I said it before, “I’m NOT a great cook,” but I enjoy it when I am in the mood. However, I demand a certain criteria – simple and fast! One obstacle that contributes to my ineptness in the kitchen is that I am SIMPLY SLOW! As a result, simple and fast recipes take me a long time. Because I am so self-conscious about my cooking-challenged disabilities,  I prefer to cook alone – unless the helper is as handicapped as I am.

As recorded, our Thanksgiving feast was the essence of simple and fast, but we didn’t have many guests (2) at our table. For the Christmas week, I would be serving the multitudes, and I was SCARED! Now I have super-talented cooks for daughters-in-law, but they had their hands full preparing for December 25th. And, like M. Thenardie in Les Miserables, I felt it was crucial for me to be “the master of the house,” including the kitchen. This meant that I create dishes I am confident in cooking – which aren’t many. Even doing that is no guarantee of success, but it ups the odds! I also like to try a couple of new recipes to surprise and maybe even impress my guests.

To accomplish this cooking plan, I needed to prepare dishes ahead of time so I could create in solitude and take my time. That meant being more organized that I usually am, but I am happy to report that I DID IT! I cooked up my fast and easy lasagna and chili before our California kids arrived, and I also whipped up a NEW sauce to go with Christmas Day’s ham dinner. I found this recipe in Costco’s free cook book , and I want to share it with you. Continue reading →