A Peek Into the Oven

And suddenly, we were tossed straight back into winter. The temperatures dropped, and the snow flew. The weather map looked ominous, but not much came of it. I rode my bike through snow flurries, happy as a clam. The daffodils, emerging in the front yard, were none too pleased about any of these developments.

Inside the house, though, things were cozy. We'd gone grocery shopping on Tuesday, and so we had some good stores in the larder. I had cream and cheese and bacon again, which meant I could make those fancy potatoes. My husband had schmoozed the meat man; gotten beef roasts for the same price as hamburger.

At the last minute, we even discovered a can of cream of mushroom soup among our collection; then my husband found two cans of green beans. The crunchy onions he'd bought the day before could be put to use: I see 100% chance of green bean casserole occurring!

So he did the meat part and I made the sides. (You may call me the Queen of Sides, my dears.) And as our cooking efforts drew to their conclusion, and as the house smelled just amazing, I peeked into the oven to spy a much nicer Wednesday lunch than I can remember us usually having: roast beef and gravy, green bean casserole, and those cheesy bacon gratin potato stacks (recipe info here) we love.

And now, we invite you to relax, just pull up a chair, as the dining room proudly presents: your dinner!

Our soundtrack song for this image of a spring-tossed-back-into-winter kind of day is Be Our Guest, from Beauty and the Beast.