During the years I attended Primary, it was held on a Tuesday or Wednesday after school. I only have vague memories of Primary, although I do recall one day hiding under the table in the classroom and refusing to come out and sit on a chair for the lesson. Sister Thomas from the Saginaw Ward was my teacher that day. That incident most likely stands out to me because it was unusual for me to misbehave. But this story isn't really about adventures in Primary, it is more about what happened after Primary.
As I said, Primary was held after school on a weekday. At least after we moved to New Jersey, we had a bit of a drive to get to the chapel and back. Mom frequently had a calling in the presidency which meant that we had to be there on time and were often among the last to leave after waiting for kids to be picked up and cleaning up after the event. This meant that we, kids and Mom, were tired and hungry and cranky as we headed home. Due to the dinner time crunch there are two dinner options that I remember from Primary nights, fast food and Dad cooking a dish that doesn't necessarily have a name.
First, fast food. This was not a common occurrence in our young lives, which is why I remember it so well. One of the fast food places, I think it was Burger King, had a promotion to draw in mid-week crowds. Two-for-one hamburgers, or Whoppers, or possibly Big Macs, if it was the other fast food place. I don't exactly remember. What I do remember is that sometimes on Primary night, we would get hamburgers. Two-for-one so we each got our own hamburger, then we split a soda and fries between two people. It was cheap fast food, even cheaper. And as kids, we were happy even if the Happy Meal hadn't been invented yet.
Second dinner option, which was what usually happened, Dad cooked and had it ready when we walked in the door. Dad's dinners were memorable for a couple of reasons, the first of course being that Dad cooked it and he wasn't Mom who did most of the cooking. (Not that she didn't have some memorable meals, but that is a different post. Cold cucumber soup anyone? But I digress.) The other reason is that although Dad's dinners were all the same, you never knew just what you were going to get. Let me explain. The dish started with some ground beef, or leftover meatloaf, or some chicken or turkey leftover in the fridge, but usually ground beef. This was cooked in the electric skillet with onions, or peppers, or celery, or whatever aromatics were in the fridge. To this was added, corn, or green beans, maybe carrots, or possibly all three. Once again, the combination depended on what was leftover in the fridge from meals earlier in the week. This got topped off with tomato sauce, or possibly gravy, and it all simmered together. Meanwhile, the potatoes had boiled on the stove. These were mashed and carefully spread over the top of the ingredients in the skillet. Depending on mood, there could possibly have been a sprinkling of cheese over the top. The whole concoction simmered on low until we walked in the door.
Let me tell you, it smelled good. And we were hungry and so happy to have a dinner waiting for us. After the prayer, Dad would scoop you a big spoonful of mashed potatoes with sauce and put it on your plate so that the sauce was on top. This was when you found out what exactly was in this weeks meal. It sounds strange, it doesn't have a name, but as I remember it, we all ate it and loved it. Well, maybe not the onions and peppers. I would surely have picked them out and pushed them to the side of my plate but remember putting it on a list of meals that I liked and saying that I would make it for my kids. I wonder if they would eat it.
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During this time I was Bishop of the Princeton Ward and the first Administrator of Hopewell Township so was very busy with night meetings. One of the things that we discovered I could do to help the family and still have dinner with them on Primary night was to prepare dinner. I would slip out of the office promptly at 4:30 and get home to do the prep. The office staff all knew it was Dad's night to cook so scheduled notheing late on Tuesday afternoon. "Dad's Surprise" was the best name we could come up with for this dish. It was never exactly the same twice. One of my favorites though was to creat a base with hot dogs if I found any in the fridge. I would brown them in a fry pan and them put them in the bottom of the baking dish. Over this I would sprinkle some grated colby and squirt yellow mustard over the dogs. I would then add the veggies. These would be whatever was left over in the fridge or I would open a can of peas, green beans, or some cooked carrots onions and peppers. It might also include saurkraut if the base wasa hotdogs. I often put in a can or tow of cream soup of some kind as well. This was always topped with mashed potatotes spread out over the top to cover the entire dish. I would put some pats of butter on top and sprinkle a little salt and pepper and then bake the dish and it would be ready to eat when the family arrived home. That was a real key, to have it ready to have prayer and dig in as soon as they arrived home. The smile on the kids faces was a specialreward enough for me. I think it always put a smile on Onalee's face too.
Thanks Dad, I had completely forgotten about the hot dog based dinners until you mentioned it. I really just remember the wonder that accompanied the prayer, what were we going to find under the potatoes this week?
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