One Is the Loneliest Number

We try pretty hard around here to have family dinners as often as possible. The fact that I have the very same table that my mother served a million family dinners on is a physical reminder to me of the importance to eek out whatever moments we can to be together before Thing 1 and Thing 2 run out the door to college.
That said, sometimes the outside world can't be ignored, and Mr. Devlin has to go save the day somewhere and just can't wait for someone to finish her green beans. Those are then nights I let Thing 1 choose what's for dinner....usually mac-n-cheese. Leaving me to play hunter/gatherer on my own.

And that's one more reason why pasta is one of my favorite things. Cook and toss with whatever and it's a real meal (as opposed to a handful of cheesy poofs and some chocolate chips and a gulp of cold coffee that some of us have been known to survive on).
For example, dinner Friday night was a table for one, so I boiled up 2 cups of penne (I cook a little extra so Thing 2 can gum new foods). Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and mix with a can of tuna that's been drained. Add in some chopped tomatoes (oh, like, say the ones I've been growing on the patio) and drizzle with some salad dressing (in this case, I used some creamy asiago peppercorn but plain ol' Italian is really good too). Voila! Dinner. And a good one....a low-fat, high protein one. And I can pass on a handful of stale chips later because I'm satisfied.