My mother-in-law called my potluck dish lazy because I bought it from a bakery.
By @elliesorta · Food
Between Saturday morning soccer games, I didn't have three hours to bake two homemade lasagnas from scratch, so I bought hot catering trays from a local market instead. She thinks using store-bought food for a family Sunday dinner is disrespectful.
The full story
Every year my mother-in-law insists on doing a big Sunday potluck at her house (she lives twenty minutes away, so it's a whole production packing up the kids, sports gear, and booster seats). She assigns everyone dishes through a group text. This weekend she texted the chain and assigned me to bring 'two large lasagnas, completely baked and hot upon arrival at 1:00 PM.' I have two kids playing soccer back-to-back from 9:30 AM until noon on Saturdays and Sundays. There is physically no window for me to layer noodles, simmer sauce, bake two massive pans for an hour and a half, and keep them piping hot in the back of a minivan while picking up shin guards. So I ordered two family-sized catering trays of baked ziti from the neighborhood Italian market down the street, picked them up hot on the way over, and transferred them into foil baking pans. When we walked in, she opened the lid, immediately clocked the restaurant garnish, and asked where the homemade lasagna was. When I explained the soccer schedule, she got quiet and whispered to my sister-in-law that bringing takeout to a family Sunday dinner is 'lazy and defeats the point of a homemade family gathering.' My husband says I should have just woken up at 5:00 AM to bake them so she wouldn't feel disrespected. Am I crazy here?
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 25% (8 votes)
- Both Messy — 56% (18 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 19% (6 votes)
Readers say “Both Messy” (56%) — 32 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@jettkk — Did you tell her ahead of time you were swapping a 3-hour dish for takeout or just show up hoping she wouldn't notice?
@sasha — Next time sign up for napkins and leave the foil pans right in the trunk.
@brynnliterally — My sister pulled this on Thanksgiving with mashed potatoes because I used store brand butter and she talked about it for eight months.
@nicokk — You fed the family hot food on a chaotic soccer Sunday, don't let anyone make you feel bad about that mama!
@savannahok — soft.
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