Lighthearted one for you - I’ve offended someone with my dinner for this evening

[Helpmyarse]

A fellow school mum popped in to drop some things off for me to take up to the school (I volunteer Thursday afternoon).

While she was here, I got tonight’s dinner out of the oven. I always make something in a tray on Thursdays as it’s a busy day for everyone (me, dh, ds 23, dd 13 and dd 6). It’s a cluster fuck of afterschool clubs, dh working from the office, ds on a late shift. So it just makes sense to have something in a tray that everyone can help themselves to and eat at different times; it’s only me and the 6 year old here at our usual dinner time on a Thursday.

Today I made sausage and bean pie. Sausages cut up, mixed with beans, cheesy mash on top. Easier than sausage, mash and beans kept separately IMO, when people are grabbing dinner.

Lazy bitch, aren’t I? Stay at home mum as well, I should be standing in the kitchen whipping up a three course meal whenever anyone wants to eat.

Anyway, I got it out the oven and you should have seen her face. Appalled that I would feed my family cut up beans and sausages and that were weren’t all going to sit around the table to a freshly prepared meal (we would all have to wait until about 9pm on a Thursday to eat together at the table, sod that).

She would never feed her family this meal. I did ask, would she feed them sausage and mash. Yes, she said. So I asked what the difference was. “This isn’t fresh! You don’t work, you could have made it this evening.” okay, crazy lady.

Anyway, lighthearted as she’s a silly cow, but here’s a photo of the offending dinner that horrified her.

Imagine commenting on someone’s dinner prep 🤣 what a sad life.

She’s the same age as me, 46.

What kind of sausages and do you precook them before you mix them with the beans? Because you've just given me an idea for tea tonight.

Cowboy food! Are there likely to be any leftovers? <puts on a hopeful expression>

The baked beans are in the pie?

I am coming to yours for tea. That looks yum.

How much did she say and how much did you infer?

When I was Sahm - I used to always do this. Otherwise what happens is you have a full busy day and at teatime want to sit on your butt like everyone else , but have to get up and cook.

So much easier putting a prepped tray in the oven.

My only question- and I really need to know this because I'm putting this on my repertoire immediately- is do you pre-brown the sausages?
Ta! And thanks very much for the idea! Sounds perfect for an autumn/winter dinner to MAKE IN ADVANCE! 😂

Ridiculous! What does it matter you cooked it in advance? Surely that means you have more attention to give your family after school?

We always cook in larger quantities so it's 'fresh' day 1 and reheated day 2 and maybe 3. Apart from the days we eat oven food.

Just a couple of packs of Aldis own sausages (imagine if I’d told her that 🤣), I cook them in the stainless steel tray in the oven while the potatoes are cooking, chop them up, shove a couple of tins of beans in, top with the mash and then into the oven.

Aside from peeling potatoes (I hate doing that), it’s so quick.

She is both rude and ridiculous. Cheesy mash is the food of the gods. It is perfectly acceptable to make something like that in advance and my mother (a 60s SAHM) certainly did.

Yes, cook them in the tray I’ve used while the potatoes are boiling. So it’s all cooked, just in the oven to brown the cheese.

I bet if you'd put it into individual Le Creuset dishes instead of one big tray she'd have been impressed

Apart from being a veggie, this sounds awesome! I love mash, beans, lovely comfort food. My mum used to make a big vat of pork and (baked) beans stew type thing, served with crusty french bread for busy days like this, went down a storm. One of our fav meals growing up and I bet yours will remember your food just as fondly.

I need to go to Aldi later when it isnt pissing it down and get a parcel from the inpost locker so Aldi bangers it is.
Looks like I'm not the only one cooking it up for tea tonight.

You can mash them with the skins on (scrumpled potato topping with crispy burnt bits and cheese... our family "thing")

Disgusting. Imagine not putting cheese on top 😂

My children also love it with gravy and peas mixed with the sausage under the potatoes instead of beans - they had that last week.

i kight have wondered why not cook it so it comes out closer to the time the first shift will be eating because I wouldn't want the faff of waiting for it to cool down + then finding space in the fridge for it til teatime.

but it's WILD that she felt entitled to pass comment on it.

Oooh, I am going to try that!

Looks amazing to be. Unfortunately my kids won’t eat sausage and one won’t touch mash. I’m a sahm too and often use the slow cooker or prep ahead of time. Seems to make sense of any time I freeze during the day so I can focus on the kids after the school run.

Well the internet disagrees and I am making this tomorrow. With the frozen mash and sausages DP cooked.

She's a bit rude and up herself. I'd not have been able to listen to her comments without letting her know. You were very polite, OP.

Also, cowboy pie = 😋

Bet if you called it something like 'pork and beans cooked in a tomato sauce topped with crushed potatoes and cheese' she wouldn't have said anything.

I leave for the school at lunchtime on a Thursday (I do a volunteer role there one afternoon a week), and I don’t get home with the 6 year old until 4:15 (have to pick up 13 year old from school in another town and drop her at an activity that dh picks her up from after work).

There is just no time on a Thursday to cook unless it’s in the morning.