NUMBER ONE...and done! (monday mealtime madness recipe included)

We made it through an entire list of the 25 best/worst things about being aspiring authors!  The countdown took forever (at least I (christy) thought so), but here we are.  And, in being here, it also means the holiday season is drawing to a close. I've celebrated for six days and six nights and now my Christmas festivites have ended.  I haven't been around your blogs much at all this past week so I've missed you all!  I look forward to catching up with you once again in the new year.  Thanks for hanging with us through this countdown!  We'll be returning to normal next week...well, we may have a teeny theme planned, but we'll keep it to Theme Thursdays. (phew!)

And without further ado...#1, the final best/worst thing about being an aspiring author:  making a choice-being selfish vs puttingmyownwantsontheshelfsoIcandoeverythingforeverybodyelsetheverysecondtheyaskforit.

There are those in my life who see writing as a selfish act (and sometimes I believe them).  So I try to squeeze time in when everyone else will be the least affected.  My ideal writing hours slide by without me on my laptop because I'm occupied with children or cleaning or shopping or teaching or feel free to insert another daily task here.  I haven't stopped completely.  Obviously.  I'm still here blogging about it.  And I'm inching forward on my WIP.  Deadline looming.  (But I no longer write when I feel it would be my prime storytelling hours.)

So, I've chosen to be selfish (and spend time on my laptop).  And yet, not. I'm compromising, but without having found the happy medium.  Yet.

A week or so ago I was selfish in the kitchen, too. 

(erica and I started doing monday mealtime madness as soon as we started blogging together.  Mostly because we're moms and as moms we have to cook for our families several times each day.  The trouble in my household is most of my cooking efforts go uneaten.  It's a daily struggle.  We thought it'd be worth it to spend one day per week sharing recipes for other parents who write and blog (or you know, just about anyone who spends time cooking).) 

Soo...how was I selfish?  There are days when I get tired of cooking for everyone else.  I try very hard to please the entire family with what I make for meals.  And 95% of the time it's uneaten anyways. Here's one common scenario:  My husband comes home late.  (Way past the dinner hour.) One child didn't nap and falls asleep in his dinner chair.  The other looks at his plate and says "Yucky."  I pick at my food before spooning it into tupperware and hauling the kids off for bathtime. 

So, it's kind of like why bother?

Nobody in my family likes my favorite casserole.  The week before Christmas week I made it anyways.  I loved it.  Three nights in a row.  I was the only one and I didn't even care.  I don't even remember what anyone else ate.  (Peanut butter sandwiches probably.  And carrot sticks.)

Perhaps YOU'D like it since I do.  Maybe your spouse and kids would, too.  If you'd like to try it, here's the recipe for my SELFISH CASSEROLE:

INGREDIENTS:

1lb ground hamburger
3-4 servings of green beans
4-6 med/large potatoes (peeled)
1 can tomato soup
1 egg
salt/pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup milk
(1-2 pats of butter-optional)
4 generous handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Brown one pound of ground sirloin (any ground hamburger will do).
Add in one can of tomato soup.
Cook 3-4 servings of green beans.  When soft, add them to the hamburger.
Peel 4-6 medium/large baking (or red) potatoes and boil them for about 20 minutes (or until soft).  Drain.  Mash.  Add one egg, a 1/4-1/2 cup of milk, some salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon mashed potatoes into the bottom of a casserole dish.
Spoon hamburger/tomato soup/green bean mixture on top of the potatoes.
Cover with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese.
Cover dish.
Bake in oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let cool before serving.

Enjoy!  I do!