A Recipe for Real Life Dinner

Step 1: Turn on PBS Kids after a day at the NYS Museum with Honorary Aunts home for the holidays. Supply small ones with snacks and sippy cups.

Step 2: Turn heavy pot on medium heat. Two twists of olive oil. Add a chopped onion as you're heating up the pan. When you hear it start sizzling, add one pound of beef from the Monday Manager's Specials at the Nisky Coop. As the rest of the veggies end up diced, toss them in - leftover potatoes from the Chanukah latkes, celery, carrots. Break up the beef and keep stirring as you go.

Step 3: Add a good Tbsp or two of Zatar (or tsp each of dried thyme, oregano and rosemary) and kosher salt. Cook for 10ish minutes, until potatoes are starting to soften, a fond is starting to form, and the spices are starting to smell delish.

Step 4: Refill sippy cups. Mediate conflict over merits of Blues Clues over Wild Kratts.

Step 5: Deglaze pan with wine opened up on Christmas Eve, given by Aunt for first night Hanukah. Add on-sale 32 ounce can of crushed tomatoes. Add 1 cup-ish soy sauce, 2 whole bay leaves and about a tsp of slightly crushed Whole Pepper Corns. Add 6 cups water and 3 Tbsps Osem Beef Boullion. Add two whole cloves garlic. Note: If you have homemade beef stock or canned beef stock, go to. I did not. So be it. 

Step 6: Cut the green cabbage in half. You're only using one half, so wrap up the rest. Halve the remaining half, core and dice. Add to the pot. Add water/bouillon/stock as need to get back to a chunky borscht consistency.

Step 7: Bring up to simmer. Cover. Lower heat and keep at a simmer until spouse arrives home from work - at least 20 minutes. Find those garlic cloves - smush and stir them in.

Step 8: Make alternative whole wheat toast with peanut butter sandwich for picky eater.

Step 9: Serve soup. Observe as spouse loves soup and smallest one loves soup.

Step 10: Continue to observe as picky eater refuses to eat soup or alternative whole wheat toast with peanut butter sandwich, since in your negligence as a parent, you have cut it into rectangles. They were supposed to be triangles.