely crazy again I want to have this recipe availabe since it is sooooo quick.  I have a list of really quick meal ideas for busy days, but even those require defrosting meat ahead of time.  So this is what I did....

First, I took out about a pound of ground meat, which I freeze in one pound or half pound packs.  As I stated above I threw that in a pot with about two cups of water and turned the stove on high.  I occassionally flipped the meat and broke it apart.  Once the meat was cooked I poured in two cans of pinto beans and a package of taco seasoning.  While this was cooking I opened a can of refried beans and heated those in a glass bowl in the microwave with 1/4 cup of water and seasonings (1/2 tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp, salt, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. paprika .... approximate measures).  In another bowl I chopped up 1/2 cup of Velvetta & 1/2 cup of cream cheese and added 1/8 cup of water.  I microwaved this to melt stopping occassionally to stir.  Watch this cheese closely or you will have a cheesy mess in the microwave.  I quickly grabbed a baking pan and poured in some round tortilla chips.  I drizzled the beans over the chips... then, the cheese.... then, the meat/bean mixture.  I put this in the oven at 400 degrees and baked for a few minutes.  So, now you have nachos!  You could serve them this way or add trimmings (lettuce, tomatoes, olives, peppers, pica de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, etc. with salsa and dips and more chips). 

Now, this is rocket science kind of meal, but it saved me that night.  It is just one more meal to add to my "quick fix" selection of dinners.  I seem to have to rely on these more and more these days.  We ended up making it to church that night at about 6:00 PM.  The kids were a few minutes late, but they got there with food in their bellies. 

The following is a list of a few of my "Quick Fix Meals":
Nachos (above)
Taco Salad
Meaty Ranch Style Beans & Rice
Taco Soup
Beans & Rice with Cornbread
Broiled Boneless Thin Pork Chops, Green Beans, Mac-n-Cheese (or rice or other veggie)
Broiled Chicken Chunks with Sides (like the pork chops example)
Breakfast for Dinner

So, this is not a glamourous post, but it is life.... Just being real....