That's me, tooting my own culinary horn. It's no secret how much I love food. I hate wasting it, though, so if I can manage to create deliciousness by re-purposing some 'forgottens' in the fridge, then I REALLY feel like I have accomplished something beautiful. Here's the dealio: had some leftover sauces I had combined in a container, thinking I could throw them in to something at some point. Also had about a third of a green cabbage leftover from St. Patrick's Day. I started plotting and I knew the crockpot would be my friend. So, on an early morning shopping trip, I noticed some boneless, skinless chicken thighs on super-sale due to an approaching expiration date. I snatched three packages up, thinking I would use some now and freeze the rest for later. I also bought the cilantro (might as well be a staple in my house), green onions, and radishes I would need for a slaw recipe I had pinned on Pinterest (link for recipe below).
After finishing my Easter-prep shopping upon returning home, I set to work 'throwing something together'. I put two packages of the chicken thighs in the crockpot. I took the sauce mixture from the fridge (which was actually leftover chipotle in adobo and some wacky salsa we decided we didn't like but hated to throw out). There was about 2 cups of it and I threw it on top. It looked like it needed more moisture, so I added about a cup of water. Then I remembered the ton of garlic I have stored in my basement from a recent Costco trip, so rough-chopped almost a whole bulb's worth and threw it in. And then I opened the fridge and spied the remaining half-cup or so of homemade French dressing from the weekend before. I shrugged, thought 'what the heck' and threw it in, giving it a good rinse to clean the dressing bottle completely out. I threw some chili powder and ground coriander on top Then it was a quick stir and a setting on low for as long as I had until I picked Bryce up from the airport. (this ended up being about 10 hours).
Then I whipped up this easy slaw: http://www.traditional-foods.com/recipes/cabbage-salad/
First of all, my house smelled AMAZING all day. And I had big plans for putting that chicken on some corn tortillas I had leftover.
Second of all, I was super-satisfied to have done some fridge-cleaning-out while ALSO putting together a dinner using almost exlcusivley whole-food ingredients.
Third of all, when it came time to eat it, the hubby and I didn't even want to mess with the tortillas. The chicken fell apart as soon as you touched it. We shredded it into out bowl, gave a squeeze of lime, a couple of slivers of avocado, and a healthy helping of slaw on top. It was really delicious. The flavors had all come together and we got a satisfying, fairly healthy, and just a touch spicy dinner.
The yummy Ale Asylum beers we had with it undid the healthiness, but reaching the end of a busy week seemed to require some celebration.
I neglected to take pictures (hey, I'm new to this blogging thing), but have made the mental note to better record any future creative endeavors.
Cheers to yummy dishes and less stuff in the fridge!!
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