I will add to this post each day, detailing which ingredients I used and what I made.
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Day One- selected ingredients:
Canned bamboo shoots, coconut milk, red bell pepper, Thai basil, green curry paste, frozen green beans, fish sauce, shallots, linguini, crimini mushrooms, chicken thigh fillets, lime juice, green onions... other assorted ingredients not pictured, such as chicken broth, cornstarch, seasonings, etc.
What I'm making- Thai Chicken Pasta
Ingredients:
1- 8 oz. can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1- 13.5 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 C. Thai basil, sliced into strips
1 T. green curry paste (or more to taste)
1 1/2 C. frozen green beans
2 T. nam pla (fish sauce)
1/4 C. chopped shallots
1 C. sliced crimini mushrooms
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" cubes
2 T. fresh lime juice (the juice I'm using is frozen juice I squeezed myself when I bought a large bag of limes)
3 green onions, sliced
1 T. cornstarch
1 C. chicken broth
2 t. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. linguini (or long thin pasta of your choice)
Directions-
Stir coconut milk and curry paste in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until curry paste dissolves, about one minute. Combine chicken broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to skillet and stir until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken, fish sauce and lime juice. Simmer about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper, basil, shallots, mushrooms, green beans, green onions, bamboo shoots and sugar. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions until al dente. Taste sauce for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if desired. Drain pasta, return to pot, add sauce and toss to coat.
This was PHENOMENAL!!!
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Today we have to run out to the cabin. It's not far, but it will be later in the afternoon when I would normally be prepping and cooking dinner. What to do?? I didn't want to "cheat" on my challenge by going out to dinner, so out comes the trusty Crock Pot!!
Day two- Mexican pulled pork soft tacos, black beans and rice, homemade guacamole... too many ingredients to photograph...
Mexican Pulled Pork (carnitas) for tacos
Ingredients-
3-4 lb. pork loin
1- 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1- 7 oz. can diced green chiles, undrained
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C. cider vinegar
1 t. Tapatio sauce
2 T. cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 T. smoked paprika
2 t. oregano
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. fresh ground black pepper
about 1/2 C. water
Set slow cooker to high. Place first 7 ingredients in cooker, stir around. Mix next 7 ingredients together in small bowl, pour over meat and stir. Add a little more water if needed to cover meat with liquid. Cook on high until liquid starts to simmer, then turn to low and cook until meat is fall-apart tender (time will depend on size of roast, brand of slow cooker, etc.). Remove meat and liquid from cooker. Skim as much fat as possible from liquid, place in small saucepan, and boil to reduce by about half.* Meanwhile, shred meat with two forks. Return meat to cooker, add reduced cooking liquid until meat is moistened. Keep cooker on low until read to serve.
*NOTE- I ended up not reducing the cooking liquid. It was plenty flavorful and seasoned enough just straight out of the cooker. You will have a lot of liquid left over. Save it and use it to cook rice or something else... it's too full of spicy porky goodness to just throw away!!!
Black Beans and Rice
Ingredients-
1 T. olive oil
2 C. cooked rice
1- 14 oz. can black beans, drained
1 med. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C. green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 C. frozen corn
2 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
1 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1 t. Tapatio sauce
1/4 C. cilantro, chopped
Heat oil in large skillet. Saute onion, green pepper and garlic until soft. Add corn, cumin, coriander, chili powder and salt; cook and stir for about one minute. Add Tapatio, tomato, rice and beans; cook and stir until heated through and desired consistency. Stir in cilantro just before serving.
Homemade Guacamole
4 large, very ripe avocados, peeled, seeded, and coarsely mashed (I use a pastry blender)
juice of half a large lime
large clove garlic, mashed
large pinch of kosher salt
2-3 T. very finely chopped sweet onion
1/4 C. very finely chopped cilantro
1/2 t. cumin
few dashes hot sauce (I use Tapatio)
1 large roma tomato, very finely diced
Combine all ingredients.
Condiments for tacos-
Cheddar cheese, shredded cabbage, guacamole, sour cream.
Assemble on a large flour tortilla, heated in the microwave for about 25 seconds.
Serve with black beans and rice.
Nommmmmmmmmm...
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Day three- reinventing the leftovers.
Today I have all the leftovers from yesterday... the shredded pork, the saved cooking liquid, the black beans and rice... plus a package of large corn tortillas and some colby jack cheese.
ENCHILADAS!
