I have to confess, I have this mental… deficiency. It’s a problem with my wiring. It involves shopping and it drives Luke up the wall. He will frequently be looking for something in the pantry, like a can of corn, and find, rather than the plain golden corn, a can of creamed corn. Creamed corn? Who buys creamed corn? I do, by accident. I get overwhelmed by the variety and similar labels of everything in the store, and then I grab one of what I think is the right thing, only to realize after I get it home, that’s it’s not the right thing. Corn, tomatoes, shredded cheese, it happens all the time. And not just with food.
My sister got to experience this phenomenon recently while I was in Kohl’s trying to find undies for Luke. I know his size, I know the basic fit he likes, and I know that I can’t stand white undies on men so I was looking for the colorful ones. That’s three separate factors to keep track of in the midst of a dozen manufacturers. I’d find some that were the right color and the right fit and realize they weren’t the right size. I’d grab one that was the right size and the right color and look in my cart to see I had the wrong fit. My head nearly exploded. Andrea tried to help but I told her I was going to give up and tell Luke to buy his own damn undies.
This short-circuit in my head doesn’t really bother me all that much. It’s frustrating, but I also think it’s kind of funny, a Lisa-ism. I don’t do it on purpose, yet the harder I try to avoid it, the more inevitable it is that it happens, so I have to just go with it. The only time it really annoys me is when I screw up major ingredients that I need for a recipe.
One of my favorite easy recipes is Sloppy Joe Pot Pie, which I got from the Bisquick website. Only, since I only read the recipe the first time I made it, mine is completely different from that recipe. Namely, I like the barbecue Sloppy Joe sauce, and I like to add a can of corn, and lots more cheese, oh and some other things, too. Really, you can’t go wrong with this recipe, and I am a living example that you can not screw it up.
Driving home from work tonight, I was mentally going through my pantry trying to decide what to make for dinner. I knew I had ground turkey in the fridge, and I was certain I bought the Sloppy Joe sauce last week, so I decided on Sloppy Joe Pot Pie. I stopped at the store because I knew I didn’t have any Bisquick (actually I prefer Jiffy mix, but they’re practically the same), and I grabbed some corn and extra cheese just to be safe. I got home, threw the turkey on the stove, preheated the oven, and looked in the pantry for the Sloppy Joe sauce. Which was not there, but you know what was? Baked beans. Because you know where the Sloppy Joe sauce is sold in the store? You guessed it. Next to the baked beans. Now what?
I decided to wing it and make up my own sauce. I combined taco sauce with barbecue sauce and ketchup and I think I got it! It smelled just like the Sloppy Joe sauce. It was all comically down hill from there. I couldn’t find my deep dish pie pan to make the Sloppy Joe Pot PIE, so I dragged out a big loaf pan instead. I put in my ground turkey sauce creation and went to layer in my corn. Guess what? I bought the wrong corn! Only it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t creamed, it was Mexicorn, which actually went well with the taco sauce. Then I added my cheese and Jiffy mix and threw in the oven, at the wrong temperature I realize now that I’ve seen the Bisquick recipe again. Oh well, I smell it cooking now and it’ll be delicious, I’m sure of it.
So if you’re a bad cook, or a clumsy shopper like me, take heart. This is a recipe for you. Follow the link to the Sloppy Joe Pot Pie recipe from Bisquick and have at it. Add to it, change it, I guarantee it will not be bad. I’ve made it with Gardenburger crumbles instead of turkey. I’ve gone without the egg. I’ve added sour cream and cottage cheese layered under the Bisquick, I even tried spinach and mozzarella. And now tonight, I made it in a loaf pan without the sauce… It’s all good. Go and enjoy. I hear my oven timer going off, it’s time for me to go enjoy mine.
Tags: Bisquick, recipes, Sloppy Joe Pot Pie
Um, something tells me Luke does not read your blog, because otherwise you would not be disclosing that he wears colorful underwear. Or that you call them “Undies,” which is adorable by the way.
If he does, then Hi, Luke!
You big show off. I follow my recipes TO A TEE and I still screw them up to the point where we can’t eat them. Cooking sucks. And so does undie shopping.
I think it’s awesome that Luke’s undies have been discussed on the internets.