Look out….I’m feeling kinda full of myself right now.
Why? Well, partly because my every color of the rainbow found it’s way into my son’s belly today, and that makes me a happy mom 😀
But I’m also feeling very proud of myself because I used up the vegetables cluttering my counter and fridge.
It’s no big deal, really. I just made dinner. But I didn’t have a clear cut recipe (the classic “nothing to make” syndrome) so my big victory was found in using up the fresh items I had on hand instead of letting my hectic schedule get the best of me until they all found their way into the compost bin.
It happens far too often. I’m not proud.
Not that cooking a few veggies is hard, but sometimes just trying to figure out what to do with them takes more time than I have.
Today, I was determined NOT to let my precious veggies go to waste. I was also determined NOT to go to the store. So I let the kitchen muse take over and started tossing ingredients until they looked like dinner.
You know what? It was GOOOOOODI!
Here’s the list of what I happened to have on hand, and what I did with it:
- one pound of grass-fed beef from North Mountain Pastures
- 2 shallots (sliced thin)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 fresh tomatoes (1 cut into chunks, 3 put through food processor until liquidy)
- one cup frozen black eyed peas
- 1/2 cup frozen peas from our garden
- 2 large handfuls fresh spinach, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp fresh basil
- 1 bay leaf
- whole wheat couscous
- Parmesan cheese, to taste
Brown beef, shallots and garlic (I used an electric skillet.) Add all other ingredients except couscous and cheese. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Serve over couscous; top with cheese, if desired.
(It almost sounds like a real recipe!)
I said it was good, I never said it was pretty.
…but I have to admit, I’m pretty proud of myself for making something out of nothing.
(Next time, this recipe gets morphed into a casserole with crunchy crumbs on top.)
The only problem: What do I call it?
____________________________________
Do you ever have a problem using up your fresh ingredients? What’s your favorite way to use things up when you have a variety on hand?
I always feel terrible throwing stuff away! I try to freeze what fruits I can, and with most veggies, I can make a big pot of fridge-cleanout-soup (kind of like this), where I boil everything together and then purée it with some seasonings…though I admit, hot soup doesn’t always sound as appetizing to me in the summer!
That looks delicious. I used to make a similar stew like this, except with corned beef, and frozen vegetables like corn, lima beans and carrots. I seasoned with cumin, curry, cardamom, black pepper and salt. I ate that over rice, drizzled with olive oil. Very tasty indeed!
http://inspireyourenvironment.com/