For the sauce, strain the solids from the cooking liquid, saving both.
Puree the solids with a hand blender, food processor, or regular blender (I used my Braun).
Add back to liquids and stir in about 2 T. of cornstarch. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Set aside.
In a medium frying pan, heat about 1/2" of vegetable oil over medium heat and briefly fry tortillas until softened but firm around the edges, about 10 seconds each side.
Drain and blot off excess oil with paper towels. Set aside until all tortillas are fried.
Pour enough sauce into a 9"x 13" baking dish to coat bottom.
In a large bowl, combine leftover shredded park and about 6 oz. of grated cheese. Place filling on tortillas and roll.
Place filled tortillas tightly in dish.
Top with remaining sauce and more cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly. Removed from oven and let stand about 10 minutes.
I had initially intended to use the black beans and rice as part of the filling, but there was plenty enough pork left over to fill them all. We decided to just have it as a side dish again.
The sauce was the best enchilada sauce I've ever had, and the whole meal was just different enough from last night to make it not repetitive. This will be my "next day" meal whenever I make carnitas from now on!!
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Day four- selected ingredients:
Salmon fillet, jarred pesto, red potatoes, bits of assorted cheeses (neufchatel, bleu, romano), frozen haricot vert green beans, shallot, slivered almonds, bacon, and assorted mixed greens for salads. I fried up actual bacon for the beans, but I thought the jar of bits looked better than just a slab of meat for the photo... lol!
What I'm making- Pesto grilled salmon, haricot vert almondine, and bits-of-leftover-cheeses smashed red potatoes.
No recipes tonight because it's all pretty simple and self explanatory. If you have any questions about anything I made, just ask and I'll be happy to tell you! It was pretty sad that I had to turn on the porch light to see what I was grilling... at 7:00 PM... in the middle of July... when it should be all bright and sunny out... where the heck is our summer????
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Day Five- selected ingredients:
Take a guess at what we had...
CHILI DOGS AND COLESLAW!! It kills me every time, yet I continue to go back. I did grill the dogs instead of boiling them this time, and that was a nice change. I don't know WHY I bought that huge package of polish dogs just for us. It was one of those times when I fell victim to a spectacular sale. I cooked up three of them for dinner, saved four in a ziplock bag in the fridge, and put the remaining seven in the freezer. We'll eventually get about four meals out of the package. Not bad for $3.79!!
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Day Six- selected ingredients:
Corn on the cob, polenta, romano cheese, chicken breasts (and marinade ingredients), chicken broth, salad greens...
What I'm making: Dijon marinated grilled chicken breasts with fresh grilled corn polenta.
Dijon Marinated Grilled Chicken
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 C. Dijon mustard
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C. olive oil
Combine everything except chicken in small bowl. Place chicken and marinade in gallon ziplock bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Marinate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Preheat grill to medium. Grill chicken, turning once, until cooked through (about 8 minutes each side). Let rest 5 minutes, slice and serve over polenta.
Fresh Grilled Corn Polenta
1/2 C. chopped onion
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 t. olive oil
4 C. chicken broth
1 C. polenta
1 T. butter
1/2 C. freshly grated romano cheese
fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 ears of corn, grilled and cut off cob
Grill, cool, and cut corn. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 2 qt. stovetop and oven safe casserole (Le Cruset, Emerilware, etc), saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Slowly whisk in polenta. Cover and cook in oven, stirring every 10 minutes, until polenta is thick and creamy (about 30 minutes). Remove from oven and stir in butter, romano, pepper, and corn. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir again and serve.
omg this was SO GOOD!! I normally treat my polenta almost like grits... lots of butter and cheese. Adding the grilled corn was a brilliant idea! I will definitely be making this again!
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For Day Seven, we had leftovers. They were starting to take over the fridge and it still counts, as I did not do any shopping. I could continue on with this for several more days, but I really need to restock fresh produce and...
...I am craving breakfast for dinner. I need to go buy sausage and orange juice today.
I hope this little project inspired you to take a good, hard look at what you have laying around, think of some possible food combinations you haven't tried before, and maybe save some money and time. I had fun doing it!
Combine all ingredients.
Condiments for tacos-
Cheddar cheese, shredded cabbage, guacamole, sour cream.
Assemble on a large flour tortilla, heated in the microwave for about 25 seconds.
Serve with black beans and rice.
Nommmmmmmmmm...
