To be annoyed with MIL's almost out of date chicken?

[MrCollinsandhisboiledpotatoes]

Last night, about 4pm, MIL turns up while I was out with a pack of chicken breasts with the use by date of yesterday, puts them in our fridge and says they have to be eaten today (yesterday) as it's the last day. DH tells me when I get home that there's chicken in the fridge that must be eaten tonight.
I'm like, OK.... But I have stuff I had planned for dinner tonight and all week in fact, and I've got my own use-by dates on the stuff I bought and the week's dinners planned accordingly and now you're going to throw that all out of whack because we have to eat MIL's chicken instead, because of her poor planning and/or reluctance to throw out her own shit, you acting like her food waste bin?
But DH thinks we should be grateful?
Who's side are you on?

This is exactly my thoughts. Thank you.

Love how the OP is getting slated for .... planning her meals and having a full freezer. Ridiculous.

The one and only time my parents have had keys to my house i came home from a weekend away to a broken oven in my living room. My dad was optimistic that he would be able to fix it. 3 months later a second broken oven appeared and he was sure he could make a good oven out of the pair of them. They sat in the garage until we renovated the kitchen and then they went to the scrap man still broken and we bought a new oven

I’d be annoyed too OP

I hate food waste, clearly you do too and clearly your MIL hates it too but rather than deal with her own impending food waste issue she’s palmed it off on you.

Why can’t MIL cook it, freeze it, casserole it or any of the other oh so easy suggestions (that all take time and freezer space)?

MIL has just given OP an extra job to do instead of doing it herself

Does she not have a bin if that was the case? You don’t like her and are looking for an excuse to have a go at her. Just freeze the bloody chicken.

Ah, at least it was in date. My in laws often bring stuff that is both out of date and has been on a six hour car journey not in a cool bag. I just bin it.

Then she can just throw the chicken away. No need for drama.

I am on your side with this OP. It’s the same vibe as when someone brings a huge bag of crap over to your house as they have had a clear out and thought you might like some shitty half broken toys for your DC. Winds me up no end.

I used to have a neighbour that grew their own veg and used to dump box fulls of stuff outside my back door that I’d never get through. Even worse was they expect favours in return. Like I gave you some beetroot and now I want you to help me paint my porch. CF’er.

I buy lots of reduced meat and poultry on the day it needs to be used and freeze it immediately. I only ever defrost it to cook.

Anyone who's week is 'thrown out of whack' by a pack of chicken is the one with issues.

She's clearly put you in a fowl mood

But you can also just freeze it even if it's the sell by date.

A package of chicken is not in any way comparable to someone unloading a skipload of broken toys on you, or bartering you unwanted beetroot for DIY.

It's the same vibe though. Getting rid of stuff under the guise of gifting it.

Like the PP describing her SIL offloading a pram onto her. It's the same thing as the chicken, but on a larger scale.

I really struggle to believe that all of the performatively unbothered posters on here would be thinking 'oh! how lovely that MIL has turned up with some chicken on a Sunday afternoon! Sure, at 4pm I had a bit of a plan of what I was going to make the family for dinner that same day, but to be fair I really do need to curb my obsessive and controlling tendencies on this anyway, so it's great I've come home to the news that this chicken is for tea now! How kind and generous of MIL to bring me this chicken she didn't want, and I'm sure the stuff I had planned will keep for another day! What a treat!'

I hate it when people gift food or ingredients as a way to make themselves feel better about not wasting it.

Little do they know I run a strict emetophobe household. EVERYTHING GETS BINNED. Hah!

I have some sympathy as my neighbours always drop around with a bag of stuff from their fridge before they go on holiday, "so you can use it up. We don't want to contribute to food waste."

I don't want to have to come up with something to do with half a bag of carrots, whole milk (which we don't use) some wrinkly tomatoes and a petit filou.

Still, you can always poach chicken breasts and leave them in the fridge for another few days until you have occasion to use them.

Has anyone said that? Most people are saying they would be thinking "ok, bit annoying". Not that they would positively welcome it but that they just wouldn't see it as enough of an imposition to give it any further thought.

Non issue

I actually find it far harder to believe in the performatively knickers-in-a-twist, ‘Call the UN! The peace talks have been thrown off by some unexpected chicken!’ ones.

I mean, it’s no wonder half the site has no friends and is NC with their family.

But if nobody ever started threads about anything that they were a bit annoyed by....

That would be a challenging episode of Master Chef

No idea, but she didn’t and I don’t care 🤣

Exactly. It’s the intention behind it. Dressing up something as a gift rather than what it actually is. If I have stuff I don’t want anymore and think someone else might like it, I ASK them first.

I think it's more Ready Steady Cook

I’d be chucking it.
If I had a dog or cat, I’d cook it for them and chuck the rest.