Another adventure in saving time and money in the kitchen …

Yesterday, I was slightly concerned about what I was going to do with a fridge full of leftover/spoiling food and an out-of-town boyfriend. I loathe throwing things away (I am the type of person who carefully opens to presents to preserve the wrapping paper for art projects), but there was just way too much for me to go through on my own. Luckily, I had planned a small Halloween gathering, the perfect occasion at which to feed my besties, Kennedy and Jason.

On Thursday, Patrick had picked up potatoes, onions, carrots, and lettuce at Copley Square, because it was the last day the farmer’s market would be open until next season. I chopped up everything except the lettuce, put half in a pot roast that night, and refrigerated the rest in a container with water to keep it fresh. The pot roast lasted us two nights (yay for efficiency) and a cup’s worth was all that remained yesterday. It was substantial enough to not be worth throwing away, but what could I do with it?

First, I still had the lettuce so I turned it into a quick salad with apple slices, a sprinkling of goat cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Appetizer: DONE.

We also had some acorn squash, which would’ve been perfect for soup had my blender not broken earlier this week. I decided to turn it into a side dish by cutting it in half, scooping out the guts, scoring the inside, seasoning with salt and maple syrup, and roasting at 350 degrees for a little over an hour. (I roasted the seeds too but forgot about them and didn’t want to consume the blackened results.) Side dish: DONE.

Finally, I decided to incorporate the leftover pot roast into a Japanese curry. I tossed in the veggies from the fridge, half a can of corn left over from the last time I made curry, and several cubes of instant Japanese curry mix (available at most Asian supermarkets). I also made some rice to go with it. Main dish: DONE.

For dessert, I made a sweet coconut milk soup with cubes of honeydew melon (something else I wanted to get rid of). Recipe to come!

Results: Apple & Goat Cheese Salad (starter), Japanese Curry With Vegetables Over Rice (main), Roasted Acorn Squash (side), Coconut Soup With Honeydew Melon (dessert).

Prep time (time on my feet): 45 minutes
Total cooking time (time from start to finish): 1.5 hours