Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events

[zenme]

Where is baby Michelle?

 

Probably near her mother--Jana.

[Quilt Fairy]

Maybe it is a staged picture with the "real" meal on the counter. Photo op and such

Well, if they tried for a photo op it's a major fail considering the snark we're laying out on it.

[Defrauder]

Well, in that pic we got a look of post-scandal Josh.  It's hard to get a good look at him though.  I know we tend to read into things, but why are he and Anna so far away from Jimbo and Michelle?  I've always noted in the past that the Smuggars are usually seated near mom and dad.  Not on Father's Day though. (Sorry Jenniferbug and GeeGolly!)

LOL at "post-scandal Josh'.  

[GEML]

(Wry tone) it certainly wasn't homemade.

I'll admit, I'm pretty good with Italian food for an Appalachian girl (I lived with two Italians in college - I still remember the collective gasp of horror when I broke the spaghetti in two so it would fit in the boiling water!) but I cannot, for the life of me, make a decent lasagna.

Edited July 18, 2015 by GEML

[NEGirl]

Making lasagne is pretty easy now. You can use the "oven ready" noodles instead of buying the kind that needs to be cooked. My two Italian BIL's, who are great cooks, both now use them. You can't tell the difference. Some ricotta and mozzarella, parsley and sauce and your done. The thing that takes the longest is the sauce(gravy).

GEML - Our family also broke the spaghetti in half until we were set straight !

 

The Duggars do not make/eat anything homemade unless it was done by someone else.

[Honey]

It is easy to make, but it's time consuming.  I like mine "tall", with 5 or 6 layers. On each layer you've got ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and sauce.  I don't think I've ever made one for less than $30.

 

We wrap the leftovers in plastic wrap in individually cut pieces, put all the pieces in a gallon zip lock bag, and freeze them.  We eat them later in the month, when funds get more limited.

[kokapetl]

Two pans of my daughter's lasagna cost $60 to make. It's a treat reserved for when a friend has a baby as the ingredients make two so her family gets one. I don't see the Duggars putting $120 into one meal for one dish nor do I see them spending the time to make homemade lasagna. I'm sure there are cheaper lasagna recipes to make, but we haven't found one that tastes better. :)

Is it worth $60? What's in it?

[Defrauder]

Why can't these people do dishes???

[Wellfleet]

Why can't these people do dishes???

 

I would have LOVED to have seen this question asked in one of their "viewer mail" episodes. I'm certain it was among the questions sent in, but obviously never chosen by the Duggars to be answered. I mean, what could they have possibly said that would have made any kind of sense? And they couldn't have told the truth - "we're just monumentally lazy..." either. But it would have been great listening to Boob or Me-chelle stumbling over themselves TRYING to explain it.

[GeeGolly]

That they use paper plates bugs me too. Whether the "whole country can fit in AR" or not, they could still reduce their footprint. With that many kids and 2 dishwashers they could have a meal cleaned up in no time.

Edited July 18, 2015 by GeeGolly

[Skittl1321]

I always thought Mother's Day was when you took Mom out to a nice restaurant, but for Father's Day you stayed home and Dad grilled steaks and hamburgers.

 

Father's Day around here was for pork chops with mint jelly. Because only my Dad liked them. So he got them one day a year.

[kokapetl]

On Mother's Day the family eats out or gets takeaway, because mum gets the luxury of not cooking on that day, and maybe on her birthday too.

[Aw my lahgs]

Isn't JB's favorite dish tater tot casserole? You'd think they'd at least eat that.

 

That looks like a sad excuse for a meal. I miss veggies/salad & the amount of food would be good if there were like 5 people there... But with that amount of people, they'd be lucky if they got two bites of lasagna and pie each.

[kokapetl]

Isn't JB's favorite dish tater tot casserole? You'd think they'd at least eat that.

That looks like a sad excuse for a meal. I miss veggies/salad & the amount of food would be good if there were like 5 people there... But with that amount of people, they'd be lucky if they got two bites of lasagna and pie each.

a surprising amount of family members admitted they don't like it.

[truthtalk2014]

Good Italian sausage (even no meat!),   good cheeses, and fresh basil and garlic would be something lost on Jimbo, and if he doesn't like it, they won't serve it, I'm sure.    They're better off with Stouffer's!  I don't see a salad anywhere, but I guess they could be in those plastic bowls. 

I have a feeling that the only parmesan cheese the Duggars have ever used in cooking came out of the green shaker can.  

 

The dinner was a weird set up.  It's not like you can pass that foil tray of lasagne around to all the littles.  I would assume that a jslave was sent to hand out a serving to everyone.  I think the green bowl with the tongs was the salad bowl.  It looks about 1/4 full and I don't see any on the plates.  Oh well- serve a small salad and save the difference. 

