There are certain things in my house that I just don't do.

I just don't make shells and cheese. I think it tastes weird. A proper mac n' cheese should be powdered and reconstituted with butter substitute in the pot. Of course, we can't have that chemical stew around Mr. R., so I've lived a largely mac n cheeseless existence for the last few years. However, I am cleaning out my pantry...

I also don't usually leave butter out on the counter. Yes, it makes it soft, but the kids mess with it. Especially now that Baby X has learned how to scale the stool onto the counter...

Generally, I cook from scratch. Frozen corn dogs make a rare appearance around here, despite the fact that I could cook them everyday and the children would happily wolf them down.

One other thing I almost never do? Hide dirty pots and pans in the oven. I just never do that. I let them bask on the counter, in all their greasy glory.

Except, perhaps, if the house is actually looking pretty good for a change. And the AC repairman shows up unexpectedly, and the only thing marring the thin veneer of Martha Stewartiness is the dirty pot on the stove. Ahh, pride. It goeth before the fall.

Yes, if my life was a George Clooney movie, today was The Perfect Storm.

And so when I caught Baby X on the countertop while the oven preheated for the corndogs, and discovered he had buttered six dogs but only chewed the breading off of four, I thought dinner was still salvageable. I'll just whisk them into the oven while I bathe butter boy, I thought.

Sigh.

Anyone know how to get processed cheese off a pot after baking at 400 degrees for 10 minutes?

Labels: homemaking