Okay, the title should pretty much speak for itself. But just in case, I included both Susan and Sam as both men and women are guilty of this at one time or another. Being lazy in the kitchen that is. Heck, even I have had my moments!
So, it's Wednesday night and it has already been a long week. You get home and the family is expecting dinner. You have 3 choices:
A. You call your favorite pizza place for delivery.
B. You cook up a nice casserole, but use instant Au Gratin potatoes.
C. You do B, but instead of instant, you peel and slice fresh potatoes.
While A is a good answer, it is not as nutritious. B is the "lazy" way. First of all, how long does it REALLY take to peel and slice 4 or 5 potatoes? Even 6 for that matter? And they taste a whole lot better than anything out of a box!
What got me on this "rant"? Last night my son's girlfriend said she would give me a break in the kitchen and make her "famous" chicken, broccoli, potato, and cheese casserole. It sounded good, so I said go for it. We had all the ingredients, including some Yukon Gold potatoes that I showed her and said they had to be used. I went out to run some errands, since I didn't have to cook, and when I came back, she had left my son in charge to watch the casserole in the oven, while she ran out to see a friend. Okay, not the best thing to do to earn my respect in the kitchen. By the time the casserole was done, or at least we thought it was done, she had returned. I had gotten my plate and was taking a bite when I noticed the potatoes were kind of "crunchy". I let her know, and she said, "well, I guess they need to stay in a little longer. I didn't use your potatoes, I used a box of instant Au Gratin I had left over." I felt like tossing it out then and there, but I maintained and kept my cool. No need to start a family feud over instant potatoes, right? Suffice to say she will never cook in my kitchen again.
The moral? Don't be a "lazy" cook, whether you or a "Susan" or "Sam". Take the extra few minutes to use the "fresh" stuff, it makes a world of difference.
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That's awful. I can kind of understand instant potatoes in an emergency - potato blights, nuclear fallout, etc. I'm impressed with your self control.
ReplyDeleteWhile guilty of taking a shortcut here or there on a schoolnight - I agree on the potatoes... Congrats on keeping your cool - and nice to read your blog with standards!
ReplyDeleteWell, I take a shortcut here and there too, but never have I substituted instant anything or fresh ingrediants. Of course, when it comes to pasta I don't make my own. I sometimes wish I did though. Until Buitoni I used the packaged dry stuff, which was "okay". But now that I have tried several of the pastas from Buitoni, I don't think I could ever go back.
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