I didn't know my husband had a sister! :p

Seriously, my MIL, like your mother, likes everything cooked to death. She likes her red meat well done - if there's any pink in it whatsoever, she spends the entire meal whining about how her meat is "raw". She has been known to put lovely grilled medium-rare meat in the MICROWAVE until it's done to her satisfaction. :eek: Veggies have to be boiled and boiled and boiled until all the flavor and nutrients are gone - and then boiled some more. And everything has to be dead plain - no sauce, no spices, not even so much as a dash of black pepper. She says, and I quote: "If it has any flavor, spit it out, it's bad for you."

Needless to say, I had to educate my husband as to what a steak is supposed to taste like...

You were at my parents' house when my mom did that exact thing?!

I have been known to take vegetables out of the pot about 20 minutes before mom is done cooking them so there is some flavor and nutrients left. She will also boil fresh green beans (from her garden) until they are gray and flavor them with baking soda - because that is what her mom did. Don't get me wrong, there are some things she cooks very well that I have yet to be able to replicate - her chili is one of them. :)

I did have some of the worst stuffing imaginable this past Thanksgiving at a family gathering! There was enough salt in it to last me an entire year - and that was unfortunately really the only flavor to it. Mom's stuffing is SO much better! LOL

That clinches it... you're my heretofore-unknown sister-in-law. :p

LOL - or our mother's were twin separated at birth!

And mom just got a new kitchen too! Three ovens and a stove. She does like to entertain - just likes to overcook food.

Funny story about unintentionally overcooking food - we were having broccoli cheese bites and mom misread the cooking instructions. Because this was during kitchen remodel she only had a microwave. Well, she cooked the food for the time it said for conventional oven - 15-18 minutes!! Needless to say, they really were not that edible.

Nope, that would be your mom and my MIL.

My mom is actually an excellent cook - she cooks Indian curries that would take paint off your car, stir-fries veggies so that they're warm but still crunchy, and makes the most amazing mac and cheese. I inherited her cooking genes... and her recipes :) ... and I have converted my DH to the realm of properly-cooked food :)

Sorry, I guess I should have clarified that it was not your mother and my mother that were separated but my mother and your husband's mother. I did know it was your mother-in-law.

If I'm boiling veggies, I actually like them cooked until they're soft. Same with pasta. However, if I'm stir frying, then I won't cook the veggies that long.

My mom is usually a pretty good cook but the one weird thing she makes sometimes is cooked iceburg lettuce. :mad: :confused: Yeah, you heard me right...cooked iceburg lettuce! And yes, it tastes as disgusting as it sounds. Whenever I would see her about to make that, I would be like "Ok, ok, I'll eat the lettuce but I want mine uncooked. I'll eat it as a salad."

cooked lettuce?
:eek:

Why do I always read your signature as "PMSing"???

Baking soda as a flavoring?? That just sounds gross.

My MIL doesn't know how to make real gravy. The only kind she knows how to make is the powder from the little packages. So at thanksgiving, she pours out all of the "juices" from the turkey and then makes powered "brown" gravy. I refuse to eat it (I even offered to make gravy one year and she told me no!)

Hey, a kindred spirit!

Add to those:

Coffee
Chocolate and mint together in any form
Aspartame in anything
Melons (I love watermelon but I'm allergic to melons. :( Canteloupe actually smells like poison to me.)

okra.

i don't like...
tomatoes
pork (ok, but i eat bacon)
fish
okra
onions
peppers
egg yolk
meatloaf
i think that's it...

I absolutely HATE:

eggs---yuck!
potato soup---soup is not supposed to be thick...eeewwww!
dressing without cranberry sauce---it just doesn't taste right without it
any type of gravy
okra---just yuck!

Dear Lord, you should eat my mother-in-law's gravy! It's AWFUL! It's just thickened grease--absolutely no flavor and thick and gloppy. The mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving look so sad:(...and taste so plain...

I actually get to try this treat three times a year. She makes the SAME meal for every holiday--turkey, potatoes, gloppy gravy, etc.--for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.