Edited July 19, 2015 by truthtalk2014

[msblossom]

I make homemade lasagne, and it is WAY harder than spaghetti. 

 

I'm surprised Anna doesn't get more adventurous with cooking. With the "best housewife ever" routine, you'd think it was a talent she would want.

It's pretty easy, although it's a little time consuming with the layering. Start off with sauce and add fresh oregano and basil with 1/2 lb each of Italian sausage and ground beef browned with chopped onions and 4 or 5 cloves of garlic. Pour 1/3 into pan, layer with uncooked lasagna pasta, a layer of mozzarella, a layer of ricotta mixed with whole egg, Parmesan, and oregano, and then repeat the layers 2 more times ending with the meat sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, top with mozzarella and bake for 15 min longer.

If Anna decides to plant a garden she could add zucchini, eggplant, red peppers and forego the meat or eliminate 1/2 the meat for a lighter version.

[Julia]

In no way is scratch lasagna cheaper than a frozen family size Stouffer's lasagna.  I would say it's at least twice the price.

 

Actually, if you're careful about your ingredients, shop sales, and know how to cook, it is, if we're talking about Stouffer's. I priced that claim at my local market (compared to the party-sized Stouffer's lasagna at Walmart) before posting it. I'd imagine if I shopped at a big box store it'd be even more striking.

 

Thanks for the courtesy, though :)

Edited July 19, 2015 by Julia

[carrps]

Is she EVER going to have this baby? Sheesh does she want to take after her cousin Iz?

Heh, I read that as cousin It.

 

I've had Stouffer's lasagne. Once. It was so awful. Really inedible. But I grew up eating (and making) homemade lasagne. And, yeah, it's time-consuming and messy (you dirty nearly every pan in the kitchen), but it's not a big deal. msblossom's recipe sounds exactly like what we used to make. I only got the Stouffer's because I had a craving and was living away from home for the first time and didn't want to be eating it for a week. I didn't think of making individual portion freezer bags.

 

Edited: stupid typo.

Edited July 19, 2015 by carrps

[Julia]

Heh, I read that as cousin It.

 

I've had Stouffer's lasagne. Once. It was so awful. Really inedible. But I grew up eating (and making) homemade lasagne. And, yeah, it's time-consuming and messy (you dirty nearly every pan in the kitchen), but it's not a big deal. msblossom's recipe sounds exaclty like what we used to make. I only got the Stouffer's because I had a craving and was living away from home for the first time and didn't want to be eating it for a week. I didn't think of making individual portion freezer bags.

 

Yeah, that's sort of the thing about it. It's pretty much overcooked pasta soaked in sugary generic red sauce with a few shreds of cheese on top and between the layers 

[Aw my lahgs]

a surprising amount of family members admitted they don't like it.

It's the headship's favorite dish though. And it was praise JimBob day :)

[RazzleberryPie]

Stouffer's, or the Walmart knock off of it, is cheap, heat and serve, and chock full of salt, which is exactly what the Duggar's enjoy. Also comes in a disposable pan.

[RazzleberryPie]

Stouffer's, or the Walmart knock off of it, is cheap, heat and serve, and chock full of salt, which is exactly what the Duggar's enjoy. Also comes in a disposable pan.

[xls]

Has anyone ever figured out what they're doing in that photo? The kids have clean plates, with rolls on them for the littles, and Jim Bob has already been served, which says to me start of the meal. But then there's a single casserole dish, which Jim Bob's food did not come out of, and there's more rolls, and there's a single, nine inch pie for 20+ people. And there doesn't seem to be a place at the table for Michelle.

That really doesn't look like any family dinner I've ever been to.

Scratch is also cheaper, but then this is not a frugal family.

I'm guessing JB and Josh split the lasagna and the kids got to fight over the sauce left in the pan using their dinner roll.

[GeeGolly]

I'm guessing JB and Josh split the lasagna and the kids got to fight over the sauce left in the pan using their dinner roll.

Before or after Josie?  ;)

[ChocolateAddict]

In my house we always make two lasagne - one meat and one vegetarian.  The vegetarian one is amazing and so good when you are tired.  You layer the bottom with lasagne sheets, then one layer of ricotta (with a raw egg and a bit of cheese), then top with basil pesto and add another layer of lasagne sheets.  Then make a layer of homemade tomato sauce with onion, cover with lasagne sheets and repeat again.  Then pour tomato sauce on the top and heaps of cheese and cook :) we usually take one half and cut it up into squares which we freeze for later.  

