Tag Archives: leftovers

Awakening, Life

Posted on November 29, 2015 | 1 comment

I was awakened by the sound of footsteps. As my husband was sound asleep I checked things out. Nothing. Not even the dog moved, however I was awake for the night.

In order to help them sleep we all went to bed looking at the moon, when I arose I put down the shades for them, then went around putting them down not for me, but for the art, so nothing gets direct sun early morning.

There’s a rehabilitation center down the street and there were lights. Then a first car, then a fire truck and two ambulances. It is not a drug rehab center, occasionally a young person goes through physical therapy after a major car accident. Mostly I would say it’s where families dump the elderly, a nursing/old folks facility. Normally I see the nurses outside smoking when I walk Zoe.

All the ambulances and municipal people show up then leave one by one until the body is loaded in the last one and taken away. I’ve seen it so many times and it is heartbreaking. I say a quick prayer for the deceased because I don’t know that anyone else does. I tried to design a volunteer program for them for pet therapy but while they evinced interest, despite efforts on my behalf they never got back to me.

Thanksgiving is about life, love and food. We were on our own this year but did get to talk to family. Leftovers. My husband hates them. Now I transform them. Saturday I made stock. Now I’ve a lot of stuff to put in it but yesterday he wanted sandwiches. Brioche rolls, chicken breast, cranberry compote, lettuce, cheese, a bit of mayonnaise. Two sandwiches down the hatch.

The soup will be finished today, Sunday. Last night I went another route and made St. Louis-style ribs with a rub (cooked covered in the oven for two hours a la Alton Brown) then browning on the grill for ten minutes with BBQ sauce, Rufus Teague, I didn’t make my own this time.

Mashed potatoes and a green salad with chopped almonds, dried cranberries and a Satsuma tangerine vinaigrette. It was delicious.

My husband will not go for soup all day but I’m going to make a soup with potato, carrot, brussels sprout, onion and chicken. I made the broth yesterday but will save some to enrich a roasted, curried butternut squash soup as well. I’ve an extra chicken breast so may poach it so he can have a sandwich with his soup.

It’s time to transform some leftovers! Cheers and hope you’re enjoying the weekend. Dee

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My Fajitas

Posted on January 21, 2013 | 1 comment

I’ve never looked up a recipe for fajitas so please do not expect this to be truly authentic. Yesterday, I changed it up a bit and it was a hit with my husband. No, the dog didn’t get any of it! She’s spoiled enough as it is.

As it was a Sunday, I had some time. I always like to prepare all the veggies first then cut up the meat and marinate it, in order to prevent cross-contamination.

Cooking for two, I started with an orange and a yellow sweet bell pepper, rinsed and sliced, also one red onion, thinly sliced. Then I sliced up two boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and tossed them with the juice of two limes, about 1/2 to 1 tsp. Ancho chili powder and the same amount of ground cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix, cover and set aside for an hour.

I use large flour tortillas and dry-toast them in a large skillet, moving each to a plate then covering to keep warm. Heat oil in the same pan, and add all the vegetables and cook until caramelized, about 20 minutes, season with salt and pepper along the way. Then add the chicken, draining it from the lime juice and cook until just done.

Serve with condiments like guacamole (mine is with avocados, lime juice, salt and pepper and a bit of salsa), salsa, perhaps cheese, sour cream, lime wedges.

I usually just put a pinch of cayenne pepper in my chicken marinade but this time used freshly purchased (penzeys.com) dried Ancho and cumin powders that made for a difference in flavor and, hours later, our home smells like dirty socks (the cumin) and it’s about six degrees outside so cannot open the windows!

There were a couple of tablespoons of vegetables left over which I saved for an omelet. Disclosure: tomatoes didn’t look that good so I sometimes get a fresh pico de gallo. Not wishing to go to another grocery for that, I opted for bottled salsa which was OK but it is the middle of winter so forgive me.

I like to just set up the fixings on the counter and we make a plate for ourselves. It may not be traditional but the smokiness and flavors are there and I haven’t made this in a year so hubby was happy to enjoy the dish once again.

Many of us get into food ruts where we make the same dishes regularly. I really miss the farmers market that delivered to my door a large box of whatever was fresh that week. That was a challenge for me to work through, especially in long cold winters with only hard squashes and onions and carrots. All very fresh.

For now, changing up spices or ingredients sometimes makes a routine meal more special. My husband loves meat loaf and hates leftovers, but that cold meat loaf sandwich for lunch the next day is the best thing he’s ever had!

This week marks our tenth wedding anniversary and I found the menu from our reception luncheon that the restaurant personalized with our names, hearts and rings, and had it framed for us. No meat loaf or fajitas, just good Italian food. Cheers, Dee

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