The following Sunday afternoon, with the cook-off less than a week away, Reese and Kayla again set up for a trial run. Kayla went to the store by herself Saturday evening, and came home with exactly what she thought should go into the pot. The ingredients followed closely Lady Bird’s original recipe, except that Kayla decided to go all out to impress and substitute sirloin tips for the ground beef.
As they spread the stuff out Sunday afternoon, Reese looked askance at the two packets of steak. She also commented on the cans of tomatoes, which looked of much better quality than the stewed tomatoes Kayla had purchased the week before.
“K, how much did all this cost? This is only a trial run, you know. We’ll have to make four times as much for the real thing. I mean—steak?”
Kayla looked ne