[xls]

Before or after Josie?  ;)

Oh, MEchelle made her wait till last to lick the pan because "the world does not revolve around her"

[Bitter Betty]

What's funny is that, looking at the picture, there are only two people who CLEARLY have lasagna on their plate and it's Josie and Jim Bob. There a couple of other plates who have blob-y things on their plates that are probably lasagna, but, even so, it's clear that Josie is one of the few who has actually been given real food in this picture.

[Absolom]

I think there were multiple pans of lasagna on the table and the one pie was brought over from the counter just for the photo op.  Why they took the photo just after it looked like only Jim Bob (and maybe Josie) had been served lasagna is the mystery to me. My view is that Jim Bob grabs his serving quickly as soon as the pan hits the table.  :) 

Edited July 19, 2015 by Absolom

[Sew Sumi]

LOL, so much for women and children first. JB won't be winning any points at the chilvary fair anytime soon. 

[xls]

I think there were multiple pans of lasagna on the table and the one pie was brought over from the counter just for the photo op.  Why they took the photo just after it looked like only Jim Bob (and maybe Josie) had been served lasagna is the mystery to me. My view is that Jim Bob grabs his serving quickly as soon as the pan hits the table.  :) 

He's the Kang!

[latetotheparty]

In my house we always make two lasagne - one meat and one vegetarian.  The vegetarian one is amazing and so good when you are tired.  You layer the bottom with lasagne sheets, then one layer of ricotta (with a raw egg and a bit of cheese), then top with basil pesto and add another layer of lasagne sheets.  Then make a layer of homemade tomato sauce with onion, cover with lasagne sheets and repeat again.  Then pour tomato sauce on the top and heaps of cheese and cook :) we usually take one half and cut it up into squares which we freeze for later.  

 

Please bring a pan of that pesto lasagna to my house yesterday. 

[CherryAmes]

LOL, so much for women and children first. JB won't be winning any points at the chilvary fair anytime soon. 

Heh, the things I've heard about the role of women in Duggar world I'm amazed they're even allowed to eat at the same time as the menfolk.

[Sew Sumi]

Looking at some of the girls of late, you wonder if they're eating much at all. :(

 

Back OT, I'm banned from Anna's IG, but I think they'll let Duggarfam or Jessa announce M4's arrival (too much vitriol to risk letting Josh do it). I'm surprised she's gone so late, but if she's using one of those rinkydink midwives, they might let her go as long as the 24th before seeking actual medical interventions. 

 

I think Anna is a smug prig, but I do feel for her right about now. 

[ChocolateAddict]

Please bring a pan of that pesto lasagna to my house yesterday. 

Will a virtual one do?  ;)

[mimionthebeach]

It's the headship's favorite dish though. And it was praise JimBob day :)

He's crafted a world where everyday is Praise Jim Bob Day.

[BitterApple]

I'm guessing JB and Josh split the lasagna and the kids got to fight over the sauce left in the pan using their dinner roll.

Lmfao, I can see Boob and Smugs each with their own family sized pans while everyone else fights over a loaf of Wonder Bread. Notice how they're the only two Duggars carrying extra poundage.

[dillpickles]

Lmfao, I can see Boob and Smugs each with their own family sized pans while everyone else fights over a loaf of Wonder Bread. Notice how they're the only two Duggars carrying extra poundage.

Joshy will lose his baby weight soon, I'm not sure if he's allowed to eat after ruining the empire.

[Sew Sumi]

I dunno. I think he's eating himself into a carb-induced coma. I do miss his food pics of days gone by...

[mittsigirl]

Since everyone is talking about lasagna,my recipe seems strange! I live in Saskatchewan, everyone I know makes it this way, still with layers of noodles. First some tomato sauce, then the noodles, then a layer of browned ground beef in tomato sauce, more noodles, then a sauce using cottage or ricotta cheese with chopped spinach and raw eggs, more noodles, then lots and lots of shredded mozzarella cheese on the top. I have never bought a frozen one, since I was always a stay-at-home wife/mom, have always made them myself. Now I just may buy one, just to see what they taste like!

[SometimesBites]

I dunno. I think he's eating himself into a carb-induced coma. I do miss his food pics of days gone by...

I can totally picture Josh, snoring on a sofa with his too-snug polo rucked up to show five inches of pale belly, one hand (still clutching a spoon) resting in a pie plate beside him on the floor, empty save for a few crumbs of pecan and a puddle of melting ice cream--ala Homer Simpson.

[SomePity1066]

Oh, Lordy, such ripe fruit to pick from the snark tree... !!!

