The Longest Day of Cooking of My Life Thus Far. Part One.

or, yet another detour on the long road to domestication. Or, isn't it true: pride cometh before the fall. I'm not even sure where to begin this post. I had illusions of grandeur apparently when I set out. I was going to share pictures of my perfectly executed, gorgeous prepared meal to take to my friend who recently had a baby. But alas, I have no photos.  And I didn't have a salad and I didn't wrap the gift either. Back Story:  You see, I missed my friends baby shower. Because I was super selfish all summer studying for that test and I have felt like a jerk, especially after she and her pregnant self and her husband found the time to attend my graduation party. And out of my shame, I didn't rsvp or email or call when I missed the shower.  Her baby was due on my man's birthday and I figured he would make his appearance right around his due date. But he came early. And spent some time in the NICU and I didn't even know about it. Umm, because I am not on facebook. Oh, and because I missed the shower. So my friend emailed me the day after my test was over to let me know her beautiful son had come into the world. I promptly called her and told her I would really like to bring them dinner and spend some time with her. And she graciously accepted! So I planned a meal on Tuesday. I decided on a less seasoned version of chicken spaghetti for a number of reasons:  1. I have experience making it.2. It's simple.3. It reheats / freezes and reheats well even for a person who does not like leftovers.4. Chicken is neutral and one of the things they eat.5. Pasta is comfort food. They have had a lot of stress.6. It's Handsome's favorite. I think it is rather delicious, too. And I found a tasty recipe for desert as well. Something I hadn't ever tried before, but thought it looked simple enough. So I scoured our cabinets and drawers, compared to the recipes, and wrote a list. I wanted to shop Tuesday evening, but I was tired. So it didn't happen.  But I woke up early and set out to the grocery store. I intentionally went to one of the stores a little farther from our house, because I just knew that there was a better chance that they would have all of the ingredients I needed and thus, would simplify the day even farther.  (Part Dos coming next week).