NikkiZ’s Thanksgiving lunch at her school was scheduled for today. All week the menu has been growing as parents sign up to bring items. I told MrZ to sign up for the thing that takes the least effort (”Like cups.”) but he called me on the way home the other day freaking out. “It wasn’t listed out with options to choose. It wasn’t matching. It was FILL IN THE BLANK. I didn’t know what to do. I panicked. So I did nothing.”
I gave him a list of things to put on the list the next day, depending on what the other things on the list were. “Rolls, mac-n-cheese, baked beans…any of those things depending on what else others have signed up for.”
He called me on the way home the next night saying, “I panicked again! There was cornbread on the list. But I put us down for rolls. Even though there was cornbread. I couldn’t remember the other things. PLEASE CALL THE SCHOOL AND FIX IT.”
I called the school and they read me the menu so far. “The school provides turkey and your class list already shows jell-o, cornbread, green beans, and juice boxes.” After contemplating how awesome of a menu that was, I told her to put us down for mac-n-cheese.
I went home bit before lunch to fix the Mac-n-cheese. (Velveeta and shells! Better than powder kind I cook for my family.) I decided to make the baked beans (from a can) too. I just wasn’t comfortable with the current menu and felt we needed something else. So, I heated up the canned beans on the stove and put them in a casserole dish (to make it look like I baked them) and then cooked the Velveeta Shells and Cheese and put it my fancy pot and carried BOTH things to her school. It was awesome. I walked in that room with both of those containers and I totally made people think I was one of those cooking Moms. Everyone complimented it! (Except for NikkiZ who only ate the corn. Of course.) It was awesome. One of my finer parenting moments.
Several of the Moms were discussing how little effort they put into their contributions. “I brought juice boxes!” “I brought rolls and left them in the bag!” I totally didn’t even contribute, I sat there pretending like it took effort and time for my contribution. Something waaaay more than using a can-opener and open a box.
I think I put more effort into pretending I cooked something today than I ever have into actual cooking.
Haha you are a very impressive cook, MissZ. I am in awe of the baked beans
I’m impressed that you went with Shells and Cheese instead of the powder cheese!
Hee, that’s funny. It kills me that NikkiZ is all about eating her veggies.
Now I’m dying for some mac and cheese… and not the powdered kind.
My favorite faking it recipes:
Side Dish
Stouffers Frozen Mac-n-Cheese: Nuke it, put it in a fancy bowl, throw some sliced tomatos on top.
Dessert
Melt a cup of milk chocolate chips in the microwave. Stir them into a half thawed container of whipped cream. (turns it a little chocolate but mainly bits sort of crisp up in the cold again) toss in some raspberries. Throw the whole thing in a pre-made oreo cookie pie crust. Make it look fancy by putting more raspberries on top.
Practice your humble smile.
Melizzard - I am totally the person who wants to cook and do things from scratch. (I’m planning on making cranberry cobbler this weekend, just because.) But the raspberry/chocolate/cool whip concoction sounds heavenly!
Have you read “I don’t Know How She Does It?” by Allison Pearson
If not - you need to. Really.
Now I’m hungry for mac & cheese. I wouldn’t have told them either.
Well, you did do more actual cooking than the ones who supplied the juice boxes and rolls in a bag, so you should be pretty darn proud about that!
I always have Velveeta in my fridge and pasta in my cupboard.
Cook pasta.
Melt Velveeta.
Mix the two and scoop in casserole dish.
Top with shredded cheddar and montery jack
Bake at 350°
Heaven!
This post made me laugh out loud - that is so awesome.
I love that there is already potluck pressure - in preschool. How very deep South.
Just one more reason why I adore you! LOL!
good thing your daughter is a big veggie eater….i couldn’t imagine having a kid that didn’t like veggies.
I’m with mdv…that’s the kind of homemade mac ‘n cheese I make. And it’s sooooooo simple. Sounds like you did an awesome job!!! It’s your fault I’m hungry.
Yum. Mac n’ cheese and baked beans are the two thing I look foward to at holiday functions. Together of course, you can’t have one without the other. Forget that fancy stuff!
That sounds awesome. I’ve never been the cooking mom, in fact, I’ve been consistantly overshadowed by all of the other cooking mom’s for my son’s school. Someday, I will shock them all.
ROFLMAO!!!! Good for you! All of our schools are very lame. We’re not allowed to cook anything for our kids… everything must be store bought and sealed…. even our daycares are like this. As if I’d poison someone else’s child. Come on… That’s an honor I save just for my kids, lol
Mmmm, velveeta and shells. Who doesn’t love velveeta?
This kind of thing give me hives… *gets mom anxiety*
My mom still thinks I make fresh bread … I buy the frozen loaves from Kroger … I haven’t the heart to tell her