Surprise! It's November! And while, yes, admittedly I'm the kind of person who is already excited over Christmas commercials and the fact that I can play Michael Buble's Christmas album (finally) without being told it's way too early, I'm also counting down the days until Thanksgiving. My wonderful family is a family full of chefs, and I'm one lucky girl during the holidays because I get to stuff myself with what I'm convinced is the best homemade food there is. Try to tell me your family does holiday food better and I'll probably just laugh. There's no way.
Now, I know I'm extremely blessed to come from a family who cooks, and does it so well. I'm also aware it makes me a kind of food snob, but I know I'm not the only one. Here are a few things anyone who comes from a family who cooks knows all too well:
1. Hamburger Helper is laughable.
There's absolutely no way you're going to put that into your body. If you've gotten desperate and tried it, you know you'll never get it again. Just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt.
2. You rarely go out to eat with your family, because whatever is cooking in your kitchen is just as good as or better than any restaurant.
...And when you do go out you look on the menu for something you can't have at home, which turns out to be nothing.
3. Pretty much the only time you do go out to eat with your family is when the cook doesn't feel like doing dishes.
Even this is pretty rare.
4. When you get to college, you realize your pantry is severely lacking in all the basics: flour, sugar, baking soda, brown sugar, all the spices...and that these things cost money, so sadly, you do without them for a few months.
Looks like you'll be baking cookies from that roll of cookie dough or cupcakes out of a box...
5. Everyone in college misses homemade meals, but you miss them extra.
I miss homemade pizza night. I miss steak and baked potato night. I miss my dad's spinach and green beans. I miss grilled salmon and homemade burgers. I miss it all.
6. You know your family does holiday meals better than anyone else, and you're prepared to invite your friends who doubt you over for those meals just to prove it.
Don't try to fight me on this one.
7. If you look in your freezer at home, you won't find any frozen meals.
Your freezer in college looks like the frozen food section at the grocery store, but all you'll find in your freezer at home is frozen meat, which is pretty useless when you want a quick lunch but there's no frozen pizza.
8. You've picked up a few tricks and meals from the cooks in your family, and you love to show off to your friends.
You live to cook for your friends and listen to them tell you how good of a cook your are. You love putting pictures of your meals on snapchat to make everyone wish they were eating dinner at your place.
9. You have at least one friend who didn't like a certain food until they had it at your house.
Squash? Green beans? Spinach? We'll make you like it all.
10. If your family knew what kind of food you've been living off of at college, they'd be horrified.
I haven't been to the store in a few weeks, and I've had taquitos for my past four meals, but don't let my mom know that.
Hold on just a few more weeks, you'll be stuffing your faces with your family's amazing food soon! And remember: calories absolutely do not count this time of year.