 

Yes, I have resorted to the frozen Stauffers/Costco/Kirkland lasagna, but only in a pinch. I like to cook from scratch, homemade all the way, fresh tomatoes from my own garden and all that, but cast no aspersions whatsoever on those who use the frozen, seriously. Seriously. I'm a very lucky lady - stay at home "mom"/girlfriend with no kids, but a dog and a hardworking boyfriend that I adore and spoil. I'm VERY aware of how unique my situation is, and I'm grateful every single day. I take care of the doggie and my man, but, Jesus help me, if I had a gaggle of kids and had to work I'd be running the microwave 24/7 and "fake-baking" every damn thing I could get my hands on...

 

That being said, the Duggars, and I'm looking at YOU, Michelle, Xanax Stare Queen, have NO excuse. You do NOTHING at home, courtesy of the J-SLaves, now reduced by two since their marriages, but lounge about, nursing your Starbucks Fuckachinno and doing perhaps a mile on your treadmill in your funky long skirt, tights, "dress" blouse (it's always the effing mint green one !) and biding your time until you hit the road again in the Stinky Bus to go tell other people how they are wrong, corrupt, sinners, and are all going to hell. So nice of you to remind us, you zonked-out, buggy-eyed, non-mother, "Mother of the Year". If I rolled my eyes any more I'd have a brain hemorrhage.

 

Which brings me back, on-topic, hopefully, to Josh. Epic, hypocrite extraordinaire. Lying liar with pants on fire. Predator and coward. Spokesmodel for the FRC, railing endlessly against the VERY freaking thing you were doing. You used a microphone to shout out to the world of the "evils" of gay people and transgender folks while it was that VERY hand that held the microphone that had defiled your own sisters. The hypocrisy is staggering, and your downfall is SO deserved. It's a perfect storm of irony and just desserts. You deserve your comeuppance. You made your bed - now wallow in it, you pale, doughy, sick excuse for a human being.

 

You lost your job, your home, your income, and your dignity (if you ever, in fact, had any) and are now hiding out in your parents' tree fort like someone caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Your soto voce appearance in the JB Father's Day photo is no surprise - hide in the back with your tail between your legs and hope no one notices you. I noticed, you twisted being with no remorse, that no girls, other than your hapless wife, were seated around you.

 

Apparently, even JB and Michelle, in their cover-your-ass, probably Qualuude-induced perma-smiles, know to keep the goodies away from the table, so to speak.

 

I keep asking myself what's going to happen to Anna ? Is she complicit in his crimes by not leaving or objecting ? Silenced by the hierarchy and her husband's "headship" ? Forced by her father, the infamous Pa Keller, to just endure whatever comes and keep popping out the Gothard Army ? Seduced by the money and fame just enough to stay ? Maybe too stupid to even understand what's happening ? 

 

I'm so, so glad the show was FINALLY cancelled, so thank you, TLC, but wondering how I'd (we'd ?) all keep an eye on them from now on. There's been so much swept under the rug that we've only scratched the surface of - what hell awaits the Duggar children now that there won't be any cameras around ? 

 

I will pray for the children, in my own fashion, that they can escape and make a clean break from the Stepford fuckery they've been raised in. Let them see the world as it is, without a "Nike !" needed, sleep in rooms by themselves, instead of prison/dorm rooms housing people that span a 20-year age gap, and please, Lord, let them eat some vegetables and go swimming without their JEANS on. 

 

SO, so much wrong here, but I hope for Anna a good birth and healthy child. Then run the hell away, you ninny - this is your chance...

[Wellfleet]

It's pretty easy, although it's a little time consuming with the layering. Start off with sauce and add fresh oregano and basil with 1/2 lb each of Italian sausage and ground beef browned with chopped onions and 4 or 5 cloves of garlic. Pour 1/3 into pan, layer with uncooked lasagna pasta, a layer of mozzarella, a layer of ricotta mixed with whole egg, Parmesan, and oregano, and then repeat the layers 2 more times ending with the meat sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, top with mozzarella and bake for 15 min longer.

If Anna decides to plant a garden she could add zucchini, eggplant, red peppers and forego the meat or eliminate 1/2 the meat for a lighter version.

 

I love vegetable lasagna, made without sausage or ground beef but with carrots, zucchini, spinach, sometimes even yellow squash and a luscious alfredo or garlic-Parmesan sauce. Oh yum.

It's the headship's favorite dish though. And it was praise JimBob day :)

 

But isn't every day Praise Jim-Bob day?

[GEML]

I miss Stouffers lasagna. Here in Ireland, lasagna is a type of dish, and it can by all sorts of food layered with noodles in between. But it's rarely honest to God Italian lasagna.

