Monday, November 23, 2009

But... It's Not Themed!

Monday Menu: Lunch: BBQ Little Smokies, Chips and Fruit Dinner: Tacos, Spanish Rice and Green Beans

For the week of Halloween I did a special themed menu. Funny names and spooky food. Halloween is my birthday, and my favorite time of the year, so I thought it would be fun… Little did I know it would come back to haunt me. This morning I received an e-mail alerting me to the fact that the boys were “disappointed” that I had not done a thanksgiving themed menu for this week (not a stitch of turkey anywhere on the meal plan), and requesting that I do a Christmas theme for next week’s meals. All of this is code for “Kristen you’ve spoiled them, and they’re a bunch of whiney babies”.

I figured they were done with themed menus after a slight mishap with some chicken wings that caused food coloring to be banned (unfairly… see the whiney baby part above and maybe add wuss to it). Besides, why do a Thanksgiving meal when, on Thursday, they are all going home to have Thanksgiving meals? So, now I’m at a loss. What exactly can I do to make a Christmas themed meal? While I’m sure they would love a meal of nothing but Christmas cookies, that is out of the question, and I’m fairly sure immoral somehow. Elf shaped meatloaves seems wrong. And, as I mentioned before, food coloring has been banned. A horrifying thought just came to me! Does this mean they’ll want themes for every holiday? Am I doomed to fashion Easter bunny meatballs? What on earth will I serve for Presidents’ Day? How do I get myself into these messes?

On a lighter note, I served this casserole up this past Friday, and apparently it was a big hit. Something about the sausage and the crispy hash browns and the cheese…

Sausage and Hash Brown Bake
Serves 20

18 cups Frozen Hash browns (do not thaw)
7 pounds Bulk Sausage (browned and drained)
6 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
26 Eggs
1 1/4 cups Milk
3 cups Small Curd Cottage Cheese
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 shallow (2 inch deep) commercial baking pans. Layer pans equally with hash browns, sausage and cheese. Beat together eggs, milk, cottage cheese, salt and pepper. Pour over hash brown mixture. Bake uncovered 45-50 minutes or until hash browns are crispy and center is set.

3 comments:

  1. Maybe meatloaf presents... sculpted hams... and santa deviled eggs.

    Katie

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  2. You are going to have quite the cookbook put together after a few months of this!

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  3. Hehe,when people were bitching that there wasn't turkey they complained that it was a national holiday and Halloween wasn't so I suggested that we have martin luther king day food, that quieted them. And somebody tired of all the bitching on the Tuesday before thanks giving put out a can of turkey spam for all those complainers who wanted turkey.

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