That. That is MY town. On Sunday, November 17 an F4 tornado struck our city destroying or damaging nearly 1000 homes. My heart breaks for all my friends who suddenly find themselves with no house. My mind is blown by the overwhelming generosity of people from all over this country who have poured out their hearts to us.
Our last 10 days have been a complete departure from any I have ever known, and certainly departed from my meal plan. First, we didn't have power or potable water, so we feasted on PB&J and cheese and crackers. Then, we had the most fabulous burgers in the company of our neighbors as we shared our sorrow together. When power was restored (just a 32 hours outage for us--way to go Ameren!), I went with easy, fast, freezer items. We were taking each day as it came, so what we ate became a real non-issue.
Finally we are starting to get things back on track. Our friends are finding new homes, we are helping clean up, and soon we may even be able to think farther than "tomorrow". Although I have totally lost track of time, it did dawn on me today that I need to get a meal plan together for December.
In the mean time, I did try this Slow Cooker 7Up Chicken & Rice. It's so easy, and I had all the ingredients on hand (although I did sub in Sprite for the 7UP). There is nothing inherently wrong with this dish. However, the sweetness in the rice was kinda weird. I prefer salty, buttery rice, so it just didn't seem right to me. Others at my table agreed--not bad, just not the best.
Soon I expect things will return to a new normal. We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday with family, as well as spending more time helping clean up this city we have adopted as our own.
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