I have a love-hate relationship with leftovers. On the bright side (become one with the light, Luke), leftovers make life easier. They keep me from having to make breakfast every morning; they allow me to continue blogging or crafting or reading when someone in the house starts an "I'm hungry" whine; and they mean I don't have to heat up the oven on Arizona summer afternoons. However, tonight it is the dark side of leftovers that concerns me.
After three days of company and an excursion to P. F. Chang yesterday, I have a burgeoning refrigerator. While this isn't necessarily bad (see the list in paragraph one), I am growing weary of the food already. Therein lies the rub with leftovers - some are good, but too many are just annoying. I know I could pack some of the inside out lasagna, pulled pork, and creamy vegetable bake into small plastic containers for the freezer, but I also know that those containers seem to get lost or buried under the myriad items I toss in there for later use - veggies, meats, sauces, fruit, icing - you get the picture. Thus, consigning them to the freezer is pretty much the same as procrastinating before throwing them away.
This, then, leads to a major sin in my ideology - wasting food. I abhor throwing away perfectly good food. I don't know if this little hitch in my giddy-up should be attributed to thriftiness or the knowledge that there are starving children in Indonesia. Either way, tossing food down the drain makes me feel like a failure - I've failed to make the correct amount; I've failed to judge how well my family will like the dish; I've failed to make something wonderful, and so on. (Yes, I know I'm not a failure. I just hate dumping perfectly good food that much.) The final straw of this leftover burden is that I don't want to cook anything else until we've eaten what we have. This is, of course, to encourage the family to chow down more quickly; however, it doesn't always work. I know I'm in trouble when the guys resort to sandwiches instead of leftovers. (Thankfully, we haven't reached that point this week - at least not yet.)
So, in the meantime, I feel it is my duty to eat whatever is in the fridge (which is why I had enchiladas for breakfast and lasagna for dinner). While the food selections are healthy, some have more carbs than others, so trying to polish off these items is not always in the best interest of my daily carb count. In addition, my new toys (low carb baking mixes, assorted flours, etc.) are calling to me, tugging me toward the kitchen to whip up something different and exciting. Hmm...I wonder how many little plastic containers I can scrounge. After all, a little reorganization in the freezer could make the leftovers more visible. Besides, school will be starting in about three weeks, and those containers are perfect for lunch. (Have I mentioned that I'm a master at rationalization?) In the meantime, here's the recipe for one of the tastier leftovers in my fridge. Enjoy!
1/2 cup chopped onion (5.5 net carbs)
2.5 pounds boneless pork cut in large cubes (0 net carbs)
1/2 cup Walden Farms Barbecue Sauce (0 net carbs)
1 tablespoon Pampered Chef Ginger Citrus Rub (0 net carbs)
2 cups chicken stock (0 net carbs)
3 tablespoons Smuckers sugar free apricot preserves (9 net carbs)
Salt and Pepper to taste (0 net carbs)
1/8 cup carbalose flour (2.4 net carbs)
The entire dish contains 16.9 grams of carbohydrates, which works out to 2.8 grams per serving for six servings.
This is excellent served with low carb tortillas street taco style or wrapped in large lettuce leaves with coleslaw.
After three days of company and an excursion to P. F. Chang yesterday, I have a burgeoning refrigerator. While this isn't necessarily bad (see the list in paragraph one), I am growing weary of the food already. Therein lies the rub with leftovers - some are good, but too many are just annoying. I know I could pack some of the inside out lasagna, pulled pork, and creamy vegetable bake into small plastic containers for the freezer, but I also know that those containers seem to get lost or buried under the myriad items I toss in there for later use - veggies, meats, sauces, fruit, icing - you get the picture. Thus, consigning them to the freezer is pretty much the same as procrastinating before throwing them away.
This, then, leads to a major sin in my ideology - wasting food. I abhor throwing away perfectly good food. I don't know if this little hitch in my giddy-up should be attributed to thriftiness or the knowledge that there are starving children in Indonesia. Either way, tossing food down the drain makes me feel like a failure - I've failed to make the correct amount; I've failed to judge how well my family will like the dish; I've failed to make something wonderful, and so on. (Yes, I know I'm not a failure. I just hate dumping perfectly good food that much.) The final straw of this leftover burden is that I don't want to cook anything else until we've eaten what we have. This is, of course, to encourage the family to chow down more quickly; however, it doesn't always work. I know I'm in trouble when the guys resort to sandwiches instead of leftovers. (Thankfully, we haven't reached that point this week - at least not yet.)
So, in the meantime, I feel it is my duty to eat whatever is in the fridge (which is why I had enchiladas for breakfast and lasagna for dinner). While the food selections are healthy, some have more carbs than others, so trying to polish off these items is not always in the best interest of my daily carb count. In addition, my new toys (low carb baking mixes, assorted flours, etc.) are calling to me, tugging me toward the kitchen to whip up something different and exciting. Hmm...I wonder how many little plastic containers I can scrounge. After all, a little reorganization in the freezer could make the leftovers more visible. Besides, school will be starting in about three weeks, and those containers are perfect for lunch. (Have I mentioned that I'm a master at rationalization?) In the meantime, here's the recipe for one of the tastier leftovers in my fridge. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Shredded Pork
1/2 cup chopped onion (5.5 net carbs)
2.5 pounds boneless pork cut in large cubes (0 net carbs)
1/2 cup Walden Farms Barbecue Sauce (0 net carbs)
1 tablespoon Pampered Chef Ginger Citrus Rub (0 net carbs)
2 cups chicken stock (0 net carbs)
3 tablespoons Smuckers sugar free apricot preserves (9 net carbs)
Salt and Pepper to taste (0 net carbs)
1/8 cup carbalose flour (2.4 net carbs)
- Place pork in a slow cooker. Pour all remaining ingredients - except the flour - over the top of the meat.
- Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
- To serve, remove the meat to a shallow dish. Use two forks to pull the pork apart into shreds.
- Pour the liquid into a medium sauce pan. Whisk in the flour. Cook and stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens and bubbles.
- Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed.
- Pour the sauce over the pork.
The entire dish contains 16.9 grams of carbohydrates, which works out to 2.8 grams per serving for six servings.
This is excellent served with low carb tortillas street taco style or wrapped in large lettuce leaves with coleslaw.
No comments:
Post a Comment