Clean Dishes

It probably says something about my life at the moment that for me, a sign of a really good weekend is no dirty dishes in the sink and homemade leftovers in the fridge when I go to bed on Sunday night.

What it says, well, I leave that for someone else to decide. I had a good weekend. I need to empty the dishwasher when I get home tonight, but the sink is clear, and I cooked.

I didn't make anything wild or fancy. I'm saving my energy for Easter, because somehow I got suckered into doing that. Sis sent me an email which could be boiled down to 'So you're doing Easter dinner, right? RIGHT?'

And I said yes, because Maman is away this week and won't be back until Saturday afternoon, and Sis is pregnant and probably has obligations at her church, and I? am still a good Southern girl and like to cook. I am foisting parts off on Maman and Sis, and most of what I have planned is easy and something I've done before. The hardest part will be the housework. I think I probably need to completely rearrange my living/dining room space, but I should probably not try to do that now. Get things tidied up for the weekend, contemplate massive furniture moving later.

Heh, maybe if I'm clever I can bring up rearranging the furniture as a topic of conversation at Easter dinner, and I can get Maman and Sis to rethink my floorplan for me, and then just have to drag the furniture without having to contemplate so hard.

So anyway, I cooked, and even tried a new recipe. I got some sourdough rolls, and made meatloaf with mushroom gravy and tomato casserole. The tomato casserole is, I think, my new favourite side dish for meatloaf. The base recipe was in the March 2006 Southern Living; I tweaked a couple things and tarted it up a bit.

Cheesy Tomato Casserole

casserole:
3 14-oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large egg, well beaten
salt and pepper to taste

topping:
1/2 cup round buttery cracker crumbs (about 15 crackers)
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Combine casserole ingredients and stir well to combine; pour into a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and toss well. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the casserole.

Bake 30 minutes or until bubbling. Serves 4-6.

verso - recto