savory

I really do love food, as evidenced by my current state of impressive girth. One of the things I like most about food is to eat it,  but I also love all the other parts. Planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, and most of all, sitting down at a pretty table with my people. Savoring it.

I've written about my goal to make less food, and I have done really well toward this goal. Some nights, there is nary a bite left over. We call those clean plate meals.

For example:

chicken tikka masala comes from heaven, and comes together in 15 minutes with Trader Joe's simmer sauce

I love a meal that goes into one bowl

Another family favorite is slow cooker carnitas. We can't clean plate that one without reinforcements. I didn't get a photo of the lovely table, but this is what was left over:

I need to bite it

I could have sworn I had a photo of the summer grill table full of marinated chicken, spicy sausage, corn and salad but I can't find it so you'll have to use your imagination. 

After all of this deliciousness, it came to pass that I found myself with a fridge full of really good leftovers one night, and I was determined to use them. I requested a vote to decide which of the yumminesses would fulfill its destiny on that fine night, but that resulted in a tie that I didn't want to break. I had the time and the inclination, so I made both. 

Please forgive my ridiculously poor and random photographs. 

On the left, frying up some rice with savory veg. On the right, I scrambled eggs with diced green chiles & carnitas

What mess? Check out the towering tupperware

Summer grill surplus was made big bite sized while I added some veggie stock and seasonings to the rice dish

Jambalaya! Machaca!

The jambalaya wasn't that good. I think some things really are better with Zatarain's.

The machaca, though?

Heaven in a flour tortilla.

Once we'd eaten our way through those pesky lefties, I took inspiration from Jane and tried my hand at slow cooked ribs for another clean plate special:

Jane, the crock pot works really, really well but you can really only fit one rack. I finished them on the grill

I just noticed that there are no humans in any of these photos, and that we eat a shit ton of meat. But hey, we run anemic 'round these parts, and it's all grass fed and preservative free* and surrounded by bountiful veggie sides. 

*Except the ribs, they were full of nitrates and woe.