Zen and the art of diffusing a kitchen bomb with a piece of chewing gum.

She glances up from her newest cookbook at the two burner stove that properly functions about as often as our government. A pile of ingredients rest on the kitchen table/workspace/desk/living room table. She smirks at the tiny sink and dishwasher that does little more than steam dirty plates. Challenge, accepted.

We've been sentenced to 25 days in an extended stay-style motel room.

I've begun writing "redrum" on the outside window with my index finger and spent countless hours staring at the ceiling wondering what, exactly, IS that stain?? My husband is sleeping on the couch. Our evenings are spent staring at each other like zombies, across the single small table in the room. I've discovered cooking in this um, "kitchen" is more like an episode of Macgyver than Rachael Ray.

Thank goodness I packed a survival kit:

*My Calphalon knife set including kitchen scissors
*2 stainless steel pans
* Salt, pepper, and sweet paprika
* Measuring cup set
*2 mixing bowls
*My wood chopping block

And, my trusty crock pot. That's it folks. That's all I have. So far, we haven't died of hunger and I've managed to make a meal every single night. Here's one of the modified recipes I've made so far:

Loaded baked potato soup in a crockpot:

Ingredients:
5 slices thick cut bacon, cut in small pieces
4 garlic cloves
1 large minced onion
1 tsp thyme
4 tbsp. flour
5 cups chicken broth
3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Cheese, plain greek yogurt, and chives for topping.

-Cook bacon in a skillet until fully cooked through. Remove and place on a plate.
-Cook onion in the skillet with the bacon fat until translucent, add garlic and thyme.
-Add flour to the onions to coat, and cook until translucent again (about 1-2 minutes).
-Add 1 cup chicken brother and stir. Allow to cook down until the onions become sort of gooey.
-Transfer onion mixture and bacon into the crockpot.
-Add the remaining broth.
-Cook on high 4-5 hours, or until potatoes are tender.
-Once the potatoes are tender, mash in the pot and add milk and cream.
-Mix well, allow to cook for about 5-10 minutes more to heat the milk and cream.
-Scoop out each serving, top with a heaping dollop of greek yogurt, cheese and green onions or chives.
Makes about 6-8 dinner-size bowl servings.

Macgyver challenge note: I forgot my potato masher and potato peeler.. so I found myself with a fork and slotted wooden spoon mashing these bad boys up. I left a lot of cooked chunks, and it actually really added to the texture of the meal. My husband (while noticing me attempting to use the dilapidated slicer that came with the room on 3 pounds of potatoes), asked me "I guess you've never spent time in the brink?". No husband, I haven't... until just now.