Beef Skillet Supper — The Thursday Constant

The lake was doing what the lake does this week: changing color hourly, sometimes by the minute, the way grief does. Iron gray at dawn. Steel blue by ten. Almost green by noon when the sun broke through. Pewter again by four. Black by six. I walked the lakefront with Sven on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Saturday, and the lake was different every time, and the lake was the same every time, and both things are how it works. Jakob (Anna's middle, recently graduated) has a job. He hates the job. He is figuring it out. He called me Tuesday for advice. I told him: that is what your twenties are for. The first job is supposed to be unsatisfying. The first job teaches you what you do not want. He said, "Grandma, that is not super helpful." I said, "It is the truth. Helpful is not always the same as comforting." He laughed. He hung up. He kept the job for now. He will figure it out. Lena (Anna's youngest, college freshman) is in college now. She calls me sometimes. The calls are about boys, mostly. I listen. I do not give advice. I am eighteen-year-old's grandmother. My credibility on boys is suspect at best. I tell her the kinds of things a grandmother is supposed to tell her: be careful, be brave, trust your gut, do not date the one who reminds you of someone you do not like. She thinks I am wise. I am, in fact, just old. The two get confused sometimes in the right direction. I cooked Wild rice soup (always) this week. The Thursday constant. The soup does not respect the calendar. Thursday: soup. Always soup. Gerald said, "You are the most reliable woman in Duluth." I said, "I am the most reliable woman in this kitchen." He said, "Same thing." I do not think that is the same thing. I think that is a kindness Gerald gives me because Gerald is kind. I take the kindness. I do not argue. I lit a candle in the kitchen for no particular reason. Maybe for Mamma. Maybe for Pappa. Maybe for Lars. Maybe for Paul. Maybe for all of them. The candle is a tall white tapered one, set in a brass holder Mamma had on her dining room table for forty years. I let it burn down. The dripping wax made a small white pool on the brass. I cleaned it off. I lit another one the next night. It is enough. It has to be. And on a morning like this, with the lake doing what the lake does and the dog at my feet and the bread on the counter and the kitchen warm enough to live in, it is. I have learned, slowly, that there is a kind of competence that comes only with age. Not wisdom, exactly — wisdom is a word too grand for what I mean. Competence. The competence of having watched many things go wrong and many things go right and having developed an internal database of which is which. The competence is, perhaps, the only thing that improves with age in a body that is otherwise declining. I will take the trade. The Damiano Center has changed slowly over the years. The director has changed three times in the period I have volunteered. The volunteer roster has rotated, with new faces every year. The pot — the actual physical fifty-gallon stock pot — has been replaced once. The recipe has not changed. The recipe is a constant. The constancy is the gift the recipe gives to a place where so much else is in flux. It is enough.

The soup is the Thursday constant, but some weeks the kitchen asks for something heavier, something that fills the cast iron and holds the warmth the way the brass holder holds the candle. This beef skillet supper is that kind of meal — one pan, no fuss, the sort of thing you can set on the table while the lake turns from pewter to black outside the window and know it will be enough.

Beef Skillet Supper

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Brown the beef. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef and onion until the meat is no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Build the sauce. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil.
3. Cook the pasta. Add uncooked macaroni to the skillet. Stir well, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer for 15–18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid.
4. Finish with cheese. Remove from heat. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top, cover, and let stand 2–3 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve directly from the skillet.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 820mg