Boy, this has been the week of wayward dinners!
First, we had the sausage-kale soup debacle. Then came the hole in the meal plan because of the Sunday Cookout That Wasn’t. Finally, this morning as I prepared my Crock-Pot for tonight’s meal (which was to be seitan tetrazzini), I pulled out my package of refrigerated seitan only to find it bubbled-up and unsightly. I cut the plastic open to see the contents further, and … well. Some of you might be reading this over the dinner hour, and I don’t wish to spoil your appetite, so let’s just leave it at that. Not good.
So tonight I fell back on some pantry staples – frozen pierogies and green beans! With sauerkraut, of course.
With that, the prep work was simple. I heated up my trusty cast-iron skillet and as it warmed, I poured the can of beans into a saucepan to get warm. Once the skillet was hot, I laid the pierogies down in one layer, waiting five or so minutes to flip them over so that both sides would get the attention they deserved. After about 15 minutes of flipping when the mood struck me, the pierogies had browned quite nicely, so I topped the skillet off with some sauerkraut and let it heat for a couple more minutes. After that – nothing doing! Dinner was ready.
Having some dinnertime staples on hand is such a blessing for nights like this. When the original menu falls through, there’s no need to call out for takeout or visit a restaurant; we’ve always got another option waiting! Though this week’s antics have blown through many of our fall-back meals; I’ll have to re-supply this weekend!
Chalk tonight up to another case of the best-laid plans not panning out. But let’s hear it for alternatives, on hand and at the ready!
:)