.....just ask an 8 year old

Because we're topical and on the ball, Tuesday's Cinco de Mayo meal was.......meatloaf sandwiches?



We usually talk and plan what we're going to do a week ahead of time and try to base it on what we have to work with. Even so, I failed to pick up on the fact that our Tuesday coincided with Cinco de Mayo. We could've had burritos, taco salad, tacos or maybe even nachos.Heck, even if we'd thrown some salsa on top of the meatloaf, but.....sadly, no.

Unfortunately, most of my focus was built towards the Springsteen concert this past weekend in Greensboro and I missed the opportunity to have a little fun with May 5th. I did however, pickup on the fact that Monday was the unofficial Star Wars day. Why? Talk about that later.



Cinco de Mayo or not, last night was a great meal. I'm on record about how good Twig's meatloaf is and last night was the best yet. (and technically, I'm not even a meatloaf guy. My mother's fondness for bell peppers and onions kept me from that.) We baked them on cookie sheets, 3 to a sheet, in big logs. The reason for that is we didn't have enough pans to do it the other way, plus, when you cook them on a flat pan, you get more "top crust" on the meat loaf and that's the best part. (With just about anything you bake, the top is the best. Muffins, pies, pound cake, anything with cheese on top,...I've researched it.)



We sliced it thick, too. Big ol' slabs of meatloaf on a hamburger bun....You're probably saying "Gary, why a hamburger bun?

After giving it some analytic thought, I realized a hamburger bun is sturdier than sliced bread and holds up better for the huge slices we were using....okay, I'm lying......



.... it's actually because the Bread Lady didn't have any loaf bread but did have plenty of hamburger buns we could use.

And the buns did work out better than bread because of the reasons I mentioned, it's just that I got them because I was lucky and not smart.(Insert your own Joke here)



MEATLOAF SANDWICHES

JACKED UP BAKED BEANS a la whatever we had in the fridge or cabinet to jack them up with

DESSERT

SWEET TEA / WATER

Let's see if I can remember everyone who helped put it together last night....

ELLEN ALEXIS JENNIFER MAGGIE JOHN J.BOGGS CHRISTIAN BAILEY McSWAILEY ANDY ZACH DEMETRIUS CAMERON MIKE MITCH HAMPTON ANDREW AUSTIN MERRITT PEYSON BRIEN TERESA RYAN TWIG LAURA ELAINE SAVANNAH CREEEEECH! ALEXANDRA MICHAEL DUB NICK and me.
That's right. 32 people


SPOTLIGHT ON............THE BREAD LADY

There's a lot of people who contribute to making Tuesday night successful and ongoing. Not all of them are members of FBC, not all of them come on Tuesday night, and some don't even live in Wilmington. One of these is The Bread Lady.

The Bread Lady is the manager of a bakery outlet on the corner of Wrightsville Ave. and Independence Blvd. She has been incredibly good to us over the past 3 years or so. I walk in on Tuesdays and she says "What are you cooking tonight?" and almost always has bread or buns or whatever need that she can give to us for free. And on the rare occasions when she doesn't, she always cuts us a deal on what we buy.

Have you ever bought 20 packs of hamburger buns, hot dog rolls, or loaves of bread at one time?

It's a lot.

This is an incredible help to us.

So without cooking a thing, passing out a plate or even setting foot in the church, she's part of us. She's a reason we can do what we do. The folks that come on Tuesday night may never lay eyes on her, or she on them, but their separate actions towards a common purpose help bring God's Kingdom and Love to a place where physical and spiritual needs can be met.

I consider myself fortunate because I am able to see the big picture for this better than most. I see the ones who help in ways that never involve being in the kitchen or handing out food. There's quite a few. Next week I'll tell you how big a help and what a great guy Kerry Taylor is.

I didn't post this Tuesday night because of Michael W. Smith. Not the famous one...the infamous one. He's done with school and back before he heads to Canada for the summer. He said "I'm hungry. Where we going after this?"
Don't see him enough to turn down hang-out opportunities like that so we headed out after we got cleaned up and caught up with all the latest.

Why was this past Monday STAR WARS day?
If you figure it out post me a comment and tell me. Otherwise you have to wait 'til next week.

HINT SAYING IT OUT LOUD OVER AND OVER HELPS
SO WOULD WRITING IT OUT IN ENGLISH INSTEAD OF NUMBERS

or you could ......