Guess it depends on your perspective

Since I started this blog in July, I think I've done a pretty good job of not skewering my husband for the kind of minor transgressions that husbands tend to commit and wives tend to blow out of proportion. Today, however, I am choosing to break my silence.

In mid-August, Mike moved his business to our basement office. With the kids all in school all day, it seemed to make sense to save the rent money he'd been paying and take advantage of the quiet in the house.

I know from having been a freelance writer for several years that one of the perks of working from home is the opportunity to take a few minutes here and there to throw in a load of laundry or get dinner started.

Jennette Fulda, aka, Pasta Queen, recently posted a recipe for Crockpot Applesauce Chicken that sounded easy and yummy. I knew we had all the ingredients for the recipe at home, so yesterday from work I sent Mike this e-mail:

To: Mike M.
From: Amy M.
Subject: Can you do this for dinner? Needs to cook all afternoon.

Crockpot Applesauce Chicken

4 frozen chicken breast halves or thighs (in the freezer)

1 1/2 cups of applesauce (in the fridge)

1 yellow onion, chopped finely (use the leftover onion that's in the fridge)

1 T apple cider vinegar (in the pantry on the shelf w/the blue canisters)

1/4 tsp cinnamon (in the cabinet above the toaster oven)

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced (use garlic powder -- in the cabinet above the toaster oven)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) (think we have some of these in the cabinet above the toaster oven)

1. Put the frozen chicken pieces into your crockpot.
2. Add the onion to the crockpot.
3. In a bowl, mix the applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together.
4. Pour on top of the chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4. Serve with rice or quinoa.

Seems easy, right? I mean I even told him exactly where in the kitchen he would find the ingredients. Apparently "easy" means something different to me than it does to my husband.

Now, I don't know if the "needs to cook all day" scared him. Or the "serve with rice or quinoa" (what is quinoa?) was the turn off, but this is the response I got:

To: Amy M.
From: Mike M.
Subject: Re: Can you do this for dinner? Needs to cook all afternoon.

you're joking, right?

A little too labor intensive

This from the man who thinks nothing of spending an hour moving a 37-inch TV, connecting it to three different video game systems and then hooking the whole thing up to the surround sound for optimum gaming experiences.

But taking 10 minutes to throw basically three ingredients into a crockpot and walk away is too labor intensive.

Guess I won't suggest that he sort the laundry today.