I woke up at 4:15 am and could not get back to sleep.

(Thanks a lot Prednisone.)

I’ve been fighting an infection for a few weeks and just finished the second round of antibiotics. On Memorial Day, I didn’t lift a finger and just rested up.

That meant I needed to do my writing and clean the house before my friends came over on Tuesday evening.

I spent the morning writing and then decided to skip cleaning the basement today and pace myself.

(Yeah, right.)

As he was leaving, college boy said, “By the way, Mom, my new girlfriend will be here for dinner tonight and we will watch a DVD downstairs while your friends are here.

(Yep, cleaning the basement went back on my list.)

I had thawed out ham and planned on making “Ham with Pasta,” which happens to be one of his favorites. I decided to cut up fruit, candy a bag of baby carrots and rip up lettuce for a green salad.

I was finishing up with the vacuum, when he called to say she might beat him here. I started the sauce and made my first mistake.

I doubled the recipe.

While it was warming up, I set the table, cut up cantaloupe, added fresh blueberries and frozen raspberries to some dessert bowls. I hoped they would thaw before we ate.

The dryer stopped. I shut the sauce off, and folded the last load of laundry.

Back upstairs, I turned the sauce back on, started water for the pasta, mixed the ingredients to candy the carrots, and ripped up some green leaf lettuce.

The sauce would not thicken. My friends would be here in an hour and I turned up the heat. It started to stick and I worried it would scorch.

I shut it off and got out the soup bowls.

My husband teased me…asking where the croutons were…but besides that, the dish was a success. It had all of the flavor, but was runny.

(In desperation, I even tried adding 1/2 cup of corn starch to it, to no avail.)

It wasn’t the prettiest dinner I have ever served because the frozen berries stained the cantaloupe.

The next time your entrée fails, don’t call for pizza, just call it soup!

Ham with Pasta

1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon Cornstarch

2 Cups Milk

1/8 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

2 Cups Cubed Ham

1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons Parsley

4 Ounces Pasta

In medium saucepan, blend cornstarch and milk until smooth; stir in garlic. Over low heat bring just to a boil. Stir in ham, 1/2 the cheese, parsley, and a dash of pepper. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with pasta and sprinkle with remaining cheese.