Writers Workshop - A recipe that went all kinds of wrong.

I love to bake. I like to cook, but cooking is not my passion. I favor quick, healthy, easy meals that do not send echos of Rachel Ray bouncing back and forth in my brain.

**Nothing against Rachel Ray, her voice just loops in my head in a most unpleasant way. Yum-O!**

Since Robert spent so much time in the military, he'll pretty much eat anything - lucky for me! He also has a decreased sense of smell and taste which might just help that out a teensy bit.

One day I was making pancakes with Bisquick and I noticed a recipe on the back of the box. The recipe was for a cheeseburger casserole. Hey - Robert likes Bisquick, Robert likes cheeseburgers. I'll make this!

I followed the directions on the box, talked it up nice and yummy for him. Pulled it out of the oven, slapped it on a plate and waited for what I was sure would be the, "This is really good, thanks" comment.

**crickets**

Nor did he want more.

Hey, I'm a big girl. I can take it. So I ask him, "Didn't you like this?"

**long pause**

Wellllllll........

No. No he didn't like it. In fact, he asked very quietly and politely that I never offer this particular meal to him again.

So I tasted it.

Even though I had followed directions faithfully, it was sort of a soggy, doughy mess. The flavor was pretty good. But the texture and consistency? Not appealing. And it was kind of a uniformly grey color. If you've ever seen Better Off Dead, it wasn't too different from the mom's cooking. Definitely not Yum-O! I don't even think EVOO and fresh herbs could have helped. A strong margarita may have, but I didn't think about that until much later.

But, to Robert's great relief, I have never served it again.