My parents and sisters heartily agree.

Tonight I was the crafty homemaker, which is a term I despise, so you know if I'm going to apply it to myself, I was indeed, a very crafty homemaker. For dinner yesterday, I put ham slices, red potatoes and fresh green beans in a crock pot, and served them after simmering them away most of the day. Yummo. But because this was bought to feed my parents and sisters over the weekend, but we didn't get around to making it, I had way more potatoes and green beans than a family of four can eat.

So tonight I sliced the potatoes into 1/2" slices and layered them with some frozen sirloin burger patties that Chris had bought for us to grill out over the Fourth, but then I bought fresh [edible] hamburger at my favorite butcher from my old home, and had my mom transport it up here for us. Then I put the leftover green beans down the middle of the overlapping burgers and potato slices, and poured cream of mushroom soup and smoked salt over that, sealed it up in foil, and slow-baked it until Chris got home. Could I be any more Betty Crockerish?

As Chris sat it down on the table, Izzy starts in on how he hates that, he's not going to eat it, he doesn't like it, and on and on and on and on. We tell him tough, it's that or nothing and he says, "But mom, some people don't like the meals you cook." Chris snickered, but I had to laugh as well, for it's been a fairly recent development that my parent's don't ask if I put Tabasco in everything I fix for them.

But Izzy tried it [because we withheld the applesauce until he did] and he said, "Yum!" That's right, YUM! They all cleaned their plates and I nearly did [but hamburger at it's best isn't my favorite] and then Izzy fought Chris over the leftovers for their lunch tomorrow.

You're right - that last paragraph had nothing to do with the rest of the post. BUT MY WHOLE FAMILY HAPPILY ATE A MEAL I PREPARED! I had to get that down in writing.