******************************
Day three- reinventing the leftovers.
Today I have all the leftovers from yesterday... the shredded pork, the saved cooking liquid, the black beans and rice... plus a package of large corn tortillas and some colby jack cheese.
ENCHILADAS!
For the sauce, strain the solids from the cooking liquid, saving both.
Puree the solids with a hand blender, food processor, or regular blender (I used my Braun).
Add back to liquids and stir in about 2 T. of cornstarch. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Set aside.
In a medium frying pan, heat about 1/2" of vegetable oil over medium heat and briefly fry tortillas until softened but firm around the edges, about 10 seconds each side.
Drain and blot off excess oil with paper towels. Set aside until all tortillas are fried.
Pour enough sauce into a 9"x 13" baking dish to coat bottom.
In a large bowl, combine leftover shredded park and about 6 oz. of grated cheese. Place filling on tortillas and roll.
Place filled tortillas tightly in dish.
Top with remaining sauce and more cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly. Removed from oven and let stand about 10 minutes.
I had initially intended to use the black beans and rice as part of the filling, but there was plenty enough pork left over to fill them all. We decided to just have it as a side dish again.
The sauce was the best enchilada sauce I've ever had, and the whole meal was just different enough from last night to make it not repetitive. This will be my "next day" meal whenever I make carnitas from now on!!
******************************
Day four- selected ingredients:
Salmon fillet, jarred pesto, red potatoes, bits of assorted cheeses (neufchatel, bleu, romano), frozen haricot vert green beans, shallot, slivered almonds, bacon, and assorted mixed greens for salads. I fried up actual bacon for the beans, but I thought the jar of bits looked better than just a slab of meat for the photo... lol!
What I'm making- Pesto grilled salmon, haricot vert almondine, and bits-of-leftover-cheeses smashed red potatoes.
No recipes tonight because it's all pretty simple and self explanatory. If you have any questions about anything I made, just ask and I'll be happy to tell you! It was pretty sad that I had to turn on the porch light to see what I was grilling... at 7:00 PM... in the middle of July... when it should be all bright and sunny out... where the heck is our summer????
******************************
Day Five- selected ingredients:
Take a guess at what we had...
CHILI DOGS AND COLESLAW!! It kills me every time, yet I continue to go back. I did grill the dogs instead of boiling them this time, and that was a nice change. I don't know WHY I bought that huge package of polish dogs just for us. It was one of those times when I fell victim to a spectacular sale. I cooked up three of them for dinner, saved four in a ziplock bag in the fridge, and put the remaining seven in the freezer. We'll eventually get about four meals out of the package. Not bad for $3.79!!
******************************
Day Six- selected ingredients:
Corn on the cob, polenta, romano cheese, chicken breasts (and marinade ingredients), chicken broth, salad greens...
What I'm making: Dijon marinated grilled chicken breasts with fresh grilled corn polenta.
Dijon Marinated Grilled Chicken
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 C. Dijon mustard
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C. olive oil
Combine everything except chicken in small bowl. Place chicken and marinade in gallon ziplock bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Marinate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Preheat grill to medium. Grill chicken, turning once, until cooked through (about 8 minutes each side). Let rest 5 minutes, slice and serve over polenta.
Fresh Grilled Corn Polenta
1/2 C. chopped onion
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 t. olive oil
4 C. chicken broth
1 C. polenta
1 T. butter
1/2 C. freshly grated romano cheese
fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 ears of corn, grilled and cut off cob
Grill, cool, and cut corn. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 2 qt. stovetop and oven safe casserole (Le Cruset, Emerilware, etc), saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Slowly whisk in polenta. Cover and cook in oven, stirring every 10 minutes, until polenta is thick and creamy (about 30 minutes). Remove from oven and stir in butter, romano, pepper, and corn. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir again and serve.
omg this was SO GOOD!! I normally treat my polenta almost like grits... lots of butter and cheese. Adding the grilled corn was a brilliant idea! I will definitely be making this again!
******************************
For Day Seven, we had leftovers. They were starting to take over the fridge and it still counts, as I did not do any shopping. I could continue on with this for several more days, but I really need to restock fresh produce and...
...I am craving breakfast for dinner. I need to go buy sausage and orange juice today.
I hope this little project inspired you to take a good, hard look at what you have laying around, think of some possible food combinations you haven't tried before, and maybe save some money and time. I had fun doing it!
