• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe

What’s for dinner? Your guess is as good as mine

January 13, 2021
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Weeknight dinners come with their own challenges and joys. As wonderful and fun as cooking can be, it can also be hard to find the energy to bring to making a meal after a long day. Mileage definitely varies.

That’s been true this week.

~Monday~

Let me take you back to Monday. It was a busy day, but my lunchtime work meeting was canceled. So, I decided to seize the moment. I took a quick break, found a crockpot recipe online, dredged boneless chicken in flour and herbs, sautéed it, put it in the crockpot with onions, carrots, and chicken broth, turned the knob up to high, and let our dinner cook all afternoon.

I even loaded the dishwasher before starting back to work for the rest of the day. I’m not sure what it says about me that I consider loading the dishwasher to be a gift of self-care, but here we are.

In the evening, my husband arrived home from work to find the house smelling delectable. We ate a warm, satisfying meal, and we each took turns referring to “herbs de Provence,” which I had used in the recipe.

It felt a little French and more than a little fancy.

~Tuesday~

Tuesday started in its own whirlwind, and I never emptied the dishwasher that had run overnight. By the time my husband came home from work, the sink was overrun with dishes from throughout the day.

I suggested we order carryout, and he didn’t disagree. I fumbled my way through an online ordering system—and somehow ordered his meal incorrectly. We were able to salvage it, and we made it through.

But I was struck by the difference between the two days. One day the dishwasher hummed, and the crockpot steamed. On the other, the dishes piled up in the sink, and I fumbled an online food delivery order.

That’s not just a weeknight dinner, but a weaknight dinner.

~Wednesday~

I can’t take any credit for Wednesday’s dinner. My friend Katie delivered our Christmas gifts along with an exquisite, delicious chicken pot pie.

I can’t think of any greater gift than an unexpected dinner. The pot pie was glorious, too.

~Thursday~

Now, I know just what we’re having for dinner on Thursday: leftovers. Leftovers are a gift beyond all telling, the gift of beginning the day without a worry about ingredients or time or anything dinner-related.

On leftovers nights, as you open the fridge and discover fully-prepared dishes you didn’t even recall you had on hand, you can practically hear the angels sing.

~Friday~

What will we have on Friday? I can’t say. We will eat on Friday, but let’s take this a day at a time.

~

Weeknight dinners. They’re not always creative or tasty. It’s rarely something everyone wants to eat. It might come together in different ways, but we always have enough. God always provides what we need. And then He gives us the extraordinary gift of getting to start all over again the next day.

Copyright © 2021 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Rita Buettner

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Our faith is not afraid of questions

Artificial Intelligence, wholeism and prayer

Question Corner: Does reception of the Eucharist replace confession?

A butterfly lands on a flowering bush with purple blossoms

A Miracle for a Baby in Rhode Island (and for all of us)

Kids need lots of people who love them

| Recent Local News |

Archdiocese of Baltimore offers resources for parishes to assist migrants

Third annual gun buyback scheduled for Aug. 9

Driver arrested after crashing into entrance of Esperanza Center

Construction underway on new north addition to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home 

Prince of Peace merges with St. Francis de Sales in Harford County

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Jubilee of Youth chance to celebrate hope, fraternity in world at war, panel says
  • New York archdiocese sees hundreds of responses to ‘Called By Name’ program
  • Can’t afford a Catholic college? Think again. Many offer full tuition options
  • Detroit archbishop fires theologians Ralph Martin, Eduardo Echeverría from seminary
  • LA archbishop, joined by business leaders, starts fund to help families affected by ICE raids
  • FBI surveilled SSPX priest amid probe of suspected neo-Nazi’s plans for violence
  • Poland’s ‘living memorial’ to St. John Paul II marks 25 years of transforming lives
  • Our faith is not afraid of questions
  • Catholic ‘American Ninja Warrior’ fights world hunger, one obstacle at a time

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en