What's For Dinner....?

Taylor FINALLY Got Her Steak Night....
(This was fantastic, by the way!)

If I have heard that question once, I've heard it a million times.  At least.  I think I am being conservative with that number.  I should maybe change that 'm' to a 'b', just for the sake of accuracy. The worst offender with the "What's for dinner?" question, has to be my beautiful (albeit a little impatient) daughter.  The worse thing I could say to her about what is for dinner, is that it is a 'help yourself night'.  God forbid I take a night off from making a dinner....  Now, don't get me wrong, I love making dinner for my family, love to cook.  It's all the stuff after the cooking I could live without.

Taylor had a full day of school from 8-2 and then had an hour break before she headed off to work.  (she makes me proud) So, to be fair, I barely saw her. (I'm giving my defense first...I have to cloud your judgment...this is my blog).  She asked me at 8 am what was going to be for dinner.  This has got to set a record for the earliest time this has been asked.  Luckily, I knew I was planning on a 30 minute supper from Cooks Country....steak tips with a red wine sauce.  Her favorite protein paired with my favorite....well, my favorite.  She seemed satisfied with this (after quizzing me about the side items), and off to school she went.

Now a lot of things transpired through the day.  Things that were out of my control.  My husband stayed in to work from home.  There was a pending snow storm on the way.  Everybody ate at weird times, so no one would really enjoy a big dinner so soon after snacks and 'lunch' (my husband ate lunch at 3 pm and Ryan ate 3 apples and 2 yogurts after school).  It was a messed up food day, to say the least.  I'm not about about to waste a magazine recipe and all that it entails on non-hungry people. But, Taylor knew none of this.  She was happily working thinking she was getting steak and mashed potatoes for dinner.

You can imagine her complete and utter denial  at what happened next.  Ryan and Mark Henry went with me to pick up Taylor from work.  Taylor got in the car and the very first words to us were, "I'm starving."  This is not good.  Not good at all.  When Ryan blurted out (thanks a lot Ryan) that tonight was going to be a 'help yourself night'.  Taylor seemed irritated that Ryan was teasing her.  'No it's NOT.  We're having steak tonight.'  I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and sort of half giggled, half whispered...'no. Ryan's right.'  Taylor argued with us both the rest of the way home.  I was listing off the other items she could have, 'there's cereal, hot pockets, frozen pizza, spaghetti-o's...'  She was having none of that, she told me to stop teasing her, it wasn't funny.  This was not going to end well.  Heads were going to roll....I was hoping it was going to be Ryan's.

When we walked into the house and there were none of the usual dinner smells wafting around....she knew.  'Spaghetti-o's.....seriously!'  'Well, Taylor, they do have a meat-like substance in them.'  Not my best move.  One should never joke about food to a hungry Taylor.  Never.

The following day, she asked the question and I answered the same as the day before.  Steak tips with a red wine sauce.  She said, "You mean like the spaghetti-o steak tips I had yesterday?" Touche She finished that off with a,  "That was not cool mom."

Another thing I have heard at least a million times....

The Ingredients

The Delicious Red Wine Sauce