[NextIteration]

Actually, my favorite to make from scratch is what I call a "Florentine" style with spinach, eggplant and a béchamel sauce.  I swear, we get the party one, it's in the freezer it get's used maybe three times a year and the kids mooooaaaannn every time.  Going further way off topic for one second, one time when my daughter was at a dance friend's so that I could run some last second birthday party errands was offered lunch of Chef Boyardee, she tasted it and politely claimed not to be hungry - she'd never tasted not-from-scratch gravy (except for groany lasagna), let alone from a can.  tee hee.

 

I have to say it, I'm getting concerned for Anna, this is her fourth?  What are the odds?  Maybe her due date was miscalculated or they fudged it for public consumption.  If not, poor gal, she must be absolutely miserable.

Edited July 19, 2015 by NextIteration

[Julia]

Actually, my favorite to make from scratch is what I call a "Florentine" style with spinach, eggplant and a béchamel sauce.  I swear, we get the party one, it's in the freezer it get's used maybe three times a year and the kids mooooaaaannn every time.  Going further way off topic for one second, one time when my daughter was at a dance friend's so that I could run some last second birthday party errands was offered lunch of Chef Boyardee, she tasted it and politely claimed not to be hungry - she'd never tasted not-from-scratch gravy (except for groany lasagna), let alone from a can.  tee hee.

 

I have one of those. I think it's quite an accomplishment, raising a sugo snob :)

 

I generally mix chopped spinach and a few spoonsful of pesto into my ricotta. I feel like it keeps the filling moister (although mostly I just like it).

[GEML]

I'm also very concerned for Anna. I was so pleased when she was in MD and I knew the midwives she was working with there. She would have had excellent care. And now I'm worried that at the moment she needs peace and gentleness and perhaps access to real, medical care, she's getting the worst of all worlds.

Again, I hope Josh is protecting her from everything as best he can. Right now, she should be treated like his Queen, the way he promised.

[Bella]

Has anyone here NOT given their lasagna recipe, their opinion on purchased vs scratch lasagna, etc., etc., etc.?

 

This is not the place for that discussion. We have food and recipe topics in some of the foodie shows, you could discuss lasagna in the Small Talk thread, and we have an entire Off-Topic forum called Food.

 

This is the Josh and Anna thread. People seeing that there are new posts in this thread expect to read about Josh and/or Anna.

 

Not lasagna.

 

And don't work lasagna into a hybrid post that also mentions Josh and Anna. Take it somewhere else, or we will delete your post.

 

Thanks!

[BradandJanet]

Isn't JB's favorite dish tater tot casserole? You'd think they'd at least eat that.

 

That looks like a sad excuse for a meal. I miss veggies/salad & the amount of food would be good if there were like 5 people there... But with that amount of people, they'd be lucky if they got two bites of lasagna and pie each.

 

If I were feeding twenty people for a family celebration, there would be some serious food on the table--and I don't have a "staff" to do the work like Ma Duggar does. Like Jill's and Jessa's skimpy wedding receptions, what is it with these people and food? The kid with the napkin tied around his face bandit style knows he's going to have to steal whatever he gets to eat. 

 

If this is a photo for the fans, I'm not sure what the message is, except maybe that Josh is safely back in the bosom of the family, albeit now banished to the far end of the table. 

[HumblePi]

Josh was quoted in the Inquisitor article when asked;

 

Do they plan to have 19 like Josh’s mother, Michelle Duggar did? While admits that he’s not in control of how many children he will father because “God has the control” over the number of kids Anna gives birth to, he recently told People that financial pressures may keep them from having an extremely large family.

 

    “I've done the math, and there is no way we can have 20 kids that I can figure. But the reason most people don’t have a large family is because they feel the financial pressures. It’s tough to have so many kids in today’s world.”

 

Josh should re-calculate his math numbers. In reality, it's possible that they can have 16 more children. There could be a couple of sets of twins somewhere in the mix. Anna is only 27 years old and potentially has another 20 years of childbearing ahead of her. But, the question I'd pose to Josh is how would they intend to curtail the number of children they have since they don't believe in birth control and are beginning to realize 'financial pressures' since he no longer has a high-paying Washington D.C. job to support them. Will he defy God by not allowing Him to choose the number of 'blessings' that he and Anna are to receive? Welcome to the real world Josh.

 

[Absolom]

 

Josh should re-calculate his math numbers. In reality, it's possible that they can have 16 more children. There could be a couple of sets of twins somewhere in the mix. Anna is only 27 years old and potentially has another 20 years of childbearing ahead of her.

 

However, Anna could be like many other women, including her mother, and have only three or four more children each a longer interval past the previous one and have her last child in her late thirties.