There is one thing I always refuse to do on Saturday's.
Use my brain.
That's right. No thinking allowed. Even if I have to catch up on office-related projects over a weekend, I will do it on Sunday. Because Saturday is my day to abandon cognitive activities for other pursuits.
You can easily put this to the test if you are ever with me on a Saturday. Ask me a question that requires math or some other intellectual skill and my answer will likely be, "I'm sorry; I have Saturday brain."
The one challenge I might take on is refrigerator dinner. Refrigerator dinner is any dish made from whatever's in the fridge. It's great for using up odds and ends like bits of cheese and those soon-to-be-useless veggies in the crisper. This is also a great tactic for avoiding someday having to purge unused food like last week's regretful coffee beans.
I might skim recipes for inspiration, but the rule for this challenge is that I can't leave the house for ingredients. I have to make due with whatever I have on hand.
Last night this happened to include a few small chunks of different cheeses, lightly wilted kale, part of a white onion, a few links of Field Roast Mexican Chipotle grain sausage, and some brown-rice elbow macaroni.
I threw together a mac-and-cheese type casserole. The result was a smoky, slightly cheesy dish filling enough for a chilly March evening.
It seems a little silly to share a recipe for refrigerator casserole. Your refrigerator, I presume, has different tidbits in it than mine. But, here it is anyway. Perhaps it will inspire you to open the fridge and whip something up!
Refrigerator Casserole
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cups washed and chopped kale
1 Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausage link
1 cup brown-rice elbow pasta (cooked)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup milk (I actually used two tbsp of half-and-half plus water)
1/2-2/3 cup shredded parmesan (plus a few tbsp for topping before baking)
1 tbsp crumbled Roaring Forties blue cheese
2 tbsp diced Cahill porter cheese
Saute the onion over med-low heat in olive oil with a pinch of salt. When soft, add the sausage, raise the heat to medium. When the sausage has browned, add the kale and cover. Cook a few minutes, remove the cover. Continue to cook until the kale has withered and any water has evaporated. Add a small splash of balsamic vinegar, toss, cook another minute and then remove from heat.
While you are sautéing the above, cook the elbow pasta according to directions. And heat the oven to 350.
In a heavy-bottom sauce pan, melt the butter on low heat. Add the flour and cook for five minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk slowly and whisk until combined. Continue cooking and whisk every few minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the kale/sausage mixture, the elbow macaroni, and a few dashes of Emeril's essence or some other seasoning of your choice.
Transfer to a small casserole dish and bake for 10 minutes. Top with more shredded parmesan and raise heat to 400 degrees. Bake another 5 minutes.
I enjoyed this dish with a lonely bottle of winter ale, also in my refrigerator!
Use my brain.
That's right. No thinking allowed. Even if I have to catch up on office-related projects over a weekend, I will do it on Sunday. Because Saturday is my day to abandon cognitive activities for other pursuits.
You can easily put this to the test if you are ever with me on a Saturday. Ask me a question that requires math or some other intellectual skill and my answer will likely be, "I'm sorry; I have Saturday brain."
The one challenge I might take on is refrigerator dinner. Refrigerator dinner is any dish made from whatever's in the fridge. It's great for using up odds and ends like bits of cheese and those soon-to-be-useless veggies in the crisper. This is also a great tactic for avoiding someday having to purge unused food like last week's regretful coffee beans.
I might skim recipes for inspiration, but the rule for this challenge is that I can't leave the house for ingredients. I have to make due with whatever I have on hand.
Last night this happened to include a few small chunks of different cheeses, lightly wilted kale, part of a white onion, a few links of Field Roast Mexican Chipotle grain sausage, and some brown-rice elbow macaroni.
I threw together a mac-and-cheese type casserole. The result was a smoky, slightly cheesy dish filling enough for a chilly March evening.
It seems a little silly to share a recipe for refrigerator casserole. Your refrigerator, I presume, has different tidbits in it than mine. But, here it is anyway. Perhaps it will inspire you to open the fridge and whip something up!
Refrigerator Casserole
1/4 cup minced onion2 cups washed and chopped kale
1 Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausage link
1 cup brown-rice elbow pasta (cooked)
1 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup milk (I actually used two tbsp of half-and-half plus water)
1/2-2/3 cup shredded parmesan (plus a few tbsp for topping before baking)
1 tbsp crumbled Roaring Forties blue cheese
2 tbsp diced Cahill porter cheese
Saute the onion over med-low heat in olive oil with a pinch of salt. When soft, add the sausage, raise the heat to medium. When the sausage has browned, add the kale and cover. Cook a few minutes, remove the cover. Continue to cook until the kale has withered and any water has evaporated. Add a small splash of balsamic vinegar, toss, cook another minute and then remove from heat.
While you are sautéing the above, cook the elbow pasta according to directions. And heat the oven to 350.
In a heavy-bottom sauce pan, melt the butter on low heat. Add the flour and cook for five minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk slowly and whisk until combined. Continue cooking and whisk every few minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the kale/sausage mixture, the elbow macaroni, and a few dashes of Emeril's essence or some other seasoning of your choice.
Transfer to a small casserole dish and bake for 10 minutes. Top with more shredded parmesan and raise heat to 400 degrees. Bake another 5 minutes.
I enjoyed this dish with a lonely bottle of winter ale, also in my refrigerator!
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