I don’t know about you but choosing a dinner selection each day can get terribly monotonous. For the most part I’ve learned to go with the flow and use what’s on hand.
Typical meal prep starts with me staring blindly into the fridge and pulling out odds and ends which need to be used up. I build from those ingredients and so far it works for me. One meal carries over to another and leftovers don’t appear to be leftovers and that’s an awesome thing!
Today’s meal is no different. I pulled out corn cut from the cob from last night’s leftovers and figured it could be the basis for a tasty cold salad. Add some kidney beans, jalepenos, garden radishes, red onion, broccoli and the asparagus I didn’t have enough of in order to make a dish of its own. Viola! Season with salt, pepper, vinegar and a little sugar; one dish is complete!
Ever have mangos setting in the bottom of the fridge because nobody else but you seems to know the secret of prepping them?! Thanks to Bountiful Baskets I usually end up with a boatload of these things when they are in season. In an effort to get another thing cleaned out of the fridge I cubed 3 mangoes up with some organic kiwi and blueberries I purchased prior to the weekend. Easy fruit salad I can now couple with the half-full container of vanilla yogurt stuck in the back of the fridge!
I’m on a roll today!
When digging for the yogurt I get a glance of some fresh mushrooms begging me to use them before they go bad. What to do? It’s not like I can chop these monsters up and throw them in the fruit salad! Ahh, but I do have some pesto mozzarella balls sitting right next to the yogurt. Bingo! I’m going to make stuffed mushrooms! Mixed with a little breadcrumb, bacon crumbles and an array of garden herbs those mozzarella balls will make these mushrooms sing!
I’m already half impressed with myself until I realize my husband will insist on some meat on his plate. I have no real leftovers for this but I did have a package of bratwurst thawed from our camping weekend. Brats on the grill it is!
Sometimes, the most amazing meals can come from some of the most boring leftovers…and the stuff begging you to use it. If you lack creativity in the kitchen there are a few apps out there which can put a dish together based on what you have on hand. Just enter the ingredients and it will do the work for you. Allrecipes is one of my favorite go-to apps, check it out and happy cooking!
Dirt On My Plate 