To think a plate of meat is not "dinner"

[hollie84]

This might sound petty but me and DP have just had a big argument about this and aren't talking!

DP cooked dinner tonight. Normally we eat earlier with the children but today he suggested we eat after they're in bed.

He had bought two packs of prepared chicken breasts from Aldi last time he went shopping - the "ready to cook" types, one was hunters chicken and the other was a mini roast with sausage and stuffing.

When he presents dinner, it was a plate with one hunters chicken breast, one chicken breast with gravy, a sausage and stuffing. Nothing else

We have had this issue before, as although he is a good cook he sometimes serves meals which I feel lack a basic part - I know it is possible to skip carbs but generally I think a meal requires protein, veg and carbs. He will make for example just fish and rice with no veg, or stir fried veg/meat with no rice or noodles.

Anyway, a massive plate of chicken was a step to far for me and I did complain about it not being a meal and being a waste of money. He feels aggrieved.

AIBU?

OK well tell him you will apologise and cook all dinners for both of you for the rest of your life IF he can show you ONE MENU where this dish of meat is on offer.

Other than that, just serve up a plate of meat for him for every meal. You can have carbs and veg; he just has meat since he thinks that's a full meal.

Bloody hell, life's hard enough without having to explain to a grown man what a dinner is!

sorry but that is funny!

DH does weird plates of food too. Today for his lunch he did a bowl.of supernoodles and then had sliced bread and butter with it thankfully I was eating soup.

He will buy dinner of dry chicken breasts and wedges.....no sauces. I get confused and end up.slopping a dollop.of garlic mayo on the plate fot dunking.

We now have an arrangement - I text him ingredients and he shops. I cook.

YANBU

Some veg or even chips would have made it a meal.

Without either it is just pieces of meat in some sauce.

Stuffing is carbs

My lot have a habit of skipping the veg when they're cooking (DH and 2 grown up kids) - I just grab a handful of salad and crunch it at them. If the carbs are missing I sometimes get a bit of bread. Not worth a fight IMO.

DP thinks super noodles and a baked potato is a healthy dinner. But then dmil serves up chilli with rice, baked potato and garlic bread so I can see where he gets it from!

Is he low carbing?

Sorry, that is rather amusing - one of the men I work with is very into building muscle so eats a LOT of protein, that sounds like something he'd eat (minus the sauces!)

Well he served what he thought was an acceptable meal and all you did was moan about it, so I do think that YABabitU and ungrateful. I agree that it is an odd thing to serve up but he was obviously ok with it and why should your wants trump his? Presumably you serve what you want to eat when you cook?

I would suggest meating in the middle and if he is cooking ask him what is on the menu and then say "I would quite like some veg/rice/whatever with that, so I'll cook that, would you like some too?"

The combination of one chicken breast with a BBQ sauce and one chicken breast with gravy was not nice

I gave him one of mine anyway as two while chicken breasts are too much for me.

The thing that really confused me is the he had peeled, chopped and cooked carrots for the children's tea.

Ooh I didnt see that! Gravy and BBQ sauce on one plate would be a bit gross! But I would suggest doing your own veg in future or getting some salad rather then out and out criticisng, it can be gutting when you have cooked what you think is an acceptable meal only for it to be complained about.

Bogeyface - we have had the conversation many times about me liking vegetables with my meals (and I do insist the kids get vegetables) so it's not come as a shock for him!

He's definitely not low carbing or a muscle building sort so not sure what he was thinking.

We do stuff like that sometimes... We call it shit on a plate. But it's like deliberate for lazy picky food days and all one one big plate with dippy stuff.

I like noodle sarnies though have to admit sometimes

Before I was married to DH when he still used to cook he once made a beef stew when I was visiting, plated it up in the kitchen with a huge jacket potato plonked in the middle of each plate, like an island in a sea of gravy, & no veg.

YABVVVVVVU you lucky thing your dh cooks. My dh does not know what to do with an egg and blooming saucepan

Sorry I am laughing. My dh was making stew in the slow cooker as I had had surgery. Thought he realised I did potatoes and veg separately. He appeared upstairs and asked where he would get the tatties and veg as they hadn't seemed to appear in the slow cooker.

But I need more than just some meat too. My dad used to think if it showed on the box,then it was in there

My DP will make himself just meat for his dinner. Meal times were causing a huge issue for us so he started shopping and cooking for himself a while ago! I cook and eat with the kids And he sorts himself out!!

Today for his lunch he did a bowl.of supernoodles and then had sliced bread and butter

Food of gods, I have grated cheese with mine as well.

I sometimes just have meat with bread and butter.

That sounds revolting, OP.

And just the kind of thing my DP would do occasionally.

YANBU
We try to have a balanced meal: protein, carbs and veg although that could be soup or salad for starters then meat/fish with rice. I am lucky DP likes greenery on his plate! The one thing I object to is fast food. Most of the time, it's as quick to cook pasta at home and throw together a tomato base sauce

Get some frozen veg and say can he do some of that next time and maybe choose things that don't mix sauces in a bizarre way.

I would find being presented with a plate of food like that as a "normal" dinner (ie we haven't said let's just have what we fancy and forget the greens) rather baffling.

• TBH if I had said a lot that I liked normal meals that were normal and he insisted on dishing that up I'd think he was doing it deliberately TBH to wind me up and/or make me do all the cooking as what he was giving me was something he knew I would find odd and grim.

how peculiar, I would have said something too, if he is cooking for you he may as well make something you like, what's the point of cooking for someone if you know they're not going to enjoy it.

Witchway that stew with spud and gravy sounds delicious

My DH tends to do similar.
Meals do however usually contain potatoes, I think even he'd draw the line at just chicken.
He very often simply doesn't bother with veg though. Annoys me a bit and he is getting better.
He likes all veg so don't know why he does this.

gamerchick - We call it shit on a plate

That is going on next week's meal planner

Thing is he is not an incapable man child type at all - he bakes all our bread and also made a carrot cake tonight, he stays at home with the children 3 days a week.

I ended up doing some peas for myself and rescuing some chips that DS1 had left from his tea, so in the end had a fairly reasonable meal

DP ate three chicken breasts