Chicken Stew

I have a new crockpot that my son Justin gave me for Christmas. I hardly ever use it --- all my recipes are for at least four people and I live alone.

Well, I don't live alone. I have Marsha, my cat. She doesn't like my cooking --- prefers little cans labled Fancy Feast.

So it's hard for me to cook big meals. The old story about cooking for one. Not much point to it --- I won't eat the leftovers, and I can't eat it all in one sitting. So why bother? Bologna sandwiches. Hard boiled eggs. Cans of soup. Vienna sausages. Pork and beans. Ramen noodles. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

But I really wanted to cook. I love my crockpot. I tried to get some of the kids to come over but none of them were available.

I decided to cook some chicken stew anyway. I thought I had enough Tupperware around the house to freeze it, even if it isn't as good warmed up after being frozen. I opened some canned vegetables, got some chicken broth out. A chicken breast. An onion. Some seasonings. I put it in the crockpot and smiled when I smelled my own concoction turning into actual food.

It was good. Perfect on the zillionth snow day of this winter. And it was also way too much. Enough to fill a whole church congregation ...

... And then I remembered Ash Wednesday service at my church tonight. The choir would be staying after the service to practice.

So I took my still-warm chicken stew to church tonight and plugged in the crockpot down in the fellowship hall. I slipped a note to the pastor to make an announcement. I received the ashy cross on my forehead and took communion. Then I slipped downstairs to the fellowship hall to set up bowls and cups.

Five minutes later, people came downstairs and started sniffing the air.

"Who made the stew?"

I said nothing, just stirred and served.

The gay guy did. The single guy did. Old gay Jdaddy did.

They ate every bite, every pea, every kernel of corn, and the choir members went to their rehearsal with full bellies.

And as I washed out the crockpot, I realized I didn't get a bite. But I felt very full just the same.