A long while ago I shared my experience making Lasagna Soup. Easy to make and pretty tasty, it was in the regular rotation back then. Fast forward to 2020 – my son remembers the soup and requests it because simply the change in weather was causing him some throat irritation and soup seems to be the most soothing of meals. I agree to make it and look up the recipe I’ve used on A Farmgirl’s Dabbles and they have updated the recipe to include not only a crockpot version but an instant pot version, as well. Loved the convenience of doing it in my instant pot instead of on top of the stove. Used a bunch of basil that was brought from my friend’s garden and it was a great early fall meal.
I live in a rather female intensive family. So, of course, Mother’s Day is a multi-generational event. Most of those who “man” the kitchen are out of action on Mother’s Day which usually means we have to eat out if we don’t want mothers cooking and still want to eat. That’s the way it’s been until this year. My young-adult cousin, her “New Boo”, her dad and my son took the reigns to put together the sweetest Sunday Brunch I’ve ever had.
We were banned from the kitchen (which hurt my feelings none) and were served drinks/snacks by our “waiter”. We relaxed and chatted as aromas from the kitchen began to invade the room. We were presented with printed menus so that no one received something they didn’t like. They really out-did themselves. Everything was done so sweetly and was so tasty, we had no choice but to feel special.
I go to church with a great group of people. I love the fact that we are all such individuals with different gift, talents, and the like. Now, although I am a girl who was brought up in the country (and still live there), I don’t think it’s a correct moniker to call me a country girl. I don’t love being outdoors. I really don’t care for things that are rustic and my style of choice is mid-century modern. My church, however, is in the city and I have a lovely friend in the congregation who definitely has the gardening touch. Yesterday, she presented me with a bag of the prettiest basil leaves that I think I have ever seen. The color was so crisp and green that my mom and son ate two of the leaves on the spot.
So my dilemma: What do I make with such a gracious bounty for dinner tonight? I have a few constraints that I must work around, though. The first being time. I’ve got to get home, feed the family and start them on the way to bedtime to stay on schedule. The second constraint, budget. I can’t go hog wild buying ingredients because it’s Monday and the budget needs to stretch all the way to Friday. The third hurdle, the taste-buds of my family. It’s gotta be something they’ll eat so they don’t spend the rest of the evening supplementing the dinner they almost ate.
What I already have is the wonderful basil, a ball of fresh mozzarella, and garlic… I think I have a plan. I’m going to stop by the market and pick up some sub or sandwich rolls, ground beef or pork, and some lovely tomatoes. I’m pretty certain I have a jar of tomato sauce in the pantry. I believe it’s going to be an Italian Style Sloppy Joe topped with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil with a side salad. I’ll let you know if it works out.
I am not sure how this keeps happening but it seems that Tuesday is the day I try something out of the ordinary. Maybe because it’s the beginning of the week or, possibly, because no one eats at home Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Whatever the reason, Tuesday seems to be the day I will try something different (or in the words of my young cousin, weird).
So, I still have a fair amount of feta cheese in the fridge so I know that I am going to use that but I am equally certain I do not want to do pasta again. I had caught a glimpse of a chicken burger in a magazine and thought it looked interesting. Unfortunately, I didn’t buy the magazine so I couldn’t follow the recipe that peeked my interest (oops). So I begin at Google and I find a rather large number of recipes but it seemed each one incorporated something that either would not have appreciated by me or my family. Each member has a list of things that we simply can not eat. Mine includes (but not limited to) beans, tofu, and cheese inside of meat. I don’t know why but since I was little that last one just never seemed like a good idea, but I digress.
After checking out a few recipes I get a general idea of what I will and will not do. I stopped by the grocery store to pick up ground chicken, buns, and, of course, basil. The rest of my ingredients, (garlic, onion, egg, bread, butter, sundried tomato pesto, seasonings, and feta cheese) were already at home. After a bit of a drive, we arrive home and I assemble the ingredients into patties and cook them on my George Foreman grill. The patties were removed and topped with sundried tomato pesto, fresh basil, and feta. All things considered, it turned out okay.
Living on a budget is not an easy task. Eating well on one, nearly impossible. This author has put together a collection of recipes for people with limited incomes. Her cookbook is distributed free online (as a pdf) but aspires to have hard copies to reach her target audience. Check it out here http://www.leannebrown.ca/cookbooks/
Who hasn’t gone to an eatery and ordered something absolutely delicious only to find out that our stomachs (or our spanx) simply will not allow us to finish it? Sure, we stopped asking for “doggie bags” because (1) Doesn’t the dog have it’s own expensive food and (2) Fido will never see this plate. Instead we ask for a “to go” box.
So, I’ve managed to get the food out of the restaurant, now what do I call it? Leftovers sounds, hmm….callous. It just doesn’t do my dish justice.
On Sunday, my extended family gathered to celebrate the birthday of my cousin. She is an amazing young lady that I am a bit proud of, but I digress. We all gathered at a restaurant named Made in Asia and had great meal. It did not take long for me to realise that there was no way that I was going to finish my lovely plate of Thai Basil Fried Rice Fried rice with fresh Thai basil leaves, bell peppers & string beans (so yummy).
The upside of my dilema is that I now had a wonderful lunch for Monday. I could barely wait until it was time for me to liberate the flavors gathered from the night before. I was glad to see the microwave was fresh, free and waiting for me to heat things up. So, given my feelings, there is no way that this was “leftover” . I dub this meal, Dinner, The Sequel.
