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.

I’d swap the sausage for a veggie sausage, probably add more cheese, tump it with white pepper and mop it up with white bread and butter. Oooof now you’re talking 👌🏼

Ooh, I had a variant of this growing up, a recipe from the Jimmy Young Show, known colloquially as "Sicky Bean Pie", but it had bacon bits instead of sausages and I remember chopped onions being in the mash... I loved it as a child. As to your friend turning up her nose... she was probably jealous that she was not invited to dinner!

There was an absolute fuck ton of cheese in the actual mash as well as on top!

Right, off to listen to reception kids read.

"I can't be doing with a pallid sausage!"

@BillieWiper This has to be my favourite sentence of the week so far.😁

I hate both beans and mashed potato, but then I don't have to eat it, and, had I been in your kitchen when you were taking it out of the oven I would just have remarked on how great it smelled and how lucky your family was that you made it for them! Anyone passing judgement on what someone else cooks or eats is a judgy cow.

I cannot imagine going to someone's house and criticising their dinner. Lack of grace and manners. What does on ehope to achieve with that apart from adding poison and negativity to someone's day to make themselves feel better. How selfish.

Horrible dinner and to be honest I get the judgement.

A cottage pie would be much better for you and easy to do.

I work but from home and for myself so I am here all day!! My kids have that many clubs etc that every eats between 4.30-8.30 depend on who is doing what.
most our meals in the week are ingredients dumped in the slow cooker and you can take some out when you are ready to eat it.
Saturday and Sunday are the only days we eat together. I would say the mash was in more effort then I would have put in to a week day need to prep for every one meal

My friend is an amazing cook and made delicious meals most nights. Her son was picky as hell and wouldn’t touch anything other than nuggets and chips. So that’s what he got. He’s 23 now and perfectly healthy. I was fairly appalled at his diet though, but certainly never said anything as I’m sure she’d tried everything to get him to eat the meals she was cooking for herself and husband.
You have cooked a hot meal that works for your family. She can cook how she wants to and keep her beak out of it.
My only thought: where’s the veg?

Wearing the pie!

Just kidding, that would be a waste of good food.

Thanks OP, after 50 years of meal planning, shopping and cooking I'm a bit fed up with the food merry go round and always on the lookout for new and easy dinners. This will be delicious (and I'll use instant mash as well).

Sorry @Helpmyarse but this is entirely your fault. You clearly didn’t communicate properly about using organic potatoes that you had hand harvested that morning at the break of dawn, along with sausages made from pigs fed purely on free range acorns and reared by monks. The beans, of course, were grown by a fair trade organic cooperative. I’m guessing her ingredients were purchased in a supermarket….. how slovenly!

Could I have mine with venison sausages please and herbs in the mash and NOT cheese. Cheese is chasing me wherever I go.
I think you do well with your organising skills @Helpmyarse

I do similar on a Monday. I don't work that day so tend to make a long winded tea , such as lasagna or shepherd pie. I make it in the morning, so we only have to re-heat it. Everyone else is home by 5, so we get to eat a bit earlier than the rest of the week. If I tried to make this after work we wouldn't eat until after 7pm!
If it was just adults that wouldn't be so bad, but packing children of to bed straight after a full meal is just recipe for disaster (know from experience 🤦‍♀️)

I make something similar with corned beef! Mash with corned beef chunks lightly mixed in and topped with cheese which bakes for about 20 minutes. Sometimes I mix in washed, tinned mixed beans or have baked beans on the side and if I feel a bit guilty then add some steamed broccoli or peas to make it less beige.
I never thought about doing a 'hash' (as I call it) with sausages so that's given me food for thought (literally) 🤔

I wonder how stressed your school mum 'friend' gets providing a home cooked meal that covers all the major food groups daily? Christmas Day must be a total stress fest!

@Helpmyarse

I make slightly simlar dish which is basically the same but mash and cheese top more of a sausage caserol mix. What would make your friend sick in her own mouth is it my go to for using up ramdom sauusage. The odd bratwurst, hot dog or chrizo left in the freezer Last one i made was particularly delicious

Tasty. Thanks for the recipe idea!

Instant mash is the food of the gods!!

I love a buttered oven bottom muffin with instant mash on.
A Lancahire Maritozzo x

Thanks - never heard of cowboy pie but my DD will love this 👍
Wonder what it would be like with sweet potato topping?

The two aspects to this, in my opinion are

a) that she thought it. It’s a totally fine dinner, judgemental of her to have thought it was inadequate but whatever.

b) the fact that she SAID it! To me, that’s just wild. No normal person would have voiced this thought.

Very much a her problem. But you know this.

It's not something I'd eat or cook, and unless you were busy in the afternoon I wouldn't reheat a dinner either I would've just made it in the afternoon/early evening, it's not a complicated thing to prepare. I think things like stew/curry develop flavour for the next day but not mash and baked beans. However I wouldn't have said a word, my choices are not yours

What does she mean, it’s “not fresh”?? You just made it!

Is she half blind and thought it was a UPF ready meal?

anyway she’s a cheeky cow and she wouldn’t get back in my house again! And it’s she’s such a super SAHM, she can take her own bloody stuff up to the school!

That would be a nightmare dinner for my family but I certainly wouldn't stand in someone else home and openly criticize or pull faces. Rude!

Ooooooo....perfect for the colder months yummy 😋

I haven't eaten meat for years but that photos made my mouth water! What a weird comment, many of us grew up on meals like that. Reminds me of Bonfire night.

What's enough though - I mean how many cans of beans did you use for your size dish? Is it saucy? Like, should I be going for a low rent sort of cottage pie thing?